Finding Minnesota: BMX Riding Year-Round
ISANTI, Minn. (WCCO) -- Daredevils on bikes can now get their thrills year-round at a new arena about an hour north of the metro.
The Rum River BMX track used to be outside and exposed to the elements, but the city of Isanti just finished a $2 million project to cover it. When the weather is nice, 22 large doors will be opened to let in the fresh air. But when it's cold or rainy, the riders and spectators will be protected.
Bicycle motocross, or BMX, attracts riders from 2 years old to 62, an adrenaline-pumping contest of speed and agility.
The Rum River track has helped produce several state champions, including 16-year-old Taylor Riedemann.
"When you get going on the track, when you're jumping something, it just feels like nothing can touch you," Riedemann said. "You're just floating, feeling really good, just feeling on top of the world."
Riedemann went from complete beginner to multi-year state champion and now, he's an Olympic hopeful.
"If you put more into it, you can expect greatness," he said.
Taylor's dad, Kevin Riedemann, is the president and CEO of the nonprofit group that runs the track.
"Over the last eight years, we've been able to take Rum River BMX, we were probably one of the worst tracks in the country," he said. "We've been able to turn it into one of the top 10 tracks in the nation."
It's another transformation, though, that's even more important to Riedemann -- the way BMX transformed his son when other sports didn't suit him.
"Yes, I was a very shy child," Taylor Riedemann said, "and getting into it, talking to people and teaching little kids how to ride, it's pretty great."
"He had a nail to hang his hat on," Kevin Riedemann said, "and I think that's what every kid's got to have, and they've got to have somewhere where they can go and say, 'I can do this.'"
The track is now attracting a new generation of competitors, like Wyatt Boettcher, 3, who wears his Superman cape and shark fin helmet on the course.
"We came when he was two-and-a-half and did a trial run," Stacey Boettcher, his mother, said. "And from that day forward, I mean he was addicted. He wants to be fast and he loves to be first."
For the youngest riders, there are no pedals. They go as fast as their little legs can take them. In the years to come, they'll go as far as their dreams can take them.
"Get kids off the couch, put down the Playstations," Kevin Riedemann said. "Instead of playing a video game about bicycles, bring your bike out here and live the video game. That's what we want to do."
The BMX facility is owned by the city of Isanti. Riders pay fees to take care of the lease payments. The races are free to attend.
