Portland, Oregon Metro area Motocross Club(?)

[oregonmxer]

Looking for interest/idea's about starting or joining a club for Portland, Oregon metropolitan area MX'ers. Any ideas out there?

The main goal of this non-profit entity would be to have a club accessible and volunteer maintained motocross track(s) where members could ride 7 days a week. I have noticed others out there doing something similar and long for the same thing within reasonable driving distance from the PDX area. (ie: http://www.olypen.com/opmc/)

Just to let you know that I am not COMPLETELY dreaming here, there are major issues to consider:

1.) LAND?? Where, who, how?
2.) LAND USE PLANNING?? Outside UGB, Neighbor/noise issues...
3.) INSURANCE/LIABILITY??
4.) TRACK MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT??
5.) ETC., ETC., ETC.,

I am just looking to start a discussion here.....:silly:

 

[danjerman]

Personally, I would be interested in a"private" MX club, well not completely private but more or less exclusive. One of the main ideas I have in mind is safety. You see, I broke my leg 6 months ago due to a careless rider that decided to fly off a jump and land DIRECTLY ON TOP OF ME! I think riders should recive a briefing before they were to go on a track, so there would be no questions, similar to go-karting tracks.(This is the only way my parents would sleep well at night, please don't think I'm overprotective). If there were more of an effort to improve rider education and sensability I woud be interested.

 

[oregonmxer]

I agree with you danjerman. Rider education, track safety, respect for other riders, etc., all need to be core values associated with our inherently dangerous sport and would be issues that could be addressed in club bylaws.

But, these are issues related to the details surrounding how a (non-existent) club would need to be run. What I was hoping for in this string was a more generalized discussion from interested Portland area potential 'members'. At this point, the mx club is just a concept. I am looking for ideas on how to start the ball rolling. A discussion on locating donor land, equipment, volunteers, etc..

I guess that maybe I am being too general. How about I rephrase the question: Are there any Portland, Oregon area MX'ers interested in pursuing an endeavor like a motocross club out there?

 

[oregonmxer]

No takers on this thread?! O.K., guys...Aren't there other MX'ers out there from Portland who would like to have a place to ride when the occasional "sun-break sucker hole" opens up in the dead of winter when none of our local tracks have a scheduled practice!?

I know it sounds like a long shot, but you gotta start somewhere...just trying to "guilt" some of you browsers out there who are afraid to reply!

 

[Katoom]

I would definately be interested and willing to volunteer time to such a project, assuming that it was within an hour of Portland. I would much rather give time and help the sport grow rather than pay $30 to ride for a few hours at the tracks around here.

Saftey would definately be an issue, but the use of a insurance waiver to protect land owners, and selected admitance with zero tolerance for wreckless riders should protect the riders.

As far as land, I'm not sure. A non-profit club shouldn't need any land use permits, and the UGB provides a lot of open land not far from Portland. However, because of noise issues, the land would need to be a few miles from any dense population areas (even if all bikes were running 95db). Some type of "open riding" hours would help with sound issues and land support, but it may be difficult to enforce such a rule.

Probably one of the biggest problems however, is keeping such an area undercontroll. You know that as soon as somebody sees a few motorcycles and a track they are going to tell their friends and every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the county is going to be riding out of controll on their 1975 XR 250 thinking that they are a superstarr.

I'm definately in support of the idea and would like to hear what others have to say.

(I was auctually thinking of making an investment into an old wharehouse and opening an indoor MX track in Portland, Woodland gets 35 guys to pay $30 five nights a week. Sounds like easy money to me)

 

[oregonmxer]

:cool: Alright! Now we have something to start talking about. Thanks for the reply Katoom.

I am with you on Location and proximity to Portland. As far as I am concerned, that is the #1 priorty and the main reason I wanted to start this thread. The money issue, however, will not go away. This conceived "non-profit" club would still need income in order to acquire the resources to sustain a useable facility/location. I envision an annual "club dues" approach. (thoughts?)

The second priority is having accessibility for Club members. More specifically, access to the track as often as it is reasonably feasible. This is where site selection becomes critical. I would think that, in addition to land use planning/neighbor issues, the club would want to find a location that has good draining capabilities, so that at least some winter riding is possible.

And, while on the subject of land I would like to pose another question. How does the concept of leasing or bartering for land use with local farmers/land owners outside the UGB sound? Possibly a parcel of land that is difficult to farm may be more suited for a club track. An offer could be made to offset property taxes or upkeep in order to use the land for the club. But, again, this may be getting ahead of simply organizing ourselfs into an actual club.

Katoom, danjerman and I can't be the only ones interested in this concept. How about some more "Ya, me too's". I would like to start establishing a core group of "volunteers" so that we can move into a kickoff phase.

One other thing. For lack of expending a bunch of creative juice (that I can't spare) on selecting a name, how about we call this club, Portland Motocross Club (PMXC)? If there are any other name suggestions, lets throw em on the table while we are at it. Thanks for your input.:think

 

[Isobareng]

Just one passing thought to the club idea is that there isn't an indoor track on the East side and it does rain 8 months out of the year. Hindsight is well done but something closer would be nice Maybe near Gresham, Sandy,

D

 

[Isobareng]

Slightly off topic but is there a dedicated Portland area MX forum on this site? got a link? if not should we start one?

D

 

[midlifemoto]

count me in

 

[Isobareng]

A newly formed group is now in place to share the greater Portland area motocross experience. Ask technical questions, leave stories about riding sessions and track conditions. This is also a good place to meet riding friends to practice with. We also want to help support our local tracks both indoors and outdoors to keep them in business. At this time anyone can post on this board. It would be great if most would join. (its free) so we as a group might be able to plan future events and expansion. If there is enough interest in the future perhaps we might even be able to open an indoor track on the East side. One never knows where this might lead.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/pdxmotocross/