SHAKAS AND ALOHAS: SXA Backyard BBQ at the Sand Box BMX Track

Back in 1999 I had spent the majority of my time with my two boys Kai and Mikala and our family along with my friends Marlon and Maria their son Peanut at the Wheeler BMX track. We were a bunch devoted BMX junkies who were committed to going to the track on a daily bases to watch our 5 year old kids ride around in circles. This eventually lead to trips to the mainland to compete in Nationals and race other local tracks from California, Las Vegas, and Florida. It was goodtimes and we made a lot of friends along the way. In 2001 due to 9/11 the Wheeler track had basically shut down to civilians due to it being on an Air Force Base that had to implement tight security measures. So basically most of the racers had to move on to finding some other hobby to move on to because there was no local track off base. Everybody went there seperate ways except for Marlon and I. Here we are again 13 years later at a new track with his now 5 year old son Chug ready to do it all over again! BMX fever has struck again!

Marlon III aka Chug aka Bubs aka "Ricky Bobby Racing"!

Sand Box BMX Track

These three kids now young men were the center piece for the 5 and 6 year old Expert Class back in 2000. Mikala (left) was the 2000 State Champ in 6 Expert, Peanut (middle) was Mikala's main nemesis and eventually took over the 6X class, and Jordan (right) was the 5 year old National Champ which I believe he won in Oklahoma in 99' or 2000. All three of these kids traveled to the mainland and raced numerous BMX tracks against back then the best riders in the US. Jordan was the first racer on the island to ever use clipless pedals (pedals and shoes used by road and mountain bikers to lock your feet on to your pedals). His father Karl saw what the other racers on the mainland were using and found that it was a big advantage. Because Jordan was so small Karl had to modify a pair of soccer cleats to fit the clipless cleat on to the bottom of the shoe. Now you look around and everybody in Hawaii is using these clipless pedals. You can thank Jordan and Karl for bringing the idea back to Hawaii!

And here we are today back at the track doing what we now do best which is manning the grill and keeping the beer cold! Back then you could say Marlon and I were a bunch of crazed BMX parents screaming and yelling for our kids to PEDAL! Knowing what we know now it's time to relax and just enjoy and have fun (at least that's what I keep telling Marlon)!

In his first race 2 weeks ago Chug got 2nd place in the 5 novice Class. This past weekend he got 1st place! Not bad for a 5 year old who has only been riding bike without training wheels for a couple of months!

The Sand Box BMX Track is located on Sand Island sandwiched between the Honolulu Airports reef runway and Keehi Lagoon as well as Kalihi and downtown Honolulu. It really is a beautiful sight all the way around. The track shares property with a mini bike track (seen in the background) as well a harbor where all the canoe clubs race. There's also a couple of good surf spots straight out from the track.