TUCSON

The Kory Laos Memorial BMX Park is in the works, and it is moving full-steam ahead! Kory Laos was tragically killed while riding his bike in downtown Tucson last year, and his family have decided to push Pima County to build a concrete bikepark and name it in Kory's memory. After working extensively with the county, the project was named as the flagship project for the next bond election. Kory's family and friends are also raising funds for the park, and the fundraising is coming along very well. It could be a year or two before the first design meetings are held, but I'll make sure to let you know when they are announced so you Tucson area riders can go out and design something you'll be stoked to ride. I'll also let you know when the bond election comes up, so you can vote to pass it.

Rex Golos recently filled me in with more detailed information on the Arivaca Skatepark. Rex's friend Lance built and funded the park himself, and it is now a Pima County Park. Bikes are not officially allowed, but the rule is not enforced. The coping, unfortunately, is super thin, not like the coping you ride in most concrete skateparks. Lance couldn't afford to have thick coping professionally bent, so he went with thin coping he could tweak himself. When you ride Air Vaca, please be careful with the coping out of respect to the park and the guy that busted his ass and spent his own money to build it.

The skatepark in Airvaca will officially allow bikes starting May 25th, due mostly to efforts by Redendo's John Dale. For more info on this and other Tucson area BMX/skatepark efforts, visit www.redendo.com

I don't know what you know about Tucson's bikes in skateparks situation, but it's really bad. Check out www.redendo.com to see just how bad it really is.

Instead of whining about it, John Dale from Redendo has organized a protest of Tucson's anti-bmx bike policy at Tucson City Hall at 4 pm this Friday, January19th. Tucson City Hall is located at 255 W. Alameda in downtown Tucson. The news will be on hand to take quotes from all who will give them. Now obviously the bulk of protestors needs to come and will come from the Tucson area. But even though it's a ways to go for riders from the Valley, if you possibly can, show some love for the T-town boys and support their efforts!

Jacob Decker, 15, rides in a tiny backyard swimming pool. The property owner allows the teenagers to use the empty pool.

BMX bikers in the metro area have decided not to take no for an answer since the city scrapped plans for a series of dirt jumps at an East Side park.

Led by Al Duarte, a 22-year-old call center worker, and Tommy Logan, a 16-year-old junior at Salpointe High School, the BMXers have launched a petition drive to build grass-roots support for something the city sees as too risky to insure.

The goal is to persuade the city to follow the leads of Chandler, Flagstaff and Goodyear, where city-owned BMX, or bicycle motocross, parks have recently opened or are planned, said Duarte, who lives in Rio Rico but frequently rides in Tucson drainage ditches and parks and at the University of Arizona.

"The more people we can bring to the City Council, the more likely we are to be heard," he said.

In 2001, the city began planning jumps at Lincoln Park on South Pantano Road near Irvington Road. Riders and the city worked out a plan, and the city started clearing regulatory hurdles including an environmental assessment.

But the city scrapped the plan after a review of injuries at other BMX facilities in town hinted the risk and liability would be too high, said Tucson Parks & Recreation East District Superintendent Midge Irwin.

There is no plan in the works for a city-owned BMX track or park here, she said.

Mike Hines, 25 and a Sahuaro High School graduate and native Tucsonan, worked with the city on the Lincoln Park plan. He was shocked when the city pulled the plug.

"We even had the jumps built. Then at the last minute the city shut it down and turned it into (a radio-controlled car) track," said Hines, who has been riding since age 11 and, like most local BMXers, has spent his share of time riding illegally on city and private property.

Tucsonan Chris Miracle, 25, teaches freestyle BMX at a California summer camp where campers pay $900 per week for lessons. He said he would like to see the park because it would keep kids safe and out of trouble, and because the city is lagging behind other communities.

"The main point is to give these kids somewhere safe to go so they're not forced to trespass. Are we really that far behind the times that Mexico has to be ahead of us?" he said.

Despite the fact that most serious BMXers have broken the law to ride - by breaking into skateboard parks or riding in washes or on government or private property - they are largely law-abiding, Duarte said.

"They're breaking into a pool to ride their bikes, but at least they're not breaking into a store to steal something," he said.

Organizers have collected about 100 signatures on an online petition supporting development of a BMX park in Tucson. They hope to take the petition to the City Council within a month, Duarte said.

Mike Hines has started a new My Space group to get the city to provide a public, legal place for BMX riders to ride. See how you can help at http://www.myspace.com/tucsonbmx
Also, an obviously old school rider named John Dale has started a site that is helping get a place to ride in Tucson as well, called www.redendo.com

May 13, 2006

Damn, it's been a long time since there's been anything to say about Tucson. After that huge blow the riders took with the city being so incredibly shady and turning their dirt jump park-to-be into an RC car track, I guess it's taken some time to recover. There's some good movement starting up now, though, because the riders are sick and tired of having nowhere to ride. Here's one of the first things coming down the pike: Tommy Logan put together this online petition to get the Tucson City Council to build a bike-friendly skatepark: www.petitiononline.com/bmxpark8/petition.html Go sign it.

July 14, 2004

I got an e-mail from the only and one Windbag Willy Bissell. He also sent some pics of the under-construction Tucson Dirt Park

i want to write something but i am tired of sounding like i am preaching, i mean they dont realize how good the scene really is,. there are a ton of kids riding, more than i can ever remember, uhl days were slim yah know, and the was a raging era compared to the late 80s and no spots, ok i am over it, anyhow with limited annoucement 12 kids came out to dig on sat and close to 17 or more on sunday, we then went to the dw pool and had a session, in dw news, the spot is legit, just pick up your trash and dont block the drive way, oh and respect the care takers, they are the ones that keep it so we can ride, me and scary cory have laid down multiple layer of paint, smooth, oh if ali w thinks he can wreck our copeing is ass will be beat as well as anyone who takes his shitty attitude/ advice. t town is raging,, catfish is doing shows at the tucson mall august 7, next work party at the jumps is saturday night a 4,

word

sorry i dont write well but i wanted to give you some info,

my page would be called shut up asshole, or shut you wind hole will

the park will have a big ramada and water fountains as well as hose hook ups in the course, the set up is a bit basic but hopefully we can build on as soon as the park open and all the city hype/ parks and recs bull dies down, i am hoping for complete completion around september and hopefully a grand opening contest weekend in october, any buddie with ideas or clear dates holla at your boy--Willbissell@cox.net

I'm happy to announce that the page Will referred to above will be hosted on my site. Myself and many others enjoyed Will's page on the bmx media site, but it's down now, so Will has decided to make his new home here. Welcome to the dysfunctional family, Will. I'll have a button up on the home page pretty quick heah.

Will Bissell has been asked to accelerate the design for the new Dirt
Jump Track. He reports that the city of Tucson would like to have the track
completed by October rather than the originally scheduled opening for January 2004.

The Director of Tucson Parks & Rec passed away last December, and Rex
Golos has been meeting with the interim Director regarding a Concrete Bikepark at Freedom Park (Swan Rd & 29th Street). There is a 4 acre site in the back of the park which connects to a major bike path that goes downtown and out east.

The City is very anxious to build a concrete facility but like all other Arizona cities,Tucson is facing severe budget shortfalls and cannot pay for the maintainence even if we got a Grant for the total cost of the project. It will happen, but Rex is hoping to get some wealthy Tucson residents to donate the cash rather than rely on public funding. He needs help with this project and is looking for Leaders
and responsible Parents who can follow through until we are riding.
Please e.mail him at BMXskatepark@hotmail.com if you can contribute to
the cause.