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Ten-year-old Jackson Newbauer’s upcoming BMX adventures will take him to Oklahoma, Missouri and Colorado.
(Photo by Clint Riese)
Forest Lake BMX star gears up for national competitions
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
When it’s time for a family vacation, most 10-year-olds are corralled into the station wagon with scarcely an idea of the destination.
But Jackson Newbauer likes to take the wheel. The young Forest Lake BMX star’s success on the track has charted the course for family trips across the country.
The blonde biker has earned enough trophies throughout the Midwest to build a shrine.
But instead, Jackson tucks them quietly away in an overflowing closet. After all, the soon-to-be sixth grader rides for fun, not a moment in the sun.
“I get to ride on dirt and over jumps,” he says.
Parents Brad and Joy are thrilled their son has found a passion at such a young age.
“It’s his first real sport, otherwise he’s just horsing around the neighborhood,” Brad says.
The hobby requires serious commitments, though. Jackson, a member of the Outdoor Edge racing team from Cambridge, competes most Saturdays and Sundays in the summer and practices at the Rum River course in Isanti. In the winter, he trains at an indoor course at Lino Lakes.
“We just ride around the track over and over again,” he laughs.
Jackson’s BMX career started by chance.
“My neighbor asked me if I wanted to go watch a race,” he says. “I thought it was really cool, thought I’d give it a try.”
Since lap one, he has not looked back, and now the family’s schedule is filling up fast. Jackson will compete next month in the state championship in St. Cloud. In September, he will defend his title at the Red Line Cup in St. Louis. November brings the grand nationals in Tulsa.
Last month in Isanti, the future North Lakes Academy student took home two gold medals at the Star of the North Games. The wins qualify him for the State Games of America in Colorado in August 2009.
Don’t expect the Newbauers to be clearing room on the mantle, though.
“We’ve stopped taking trophies,” Brad laughs.
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