Every year in Northern California, a race track gets transformed, adding wood jumps and other various contraptions to create what’s known as Hella Track.
Photos courtesy of Chris Riesner, story by Dave Reuss
Alright. I’m gonna need at least two more beers to get in the constant state of mind Shasta County puts me in. A solid 40oz of the fermented beverage puts me in a good place to get staggering, eventually laying in your front yard, crashed on the stairs to your balmy second floor pennsylvania apartment, or with an axe in my hand trying to get people to call me Eugene. Either way, after a few more (on my way) I’ll be pretty loaded, have ants all over me, and wake up wondering why my shoes are filled with water. Welcome to Shasta County, Pennsylvania, Santa Cruz…or well, anywhere else dudes like to roast dubs. Let’s party.
…so I went and passed out with a bunch of really good ideas about about how 20 years ago at this place in Central Valley, I saw my first BMX race, a little tribal chanting for a 360, and that was it. Consider me hooked, done deal.
Boomtown BMX has now been transformed the last two years for one weekend, into a sanctuary/celebration for the BMX heritage in Shasta County, appropriately dubbed Hella Track. Boomtown has been the epicenter, and meeting place for many BMXers with mutual desires to get rad. This Sunday was no different. Packed with multiple generations of Bmxers, delinquents, friends from afar, and spectators, any kid with an interest in BMX is now under the influence.
This well-formed foundation has been years in the making. Take some country kids with shovels, damn good work ethics, some Shasta County Clay, and within a year or two, people are going to hear of a place with some sweet jumps. Add to that some road-trips, newly formed friends, and you have the ingredients for some damn good times. Mix, Shake, Drink, Repeat.
The elders of this scene have continuously laid the ground-work for the next generations to step into the good times, both on and off the bikes. There are always a few main people driving the vision, and with the support of a solid bmx community, these visions have been manifested in a quantity/quality that must be shared with nearby communities. Thus, a weekend of shredding perfect trails/woods party, followed up with HotDogs, Sidehacks, backflips and dirt jumps, and the promised hangover…it’s hella bmx.
Just build a couple of sketchy jumps and watch the years of entertainment, friends, and trails unfold before your eyes, you’ll be stoked too.
For good times:
Mix one Part BMX, two Parts Dirt Mound, Five Parts friends, dash of salt.
-Always and Forever, Shredding & Sedated Shasta County, Jefferson State.