I bought a track

Markopolo400
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Markopolo400 7/24/2019 2:36pm
7/24/2019 2:36pm
I'll give Arkansaw another try next weekend. Last time I was there was in 2015, the layout had so much potential but the dirt was concrete.

With prep and water the place will be awesome.
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zippytech
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zippytech 7/24/2019 2:40pm
7/24/2019 2:40pm
Sounds like everyone likes to ride in paradise.. lol but whats wrong with that..
1
T-Fish
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T-Fish 7/25/2019 12:42am
7/25/2019 12:42am
T-Fish wrote:
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed...
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed quads there, and there were a lot of them at that time, and they absolutely wrecked the track, so we were left to ride nothing but hard pack and blue groove. The track still suffers from not having
Hammer 663s wrote:
I paid to ride a couple months ago and found out they were allowing quads sessions on the same day. Boy was I pissed. Nothing trashes...
I paid to ride a couple months ago and found out they were allowing quads sessions on the same day. Boy was I pissed. Nothing trashes a track faster than a quad. Might as well let sprint cars out there too.

I also spent a weekend of my time, and $400 of my money, to do a really nice prep on a buddy's track. It was primo and we rode it a lot that week. It stayed primo. The following weekend he let another friend show up and they brought a bunch of kids on quads and they screwed up the entire track. Boy was I pissed.

I saw a dude on the Arkansaw FB page bitching about no quads. I think I'll go tell him to STFU.

I hate quads.
Growboxracers wrote:
I only allowed quads twice this year and both times were after 3:00 on a Sunday so there would be no problems with bikes and quads...
I only allowed quads twice this year and both times were after 3:00 on a Sunday so there would be no problems with bikes and quads. Well each time only three quads showed up, so that is the end of them at my track. Not worth screwing up the track for the bikes, it takes forever to get back in shape.
Terry is smiling down on you for finally giving the quadtards the boot once and for all.
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T-Fish
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T-Fish 7/25/2019 12:44am
7/25/2019 12:44am
zippytech wrote:
Prep for a ride day... I must be old. we was lucky to see a water truck..
T-Fish wrote:
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed...
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed quads there, and there were a lot of them at that time, and they absolutely wrecked the track, so we were left to ride nothing but hard pack and blue groove. The track still suffers from not having
Growboxracers wrote:
No quads allowed, we do full water and prep on Saturday and Sunday, minor prep during the week, thanks.
I’m glad you’re finally seeing the light and not allowing them anymore. I also see you’re open more than you were at first. I need to get over there...you have my umbrella and rain jacket yet, lol.
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wildbill
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wildbill 7/25/2019 5:20pm
7/25/2019 5:20pm
friday10 wrote:
Come on, Debbie Downer, give the guy some credit.
A cash biz speaks.
1
Growboxracers
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Growboxracers 7/25/2019 6:14pm
7/25/2019 6:14pm
T-Fish wrote:
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed...
There was a time where this very track, Arkansaw, was open 7 days a week and there was no prep aside from race day. They allowed quads there, and there were a lot of them at that time, and they absolutely wrecked the track, so we were left to ride nothing but hard pack and blue groove. The track still suffers from not having
Growboxracers wrote:
No quads allowed, we do full water and prep on Saturday and Sunday, minor prep during the week, thanks.
T-Fish wrote:
I’m glad you’re finally seeing the light and not allowing them anymore. I also see you’re open more than you were at first. I need to...
I’m glad you’re finally seeing the light and not allowing them anymore. I also see you’re open more than you were at first. I need to get over there...you have my umbrella and rain jacket yet, lol.
Yep I do have your stuff still lol
Gworm
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Gworm 7/26/2019 8:48am
7/26/2019 8:48am
I’m a more than a little disappointed... I thought you were just misspelling Arkansas, and I got all excited.

Why would you do that to me?

