Local kids find BMX racing is just their speed

In February, Nicholas Suveges turned 3.

In March, his parents took the training wheels off his tiny bicycle.

And two weeks later, the 3-foot-6-inch preschooler finished his first real BMX race, pedaling valiantly up and down a hilly clay course and leaning through the sharp, banked curves just like the big kids.

"I think we're in it for the long haul," said his mom, Shae Suveges of Mill Creek, as she watched Nicholas and his 6-year-old brother, Michael, at a practice last week at McCollum Park BMX.

She must know what she's getting herself into. She's surrounded at the Mill Creek-area track by families that have caught the BMX bug. They spend thousands of dollars every year and most of their free time on the sport, traveling all over the region — and in some cases, the nation — to attend races.

"It's a good place to keep kids off the street — it's just a good family thing to do," said Shane Wheeler, of Snohomish between shouts of encouragement to his son, 6-year-old Jayce.

Jayce is a member of a McCollum team, BMXTC Performance Club, that's among the nation's best. The latest edition of BMXer Magazine features a shot of Jayce racing at the recent Canadian Nationals.

Last year, he was the state's 5-year-old champion in the intermediate-ability class. He needs only five more wins to move into the elite, expert division.

The top three finishers in each race accrue points that determine standings on district, state and national levels.

Even with the free team membership, which includes a racing uniform and gear from corporate sponsors, the Wheelers estimate they spend $10,000 to $15,000 a year on the sport. Shane Wheeler is a trucker; his wife is a wallboard installer.

"He's gonna be somebody, so I don't mind spending whatever it takes," Jayce's dad said. "He's got the drive; he knows what it takes. He's the first kid on the track and the last kid to leave."

The McCollum track's founder, Char Ayres, worries that families might be turned off by the cost, so she hurries to explain that the sport doesn't have to be so expensive.

All it takes to race is a $45 annual membership in the American Bicycle Association, a bike stripped of accessories such as kickstands and chain guards (which could fly off in a crash), padded bars, a good helmet and daily racing fees.

Hooked in 1 day

That's what enticed the Suveges family to check out the McCollum track off 128th Street Southeast last summer. Michael and his dad made the first trip alone.

"They came with a Toys R Us bike, raced with it, and on the way home they stopped and bought a racing bike. Michael had found his heaven," Shae Suveges said.

When Nicholas wanted to join his brother on the track, they found a used titanium bike for him on the Internet. The 20-inch silver bike rode a Greyhound bus from Edmonton, Alberta, to Surrey, B.C., where the family drove to pick it up. Nicholas rode it in his first race the next day.

Now the boys look like little pros, with rugged racing pants, called "leathers," and long-sleeved racing shirts. Nicholas cinches up his oversize pants with a Mickey Mouse belt.

Their aqua-and-black leathers have a history: Fifteen years ago they belonged to Ayres' son, Justin, now 18.

Local BMX track

Ayres began lobbying the county for a BMX track in 1986, when her eldest son, Gary, competed in the sport. The closest tracks were in Sumner and SeaTac, and they spent a lot of time on the highway.

"I knew where my kid was — he was with me, and we were having fun," she said. "I believed the kids of Snohomish County deserved to have a BMX track here."

It took a decade and $12,000 of her own savings to make it happen. When Snohomish County opened McCollum Park in 1996, it included a BMX track designed by Ayres. The county paid for the track and its fence, while Ayres paid for equipment such as the automated starting gate, a computer system, cash registers and a sound system.

Now she's track operator and president of its board of directors. Gary, 32, has moved on to motorcycle racing. But her younger kids, Justin and 16-year-old Becca, race on the BMXTC team.

Though the typical racers are 9- and 10-year-old boys, the track has attracted people of both genders from age 3 to 54. Last year, more than 500 people raced.

Ayres runs the five-day-a-week operation with 20 adult volunteers, assisted by about 30 kids who trade work for free racing. Each racing season, she pumps $2,000 into the operation to cover routine startup costs.

McCollum is among 10 nationally sanctioned tracks in the state. On Sunday, it hosted a set of qualifying races to help determine this year's state championships.

Major injuries are infrequent, but most serious riders bear scars from tumbles.

One of the track's most popular racers is Jacob "Banana Boy" Cartwright, 17. He missed most of last season while recovering from a broken bone in his wrist, suffered in a BMX accident.

"It made me want to come back more," he said. "I figured it's the worst thing that could happen to me — any other bone break would just take eight weeks (to heal)."

Cartwright earned his nickname when he was a newbie rider with a yellow bike and yellow-and-black attire. Now he wears the black-and-blue BMXTC uniform.

Quinton Lowe, 13, rides under the family logo of his friend Johnny Rasmussen, one of the track's top racers. Quinton took up the sport in May, and last week he graduated into the intermediate class by winning his sixth beginners race.

"I look forward to it every day," the Everett teen said. "You get to be competitive, you get to jump, and you get to do it with other people. It's great."

Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com