The BMX scene in Nebraska in the 1970's & 1980's rocked! Yankee Hill, Spinnin’ Spokes, Gnarlsbad Raceway, and of course, Snake Hill off 57th & Cedar Circle with the infamous Sky Jump. Where is everybody? Give up some pics and memories!

I am another Joe B from Nebraska. Welcome Joey B. I raced each and everyone of those tracks. Tim Lillethorup, Greg Grubbs and many others from Nebraska write in here occassionally.

Joe Baumert

[ June 02, 2006, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: Joe Baumert ]

I was around at Spinnin' Spokes in the early days - '77 - '78ish. I remember Greg Grubbs on his FMF and Kevin Renker on a Torker "Big Bike" (I think). My dad used to haul me and a bunch of my buds out to the track for the day in the back of our '50 Chevy pickup (which I still have!). Great times.

Yo Bill, Kevin rode for SE in the early days of red and yellow. I am sure I would know you if I saw you.

Joe Baumert

I grew up in Ottumwa on the other side of Iowa but the first BMX track I saw outside of Ottumwa was out in the country in Omaha. It was 1979 and our track operator took me and a few riders out there and the track was out somewhere off a highway and it had this big downhill, you went right out of a flat gate for a few feet then down this wicked downhill then it became basically dirt trails that winded through a few trees down on the flat meadow part at the bottom of the hill. That was also the first time I ever saw a PK Ripper, and my track operator was calling them "Pepper bikes" because he could not read the "PK Ripper" decal as the guys whizzed by down that hill.

I gre up in Minne, but I made the trek a few times...

I remember that track Pat. If I remember correctly, they have some type of ABA "Mini-Nationals there in the summer of 1979 my buddy Rusty Roberts and I attended.

Yankee Hill was stellar and to this day one of my favorite tracks. The first time I raced there I tugged a 48/12 gear around it.It was downhill but not that downhill and that gear lasted only a few races but it was a scary track. I have some pictures of it from the a newspaper aricle from 1976 but I have to find them first. Lillethorup where are you with some of your fine pics ?

I started racing in 83 at Gnarlsbad and rode there
in 82 a few times, all the other tracks were gone by then and I raced until 86 and then got into freestyle till 89, quit riding for a few years
and been back riding since 94! Not to many
around anymore except Rowlette and Littlethorp.

Greg Grubbs? there is a Nebraska legend. Are you saying it was Yankee Hill? Greg Grubbs, you will appreciate this story: One day I went to school in Iowa in like 1980 and my friend has this factory redline winter coat on. It's like black with the big red and white redline logos everywhere and it's quilted and it's a really nice coat, looks like a definate factory issue winter coat. Funny thing is he did not race bmx. I was like the big bmx'er dude around my school, not him, in junior high then. So, I go up to him and ask him where he got it and he said his uncle is a track operator in Omaha and got it for him. I always wondered if there was some greg grubbs connection there. Was 1980 or 1981 before you were on redline? Did your dad run a track? The kid's name in Iowa was Jeff Murphy. I saw him at my ten year HS reunion but when we had the twenty recently he was not there.

Hey Pquinnbmx, no it wasn't my dad. It was probably Ron Holman, he ran Spinnin' Spokes and who some of you may remember went on to work for the ABA. I still have the Redline factory coat I got in 82'. It was sort of big then and now not so much.