Seriously, the track looks beautiful, and I wish you the best of luck!
1
Growboxracers
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Growboxracers 7/27/2019 4:18am
7/27/2019 4:18am
Gworm wrote:
I’m a more than a little disappointed... I thought you were just misspelling Arkansas, and I got all excited. Why would you do that to me...
I’m a more than a little disappointed... I thought you were just misspelling Arkansas, and I got all excited.

Why would you do that to me?

Seriously, the track looks beautiful, and I wish you the best of luck!
lol ya, we are transitioning to "The Ark" for this very reason.
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T-Fish
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T-Fish 7/27/2019 8:09am
7/27/2019 8:09am
Gworm wrote:
I’m a more than a little disappointed... I thought you were just misspelling Arkansas, and I got all excited. Why would you do that to me...
I’m a more than a little disappointed... I thought you were just misspelling Arkansas, and I got all excited.

Why would you do that to me?

Seriously, the track looks beautiful, and I wish you the best of luck!
Growboxracers wrote:
lol ya, we are transitioning to "The Ark" for this very reason.
Nobody will call it anything other than Arkansaw. It’s been that for 20 years.
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Mickolobe7
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Mickolobe7 7/27/2019 11:45am
7/27/2019 11:45am
Thats awesome! Congrats on the track! It will take time like anything else does but Its a pretty good spot for a track in the midwest. I have been looking to buy a track myself for a while its a dream of mine that I will get one day. I have 2 kids that ride and they would love to have there own track like the Martin brothers and Millville! But I have a son and a daughter. Lol


I would love to come up and check it out. I have my own equipment if you need any help with building the track!? I have helped build a few tracks around my area and a few tracks in WI at friends farms. I would be more than happy to come up and build some gnarly stuff.

Congrats love to see more tracks opening up around the midwest.
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danman
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danman 8/2/2019 6:14am
8/2/2019 6:14am
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask.
I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true?
I ask because I won't go riding alone, so I would bring someone else to be the driver in case I get hurt. In my opinion, it's dumb to charge them to sit and watch for however long I'm riding, but that's my opinion and everyone has their own.

thanks.
Growboxracers
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Growboxracers 8/2/2019 8:59am
8/2/2019 8:59am Edited Date/Time 8/2/2019 9:03am
danman wrote:
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask. I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true? I...
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask.
I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true?
I ask because I won't go riding alone, so I would bring someone else to be the driver in case I get hurt. In my opinion, it's dumb to charge them to sit and watch for however long I'm riding, but that's my opinion and everyone has their own.

thanks.
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy to pay $3 to link up to the outside world, we are in a dead zone with absolutely zero cell service. I spent over $25k bringing in 3143' of fiber optic to make the wifi happen, plus installed four outdoor access points, I dont think $3 a person is much especially when you consider my competition charges $5 with no garbage service and no wifi. Also 95% of our open time we have somebody representing the track here. We hope you can make it sometime, the weekends are especially great Smile
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danman
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danman 8/2/2019 11:00am
8/2/2019 11:00am
danman wrote:
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask. I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true? I...
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask.
I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true?
I ask because I won't go riding alone, so I would bring someone else to be the driver in case I get hurt. In my opinion, it's dumb to charge them to sit and watch for however long I'm riding, but that's my opinion and everyone has their own.

thanks.
Growboxracers wrote:
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy...
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy to pay $3 to link up to the outside world, we are in a dead zone with absolutely zero cell service. I spent over $25k bringing in 3143' of fiber optic to make the wifi happen, plus installed four outdoor access points, I dont think $3 a person is much especially when you consider my competition charges $5 with no garbage service and no wifi. Also 95% of our open time we have somebody representing the track here. We hope you can make it sometime, the weekends are especially great Smile
Thanks for the clarification. The WiFi makes sense. That's a hefty cost. I was just wondering because that other thread had many differing opinions.
2
Growboxracers
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Growboxracers 8/2/2019 11:10am
8/2/2019 11:10am
danman wrote:
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask. I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true? I...
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask.
I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true?
I ask because I won't go riding alone, so I would bring someone else to be the driver in case I get hurt. In my opinion, it's dumb to charge them to sit and watch for however long I'm riding, but that's my opinion and everyone has their own.

