by Nathan Boddy
Thirty or so individuals were already on site at the Hamilton BMX track south of the Red Sox ball field by 5:30 Monday, June 3rd, and more were on the way. They’d come out answering the call put forth by the City of Hamilton, the Bitterroot Backcountry Cyclists and Bike Walk Bitterroot for folks to lend a hand in giving the BMX track a facelift. Even though much of Monday afternoon was rainy, even heavy at times, the sun was shining while work was getting underway.
Todd Esser, a board member of the Bitterroot Backcountry Cyclists, was on hand to explain the purpose of the work event. Esser appeared energetic despite his reduced sleep schedule on account of an 8-week-old infant at home, and set down his wheelbarrow to speak.
“We’re trying to generate some excitement from the community,” he said about the work being done around the track, explaining that the track has been there for years, but has somewhat fallen by the wayside. “We’re trying to modernize it, and bring it back to what it was 20 years ago. It really had a good beginning.”
The Bitterroot Backcountry Cyclists (BBC) have tackled the work with Bike Walk Bitterroot and the City of Hamilton, each seeing the BMX track as a logical component of the goals that they all share. Esser explained that, for the BBC, the presence of a quality BMX track can mean that beginners get a chance to familiarize themselves with the excitement of biking in a location that is far easier to access than the many trails outside of town.
“It’s something in town where someone can learn bike skills,” he said, which has the benefit of bringing more folks into the biking community. More interest in biking, at least for BBC, could mean more opportunities for them to seek grants and Forest Service permission to expand riding trails throughout the valley.
BBC has had a proven success record in advocating for, and developing, mountain bike trails on publicly owned land in the Bitterroot. The area south of Lake Como, for example, supports a wonderful set of carefully crafted mountain bike trails that the group continues to maintain.
Bike Walk Bitterroot, the local branch of Bike Walk Montana, likewise encourages people to opt for two-wheel transit, but also engages within the urban area to assure that biking and walking are safe, convenient and accessible options for all folks within the community.
“They do a lot more in town,” said Esser about Bike Walk Bitterroot, but added that, “we want to have all bikers get involved. The more people are excited about it, the more things happen.”
Esser said that both the organizations ultimately share the same goal, and that those goals bridge nicely with the city’s efforts of connectivity for a variety of multi-modal transportation. And while the relatively simple facelift of the BMX track which was taking place on Monday is a good first step, Esser said that the vision would be to ultimately seek grant money to add to and expand it. That expansion could potentially mean a gazebo, benches, and maintained landscaping and irrigation.
“That’s the pie-in-the-sky version,” he said.
As Esser went back to his work, even more people, kids and grown-ups alike, were arriving on the scene. He seemed pleased at the growth of the informal work event.
We couldn’t have asked for a better forecast, he said. “Wet dirt and sunshine!”