MOSES LAKE — As the spring weather rolls in, outdoor sports like BMX are kicking off their new seasons. For the Moses Lake BMX track, they are eager to build off the momentum of a successful 2025, President Jeff Niehenke said.

“We are picking up where we left off last year. A lot of momentum (coming) into the spring,” Niehenke said.

From track renovations to new riders leagues, the Moses Lake BMX track has a lot planned this year.

In April, the track will undergo several upgrades including shoring up the retaining walls on the turns and installing a new timing system that should help riders with new metrics they can utilize in their training, Niehenke said.

“It’ll help the riders know their times at different sections of the track, and so with that, the riders can know where they measure up against other riders of their age, and know where their strengths and weaknesses are on the track, versus just an overall lap time,” he said.

This will allow riders to look further than just a lap time, which remains an important metric but doesn’t tell riders where there’s room for improvement, he said. This new tool becoming available at the track has riders excited for what’s to come this year.

“For the first time ever, we had two girls that became nationally ranked last year, Jordan Niehenke and Sophia Mendez,” Niehenke said. “We’re hoping we can put more kids like that on the map at the national level. But really, we want to see the beginner and intermediate riders shine as well. (Now) they have another metric out there to challenge themselves and grow into and really find their best selves out on the track.”

The track has also started its new riders league, which has seen 22 riders sign up this year, according to Niehenke. It’s five session program that has new riders learn and race against one another until they are ready to integrate themselves into races with more experienced riders.

“New riders can come out any day of the week and get on the track with us,” Niehenke “The new program is just for beginners. We’ll hopefully run one in the fall as well.”

Once the retaining walls are put up, they’ll be able to rebuild the turns on the track and get them into tip-top shape, he said. They are also renovating the track on a smaller scale that could have a bigger impact than some may notice.

“The other thing we’re looking at doing is putting some different glues in the soil to try to keep the dust down and hold it together better, and reduce the maintenance,” Niehenke said.

As this work begins, Niehenke and Moses Lake BMX are looking for volunteers interested in helping them through the renovation process. For those who are interested in volunteering at the track, a signup link can be found at https://bit.ly/MLBMX26

The track will host several events in the coming months, such as multiple races a week and an upcoming state race in May.

“We’re still going to be racing on Tuesdays and Fridays. We practice on Wednesdays. We got our big state race coming up May 17, and we’ve also got a double-point race May 15. We partnered up with Walla Walla this year to run our state races with them, and so that’ll be a huge weekend for us,” Niehenke said.

Despite the busy schedule, Niehenke said his favorite part of the season is watching young riders grow.

“We get new kids out there and (enjoy) seeing them grin ear to ear, especially this new riders league,” he said. “We get kids out there that can barely ride a bike, and by halfway through the session, we’ve got them racing around the track, and after the fifth session, we’ve got them to rippin’ and just see their confidence build. That’s really what fuels us.”

    Young riders prepare to ride at the top of a hill at the Moses Lake BMX Race for Life in June 2025. Moses Lake BMX trains riders of all ages
  

Riders at last year’s Gold Cup race at Moses Lake BMX track wait on the ramp for the start. The track expects to host several races this year including a state race in May.

A young BMX rider at Moses Lake BMX pops a wheelie as they come over a hill on the track.