Competitors and kids alike praise Rock Hill BMX track
The undulating riding hills at the BMX Supercross Track in Rock Hill can mean different things to different people. For the professional BMX riders who competed in the BMX Carolina Nationals over the weekend, the facility along the shores of the Catawba River form part of a nationwide tour that could eventually land some of these riders in the Olympics.
But to others, it’s just a cool place to spend the weekend riding a bike.
Jeff Zimmerman regularly takes his 8-year-old son Abel riding at Rock Hill’s BMX course from their home in Cornelius, N.C. This weekend, with many international riders in town, Abel rode in the novice division against more far-flung competition than usual.
“In the local races, he competes with kids from Salisbury, N.C., and Spartanburg, S.C.,” Jeff Zimmerman said. “Yesterday, he was racing against a kid from Ontario, Canada. It gives you a better gauge of their riding ability.”
Strapping on his riding helmet and gloves, Abel talked about how “this kid was trying to beat me” in Saturday’s competition, a rider from Wisconsin. He was disappointed not to see his grade-school rival on the track Sunday.
The younger Zimmerman also plays baseball, but his dad was impressed with how BMX is “the last sport where your kid can get coached by a pro.” Mike King, the Supercross track’s supervisor, is a Hall of Famer who once coached the U.S. Olympic BMX team.
“Mike King will spend the whole day out here with my 8-year-old working on starting gate technique,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman’s opinion of the track is shared by Chris Mireles. One of four elite-level Mexican riders on the course Sunday, Mireles flew from the team’s home base in Guadalajara last week to compete in Sunday’s Continental championship featuring riders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“We’re training every week, with the support of Mexico’s Olympic committee,” Mireles said, seated on his bike in a red-white-and-green riding jersey. “This is preparation for us for this year’s World Championships and the Pan-American Games in Toronto.”
And, hopefully, if the team can build up enough points on the Nationals tour, the 2016 Olympics, “but for the moment, we’re not qualified,” he said.
This was Mireles’s first time riding on the Rock Hill track, but he was glad to see a course that can be used for elite competitions is also available to the general public.
“Technically, it’s so good,” he said. “It’s not as dangerous as some of the other tracks.”
Amateur riders also traveled to take part in the event. Angie Carson drove from Pittsburgh with her 10-year-old son Joshua and two dogs so Joshua could ride in the intermediate class. It was the Carsons’ first trip to Rock Hill’s Supercross Track.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said, seated beside the course with other young riders who gathered to play with her dogs.
“I’ve seen a lot of tracks, but this is a Supercross track, so it looks awesome. Everybody I’ve talked to loves this track.”
Jessica Jayne agrees. A New Yorker riding for the Blot Out Graphics team, she said Rock Hill’s track presented more of a challenge than some other tracks she’s ridden on as part of Nationals.
“It’s more of a pro track, definitely more advanced,” she said. “The hills are a lot steeper, they’re higher... I like it a lot.”
Jayne ranks the track a 10 out of 10, but Cannon Joyner was less impressed. The 9-year-old, riding in the expert class in his age division, gave the track only a 7, below his home track in Augusta, Ga., which he rates a 9. Still, he found the hills on the kids’ track a challenge.
“When you jump the last turn, it gets really steep,” Cannon said. “The last time I was coming in, I jumped over it.”
He and dad, Richard Joyner, drove up for the weekend along with Cannon’s grandfather and another young rider, but as of Sunday, Cannon hadn’t attempted the pro-level hill, describing it as “devastating.”
“It’s scary,” he said. “It’s huge.”
The fact a 9-year-old can take on the same steep hills as Olympic riders is important to Jeff Zimmerman, who enjoys the fact his family lives within a short drive of one of the best tracks in the country. He said it shows the area’s commitment to a higher quality of life.
“We were planning on moving, but not with this and the whitewater center (nearby),” he said. “This is one of the best facilities, and you can pay $5 and practice out here all day.”
The track probably means just as much to Abel. He came in first in the finals for his class.
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