Posts
3651
Joined
9/20/2018
Location
Sandy, UT
US
Edited Date/Time
10/24/2018 10:38am
Rocky Mountain Raceway in the heart of the Salt Lake City valley closed a few weeks ago. It was in an industrial area but from what I understand the property became valuable and the owners decided to sell. The motocross track, drag strip and racing oval all closed down after many decades of service.
Remember when bicycles were the gateway to motorcycles? Well kids barely ride bikes anymore. If they don't ride bikes they probably don't do much in the way of unorganized sports(skateboarding, skiing, motorcycling, etc.)
I ask my kids which of their friends mountain bike and the answer is not too many. High school MTB teams here in Utah are going off which is great but most of the training rides are organized. Kids just aren't going out of their own accord and ripping like we used to. It takes parents who pretty much force their kids to ride or take them camping, etc. to get them out to ride.
My buddy told me today about a new electric bike for toddlers, which seems like a good way to get little kids out riding places other than their driveway to start the progression. https://www.stacyc.com
And E-mountain bikes could revolutionize biking since you don't need to suffer on the climbs. Of course they're much more expensive than a basic bicycle.
People talk about the expense being a barrier but I don't think that's the main issue. It's about parents basically forcing their kids off their phones and either taking them riding or making/encouraging them to ride, even if it's to a friends house. Creating that love for outdoor pursuits isn't necessarily easy but once kids get a taste they'll evolve into it. And the logical progression is then motorcycles because, well, they're the holy grail of ripping.
Anyways, enough of my rambling, what do you guys think or what has been your experience with your kids?
Remember when bicycles were the gateway to motorcycles? Well kids barely ride bikes anymore. If they don't ride bikes they probably don't do much in the way of unorganized sports(skateboarding, skiing, motorcycling, etc.)
I ask my kids which of their friends mountain bike and the answer is not too many. High school MTB teams here in Utah are going off which is great but most of the training rides are organized. Kids just aren't going out of their own accord and ripping like we used to. It takes parents who pretty much force their kids to ride or take them camping, etc. to get them out to ride.
My buddy told me today about a new electric bike for toddlers, which seems like a good way to get little kids out riding places other than their driveway to start the progression. https://www.stacyc.com
And E-mountain bikes could revolutionize biking since you don't need to suffer on the climbs. Of course they're much more expensive than a basic bicycle.
People talk about the expense being a barrier but I don't think that's the main issue. It's about parents basically forcing their kids off their phones and either taking them riding or making/encouraging them to ride, even if it's to a friends house. Creating that love for outdoor pursuits isn't necessarily easy but once kids get a taste they'll evolve into it. And the logical progression is then motorcycles because, well, they're the holy grail of ripping.
Anyways, enough of my rambling, what do you guys think or what has been your experience with your kids?
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
After that we got Mongoose and later GT and Dyno BMX bikes. And we would spend all day every day (weather permitting) on those.
Then we got dirt bikes.
And now at 35 I mostly ride mountain bikes due to cost and easy access to trails 5 minutes away.
Every generation is different. But the MTV/tail-end Gen. Xers embraced being active. The times they are a changin', which could be the eventual extinction of local moto. Switching to four-strokes and doubling entry fees certainly hasn't helped. What can be done? Nothing at this point...
I firmly believe that moto will survive, but it will change too. As long as teenage boys and testosterone still exist, there will always be a market for this sport if we can make it accessible. Electric bikes are our best hope that 100 years from now there will still be something that resembles MX/SX. If they can ever break even in terms of development and economy of scale, the numbers will be able to grow and prices could drop. Couple that with ease of maintenance and lack of noise and the sport would become more accessible.
We just aren't there quite yet. And I hope Alta's complications can be overcome, because the sport needs them.
Local moto is dying, and may be about gone when the Boomers are too old to ride and Gen. Y is booted from the nest and can no longer afford to participate. Economics and demographics may be a one-two punch that the sport will not get up from.
It looked like a nice track , they said that it was closing after the last race but never said if anything would be taking its place or where there kid may race next .
Let the kids pay for the devices and the monthly bill if they so choose.
That would put an end to all of that pretty quick. If something is free, people (even kids) will consume too much of it.
Carlsbad Raceway suffered the exact same fate, under the exact same circumstances in the early 2000's. A raceway (dragstrip and motocross track) on land owned by a family for a very long time that was located smack dab in the middle of very valuable commercial land development in Northern San Diego County. It was inevitable that the family would eventually yield to commercial interests and sell the land. This happened during a period of time when motocross in Southern California was very strong. There's absolutely no way running a motocross and drag strip is going to bring more wealth than selling that land to commercial land developers.
I venture to say the same applies to the track in Salt Lake City. Even if a track is packed every weekend, entry fees coupled with significant liability insurance costs are never going to outweigh the price of land. If the track suffered from low attendance it probably only helped further incentivize the owner(s) to sell the land but it's most assuredly something they considered for awhile, regardless of attendance. Rocky Mountain Raceway is located in the heart of Salt Lake City's industrial development. It was inevitable the owners would sell that land.
It is an economic problem, both macro and micro.
Many more would participate if financially within reach.
I jumped off the corporate hamster wheel and am doing a blue-collar and enjoyable gig. My YZ sits. My Kona MTB is my go-to 2-wheel toy.
I'd love to grab the YZ if I had hundreds of disposable dollars to go to the local practice spot or race. I do not. It costs about $1 in gas to drive to the mountain bike trails. I can spend that $1.
Pit Row
Theres less kids growing up in the country and of those their families may not be as well off these days. Riding dirt bikes is a country boy activity and it probably always will be.
That they would ride , but I went through about a 10 year period where I was still a huge fan but didnt have a bike myself and couldn't afford a bike for me or him due to financial struggles, so I never tried to get him into it
Still to this day he has never ridden a dirt bike and my reasons Are 100% financial.
i've been hanging out at our local pump track/dirt jump park this summer which is right next to the skate park and its been crazy busy with kids and folks of all ages.. afternoons and weekends its a zoo.
Nice place to meet hot mom's too
But, i would agree moto feels like its dead.. but mtn biking is huge around these parts
It was more affordable 30 years ago, and wages provided much more bang for the buck.
It isn't a passion problem. It's a financial and economic problem.
I used to see a ton of guys with a beat up pick up truck with a bike in the back, sometimes three guys in the cab and three bikes in the bed doing whatever they could to get to the track. Nowadays probably 95% have the big motor home, box trailer and either a pit bike or a golf cart. We lost that whole crowd who could just pull enough money together to get to the track on the weekend.
The costs of bikes, registration fees, and gas has gone up quicker than most peoples paychecks. The cost of health insurance has gone up probably more than anything. With no insurance or bad insurance that itself would eliminate racing for many.
I would say more of an issue of getting kids to race is parents being too afraid to let their kids do anything. Let them ride bikes or skateboards around and get hurt. Kids still love motorcycles and bikes, just give them one and you'll see.
Comparing today to the 90's is dumb.. Everything was better in the 90s. And shit, I bet your parents thought everything was better in the 70s.
He was right!
The only problem we had in the 90s was a BJ in the White House.
Today there are no fields behind your house, and if you were a kid trying to ride a mini-bike anywhere 15 neighbors would be calling the cops within 30 seconds.
The world has unfortunately changed. Easier to just be stuck to a screen so that way nobody is offended.
Post a reply to: Another local track closes-And how to get youth riding again