thanks.
Growboxracers wrote:
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy...
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy to pay $3 to link up to the outside world, we are in a dead zone with absolutely zero cell service. I spent over $25k bringing in 3143' of fiber optic to make the wifi happen, plus installed four outdoor access points, I dont think $3 a person is much especially when you consider my competition charges $5 with no garbage service and no wifi. Also 95% of our open time we have somebody representing the track here. We hope you can make it sometime, the weekends are especially great Smile
danman wrote:
Thanks for the clarification. The WiFi makes sense. That's a hefty cost. I was just wondering because that other thread had many differing opinions.
Before the WIfi we didnt charge spectators, my internet bill is $250 a month, hopefully I get enough spectators each month to cover the cost. I know I will never recoup the initial investment but its all part of the deal...
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Log Hopper
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Log Hopper 8/2/2019 11:40am
8/2/2019 11:40am
KMC440 wrote:
Most famous clip of the track ... (The Ark would be appropriate) https://youtu.be/4aIGmzBrmXo Here's a more recent one ... https://youtu.be/3f6D-bI-6J8 If you're in their area go...
Most famous clip of the track ... (The Ark would be appropriate)
https://youtu.be/4aIGmzBrmXo

Here's a more recent one ...
https://youtu.be/3f6D-bI-6J8

If you're in their area go ride it you'll have a good time.
That first video is awesome. It needs to be saved in the Brandon files.
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T-Fish
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T-Fish 8/2/2019 8:57pm
8/2/2019 8:57pm Edited Date/Time 8/2/2019 9:07pm
danman wrote:
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask. I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true? I...
Since this was a recent topic on Vital, I have to ask.
I heard that you charge spectators/non-riders on open ride/practice days. Is that true?
I ask because I won't go riding alone, so I would bring someone else to be the driver in case I get hurt. In my opinion, it's dumb to charge them to sit and watch for however long I'm riding, but that's my opinion and everyone has their own.

thanks.
Growboxracers wrote:
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy...
Yes, we charge $3 per spectator to cover garbage service, porta potties, insurance and most importantly 1gb per second wifi. Most spectators are more than happy to pay $3 to link up to the outside world, we are in a dead zone with absolutely zero cell service. I spent over $25k bringing in 3143' of fiber optic to make the wifi happen, plus installed four outdoor access points, I dont think $3 a person is much especially when you consider my competition charges $5 with no garbage service and no wifi. Also 95% of our open time we have somebody representing the track here. We hope you can make it sometime, the weekends are especially great Smile
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such a thing in D16 (with the exception of a gate fee for race weekend).

There aren’t many tracks that offer open riding aside from race weekends.
RbR
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RbR 8/3/2019 4:15pm
8/3/2019 4:15pm
Congrats ... Arkansas is a really fun track.
1
VetRider97
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VetRider97 8/3/2019 4:53pm
8/3/2019 4:53pm
Rode there today,had a blast. Great flow to track, Great jump faces, nice set of whoops, some larger but safe jumps. Good mix.

Not much for tracks in west central Wisconsin so Wisconsin and Minnesota riders.need to come and ride support track or we will lose another track to ride.
3
T-Fish
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T-Fish 8/3/2019 5:03pm
8/3/2019 5:03pm
VetRider97 wrote:
Rode there today,had a blast. Great flow to track, Great jump faces, nice set of whoops, some larger but safe jumps. Good mix. [u]Not much for...
Rode there today,had a blast. Great flow to track, Great jump faces, nice set of whoops, some larger but safe jumps. Good mix.

