Another Track Opening...Sign of the Times?

Buckman motocross track nears opening, to delight of riders

Wednesday, March 26, 2014 5:50 pm 

By Edmundo Carrillo, The New Mexican 

Daniel Coriz loves motocross, and he wants to share that passion with the people of Santa Fe.

The 34-year-old has been riding motorcycles since he was a child, but he often didn’t have a place to ride. That’s why he has spent so much of his free time renovating and maintaining the Buckman Track west of N.M. 599, which is expected to reopen in the next few weeks.

The 55-acre track was carved out by users over the past four decades or so and was largely developed by volunteers such as Coriz, who has helped maintain the track since 2008.

The spot became so popular that the city completed major access improvements as part of its master plan for parks. In October 2012, a “grand opening” celebration marked the completion of more than $450,000 in city spending on a road, parking lot and perimeter fence.

But shortly after the opening, the track was closed because of safety concerns, and Coriz has done everything he could to get it reopened.

Coriz has competed in motocross, arenacross and bicycle motocross — and everything between. As he learned all the ropes, he found it was difficult to ride on a proper track, which is why he is so passionate about Buckman.

“I couldn’t afford to get out to the tracks in Moriarty and Albuquerque,” Coriz said. “That’s why I want to see [Buckman] open to the public, and I hope other places in New Mexico will follow.”

The track is owned by the city, which is rare, according to Coriz. People don’t usually have access to public motocross facilities, and that might entice people who don’t have the resources to ride dirt bikes to give it a try.

“Normally, only your privileged riders are riding tracks,” Coriz said. “For a track like this to be opened to the public is a big deal.”

The track was closed all of 2013 because of liability concerns. The city hired Great Outdoors Consultants out of Fort Collins, Colo., to make the necessary safety changes.

Work on the course is complete; all that’s left to finish are fencing that keeps different lines from intersecting with one another and a spectator area. Once those are done, city officials will meet with Travelers Insurance — the city’s liability policyholder — and the city’s Risk Management and Safety Department to determine if the track is fit to be opened.

While there is no exact date for the relaunch, people can expect the track to be open very soon.

“We are making an effort to finish it before the end of the month,” said Ike Pino, the director of the Public Works Department. “We are very close.”

Once the facility is reopened, it will have to be maintained, and that’s where Coriz steps in again. He doesn’t want Buckman to be like Montessa Park, a public off-road vehicle area in Albuquerque that is not managed regularly.

But maintenance takes a lot of time and money, as well as heavy equipment like loaders and backhoes. Coriz, along with Jason Perdue, the owner of Southwest Motorsport Resource, started a nonprofit called I Ride NM dedicated to maintaining Buckman Track.

In order to gather funds, Coriz and Perdue reached out to different shop owners around town for donations to rent all the necessary equipment.

The duo also needed the manpower to help out with the maintenance, but that wasn’t too hard to find. An army of volunteers has assisted with its own shovels, rakes and other equipment. The heavy equipment is normally used every once in a while to build jumps and other obstacles. Once that is done, the normal maintenance is to remove trash, shovel dirt, rake rocks and take care of other safety issues.

Cyrus Armijo, 21, is one of those volunteers. Like Coriz, he is involved in anything that has two wheels, and he can’t wait for the track to be reopened.

“It’s great because we all have a spot to come together,” Armijo said. “It’s nice to have a place to ride that is legal and has parking. If not, then you have people riding on private land.”

Armijo has been riding bikes since he was 14, and now he specializes in doing stunts. Like any daredevil on two wheels, he has had his share of injuries, including broken bones and concussions. But the real reason Armijo lives on a bike is because of all the camaraderie that comes with riding them.

“It brings people together,” Armijo said. “There’s a lot of fellowship that goes on. It’s more than just being a hooligan on a motorcycle.”

Armijo also said a public motocross track is important because it can keep riders from getting into trouble. A lot of people ride dirt bikes to escape their harsh realities.

“People use motocross as an outlet,” Armijo said. “You’d be surprised how many people who ride motorcycles have problems in their lives. It keeps us from riding in the street and doing drugs and other things that break the law.”

Soon, all of those “hooligans on motorcycles” will have a place to legally ride, just in time for the warmer weather. The track will be open to everyone, but Great Outdoors recommends that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) do not ride the track due to how narrow it is.

Coriz also recommends that a beginning rider learn on flat terrain before taking on jumps and obstacles.