But track operators Josh and Brittany Nosbush recently got in the saddle and brought that kind of thinking to new heights — or new widths to be exact.

The BMX track that has been at 316 S. Third Street for 31 years recently opened with several improvements. What began as an upgrade to the starting gate, turned into a bigger project than imagined. Regardless, the Nosbush’s know it was worth it and they’ve heard nothing but positives so far.

“I had a woman come up to me [Friday night, June 12] right when we got here and said, ‘I need to talk to whoever did the rebuild,'” Brittany Nosbush said. “And I said, ‘Well, I guess that’s me, one of the people.’ And she was like, ‘It’s phenomenal. I cannot say enough, this is a huge improvement.’ So across the board, we’ve heard very, very positive comments.

“This is a unique situation, and our kids haven’t really gotten to race the track either, so nobody really has a home field advantage because this is so brand new and it’s a whole different layout and everything. So everybody’s just getting to ride it for the very first time.”

Pictured left is an aerial shot of what River Valley BMX track looked like before its renovations this year. (Submitted photo)

First came upgrades to the starting gate, which came in the form of a new pro barrel gate.

“It’s called a barrel gate, and you can see it’s rounded on the front and that’s because if a rider were to go over it, there’s not going to be any pinched fingers or anything like that,” Brittany Nosbush said. “There’s safety features, and it’s a lot quieter for our riders. That was the driving force, everybody wanted this new gate, which was wider than our own gate, so then it kind of spiraled.”

While the new gate was highly sought after, it also led to the course needing to be widened. A new starting hill was put in to the right of where it previously sat, allowing for an overall wider track and more safety. The finishing line was also widened from prior years, giving riders less of a crowded finish in tight races.

Josh Nosbush said prior to the updates, the finish line was about half as wide as it should have been.

With the starting hill moving, the concession stand also needed to be moved.

Right is an aerial shot of the track this year. (Submitted photo)

“The track footprint itself is 25 percent wider than it was,” he said. “The fence line, it’s in the same spot as the original fence line. There’s a space between the fence and then our concession stand was sitting there, then there was about 20 feet to the actual track.”

The concession stand and registration area is now in one building to the right of the starting hill and just before the track’s standard seating area. The track also features new lights for night riding.

Josh Nosbush said while he and his wife operate the track, he’s had plenty of help getting things rebuilt from his “dirt crew” partner and River Valley BMX board member, Zach Dummer.

“We’re technically the track operators, but Zach Dummer is absolutely is 100% important to this rebuild with anything we’ve done,” Josh Nosbush said.

Josh Nosbush said while he and Dummer take care of the dirt and maintenance side of the track, his wife handles the business side of things and the board compliments each other well.

File photo by Travis Rosenau Huxley Walters races during the Gold Cup Qualifier at River Valley BMX on June 13 in New Ulm.

Brittany Nosbush said previous track operators, sponsors and fundraising efforts also played a huge part in the success River Valley BMX is having right now.

The Nosbush’s do have some ideas in mind for the future of the track, such as a getting a shade structure over the gate and a new timer system for real-time tracking, but they said they were able to get their immediate list of wants taken care of with the revamp.

Even before renovations, however, interest in BMX was trending upwards.

“I would say there’s more interest than when we’ve took it over,” Josh Nosbush said. “The easiest way to quantify that is our moto count. When we took over, we were probably at about 13 motos on a Monday night, now we’re about 17, 18.”

Brittany Nosbush said they average 65 riders each Monday night when they typically race in the spring, summer and fall. Many are local riders, but River Valley BMX also gets riders from further away cities like Fergus Falls.

But now with the new course renovations, the sky’s the limit for River Valley BMX.

The Nosbush’s invite riders of all levels to the course, which hosts races at 7 p.m. every Monday night through the spring, summer and fall. The course is also open to the public, allowing riders to take on the hills on their own time. However, those interested in racing are invited to come check things out and give it a try Mondays.