Not much for tracks in west central Wisconsin so Wisconsin and Minnesota riders.need to come and ride support track or we will lose another track to ride.
The track is a ton of fun!
1
Markopolo400
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Markopolo400 8/5/2019 8:46am
8/5/2019 8:46am
T-Fish wrote:
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such...
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such a thing in D16 (with the exception of a gate fee for race weekend).

There aren’t many tracks that offer open riding aside from race weekends.
I bet he's talking about Meadow Valley MX
1
T-Fish
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T-Fish 8/5/2019 12:44pm
8/5/2019 12:44pm Edited Date/Time 8/5/2019 12:50pm
T-Fish wrote:
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such...
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such a thing in D16 (with the exception of a gate fee for race weekend).

There aren’t many tracks that offer open riding aside from race weekends.
Markopolo400 wrote:
I bet he's talking about Meadow Valley MX
That could be, but they only charge that on weekends and holidays. My weekends are each Tuesday and Wednesday, so my riding friends and I have never been impacted by that and haven’t seen it at any track. The closest any of us live to this track is two hours and the longest being 4.5 hours, so we have a tough time stomaching additional charges for things we aren’t utilizing. $3 doesn’t seem like a lot, but it adds up when a wife/gf and multiple children that don’t ride get charged. Toss the drive and the additional charges on top of a $35 charge for a dusty hard packed track that’s going to trash a rear tire in one day, and it becomes tough to justify. I’m not complaining, I’m simply giving the reasons we haven’t gone as much as we’d like to. If it was still just a flat rate of $30 per rider, we’d have been there a few times without question.
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AgentOrange
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AgentOrange 3/9/2020 6:12pm
3/9/2020 6:12pm
Rode there once probably around 2002, would like to come back and check it out. Congrats and keep up the hard work.
profeshenal125 3/9/2020 8:35pm
3/9/2020 8:35pm
Riders from The Green Bay Area, said the track was great with excellent flow. One of my pals won a mod pit bike on race day double header at The ARK. I was a Denmark member 1990 until the track closed. For race prep we worked in wood chips in 98, we had the track better than Byron IL. Which was know for excellent track prep. Everyone was freaking out how awesome the Loam was. I drove across Wi. Today, rain all the way, taking the snow down. Went past Cmj racetrack on I-94 a lot of snow on that valley sand track gem.
langhammx
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langhammx 3/9/2020 9:07pm
3/9/2020 9:07pm
T-Fish wrote:
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such...
Out of curiosity, which track charges $5 for a significant other, kids, or friends to watch on an open ride day? I honestly haven’t seen such a thing in D16 (with the exception of a gate fee for race weekend).

There aren’t many tracks that offer open riding aside from race weekends.
Markopolo400 wrote:
I bet he's talking about Meadow Valley MX
T-Fish wrote:
That could be, but they only charge that on weekends and holidays. My weekends are each Tuesday and Wednesday, so my riding friends and I have...
That could be, but they only charge that on weekends and holidays. My weekends are each Tuesday and Wednesday, so my riding friends and I have never been impacted by that and haven’t seen it at any track. The closest any of us live to this track is two hours and the longest being 4.5 hours, so we have a tough time stomaching additional charges for things we aren’t utilizing. $3 doesn’t seem like a lot, but it adds up when a wife/gf and multiple children that don’t ride get charged. Toss the drive and the additional charges on top of a $35 charge for a dusty hard packed track that’s going to trash a rear tire in one day, and it becomes tough to justify. I’m not complaining, I’m simply giving the reasons we haven’t gone as much as we’d like to. If it was still just a flat rate of $30 per rider, we’d have been there a few times without question.
I hear what you’re saying about spectator fees, it use to irritate me to have to pay for my daughter and her friend(s) when we went to the track.

Then I had a friend buy a MX track and I realized how much money and crazy amount of effort it took to run the place. As mentioned already the different costs that add up, not to mention the OP spending a chunk of money, along with a $250 month payment to have service. It’s a tough gig and it eventually was just too much work and commitment for my friend to continue to keep it open.

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