Motocross to host mountain bikers

WHAT: Short Track Mountain Bike Race

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: D-Tronics Motocross Park, Valley View Road just north of Expressway 83 in Donna

COST: $20 entry fee to compete; spectators admitted for free

MORE INFO: http://missiontrails.org/

DONNA — Members of the Cactus Cruzers mountain biking team have the group's motto printed on their shirts: "If you never wreck, you're not going fast enough."

The team seems to have taken that message to heart. Within hours of testing out the group's new home track in Donna, one member was carted away in an ambulance.

That's likely because the D-Tronics Motocross Park isn't even designed for mountain bikers. With steep climbs, bumps and the opportunity to catch some air, the park originally intended for motorbikes is now an unusual home for mountain bikers.

"I've never ridden a bicycle on a dirt bike course before," said Kyle Stoffer, 25, grinning after tackling the course Thursday night. "I'm used to keeping the wheels on the ground."

Mike Lopez, 19, of the rival River Rockets team in Brownsville, also tested the track Thursday.

"I ate it twice," said Lopez. "It's way different."

Members of the Cactus Cruzers have reached into their pockets to finance rental fees, lights and insurance to use the motocross park as a venue for short-track mountain bike racing.

The group is hosting a race at the park Saturday after holding a test ride Thursday night. Race teams from throughout the region are expected to participate, drawing about 50 riders, said Harold Guthrie, 50, a former club president.

Bikers from the Cactus Cruzers and its parent organization, the Mission Trail Riders, said the venue allows them to practice skills they rarely have the chance to use in South Texas.

"It's just so flat down here," Guthrie said. "It's almost an oddity to call us mountain bikers because we don't have any mountains."

"We saw the motocross track, rode it and thought this is the next big thing."

Club president Jaime Garza, 36, said members were initially skeptical of using the motocross track, but all of them seem to have changed their minds since riding it. Each lap on the track takes a quick four minutes, but the ride is far from easy.

"Most people out here for the first time are surprised at how small the track is but how big a challenge it is," Guthrie said.

Until now, the 10-year-old group has primarily used a series of trails members built at a former Mission landfill on Conway Avenue. The group has about seven miles of trails and plans to build about eight more, Garza said.

But Guthrie said the motocross track is welcome respite from "crashing into cactuses and bouncing off of trees" in the places the mountain bikers usually ride.

The group has a diverse range of riders of all ages, including a 4-year-old. Families are encouraged to participate in the group's events, Garza said, pointing out that his son, stepson and nephew all rode Thursday.

He said the group has seen young people change their attitudes after becoming engrossed in the sport of mountain biking.

"It has its dangers and risks that are involved with it, of course," Garza said. "But what's more dangerous: coming out and riding a bike or running with a gang?"

And Guthrie emphasizes the team isn't limited to just the "carrot juice guys."

Members in the "Clydesdale" weight class - 220 pounds and up - are more likely to down a beer after Saturday's race than a protein shake, he joked.

"We'll have sprints, relay races - I'm sure there's going to be some spectacular crashes," Guthrie said.

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Ryan Holeywell covers McAllen, PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.