Midwest Nationals

Bermzilla. The Rockness Monster. The “Drop.” The Tombstone turn. When it comes to cool names for every obstacle, Rockford BMX takes the cake. It’s part of the allure of The Rock, and is what makes everyone dream of racing the midwest nationals.

When the USA BMX three-ring circus stops in Rockford each year, you can always expect an awesome track and venue. But the thing you can never be too sure of is the weather. Will it rain? Will it thunder? Will it heat up with humidity? Or will the sun just shine down upon the sacred BMX land and provide this picture-perfect setting with temps to match?

This year, we were blessed with some hot temps, and aside from five minutes of sprinkles, Mother Nature took good care of us. All new-comers and first-timers immediately saw why the MidWest nationals are one the Top-3 events of the season for camping out at. I heard somebody make the fair comparison that Rockford is to BMX, what Augusta is to golfers. 

For some of the more talented riders, they were hitting the triples out of the first turn, staying low and launching off the last lip to jump the straightaway to gap it over to the next step-down. It was the quicker route and requires the skill of a AA-pro to do so, but we did witness plenty of older Ams goin’ for it. Impressive!

Another unique feature about Rockford has been its ability throughout the years to make riders race to the stripe. As you come off of the “Rockness Monster” - you MUST pedal all the way to the white line, or you just might get nipped for the win or a spot in the semi. If you let up before the line, odds are good that you might get passed at the finish.