Local BMXers who love the Supertrak course in Carrie Jane Gray Park will want to ride its bumps and jumps as much as possible this season.
The track, which has been in its current form since 2005, is scheduled for a complete rebuild next year.
"Bigger, better, tougher," said Prince George BMX president Scott Parlee, in reference to the planned look and feel of the new design. "The kids as a whole, their skill level is coming up and up. That's one thing B.C. tracks are facing as a challenge. We've built them kind of as a generic platform. Now we're going to try to bring them up a little bit more, challenge the kids a little bit more."
Parlee said, however, the new layout will still be friendly enough for beginning riders.
"We're bringing in a professional track builder," he said. "Basically we'll give him kind of a general theme and then he'll go from there. That's the tough thing -- to make it hard enough to keep riders but easy enough to entice new riders. The last guy that did it, did just an excellent job at it, and that was Billy Allen. He's kind of the guru of all track builders."
If next year is the storm of change, this year is the calm. Prince George won't host a national race this summer, only a provincial meet on the July long weekend.
That's actually a positive sign, not a negative one.
"BMX is growing as a whole in Canada so we don't get the nationals as quick as we once did," Parlee said. "We used to get them every two years, now it's looking like about three. This is a great year to focus on building up our rider membership."
Because spring has arrived on the back of a snail, the number of registered riders is down right now. Assuming the weather does warm up, Parlee is anticipating surpassing last year's membership of 179, a number that made Prince George BMX the third-largest club in the province.
Between now and the end of the school year, races will be held on Sundays and Thursdays. When school lets out for the summer, race days will switch to Tuesdays and Thursdays.
For those interested in spinning their wheels with the club, the season registration fee is $55. Membership gives riders access to all American Bicycle Association tracks in North America.
"That's 250-plus tracks between here and the U.S.," Parlee said. "Then [locally] there's a $5 race fee per night."
Parlee said the age range in the local club goes from two to 55.
"The whole family can race and it's fairly affordable to get into," he said. "You don't need the big fancy race bike when you start."
More information is available on the club's website: www.princegeorgebmx.com.
