All of the funds raised at this event will be donated to the construction of a Freestyle BMX/SK8 Park in Chico. The event will start off with a Poker Run beginning at Chico Bike & Board located at 845 Main Street, Chico. Riders of all ages can check in any time from 9:00am to 12noon to ride in the Poker Run. The donation to ride is $5.00 per adult and $3.00 for kids under 10. Everyone is welcome! Bicycles, skateboards, scooters, unicycles, tandems, recumbents, tricycles, kids, grandparents, parents, ALL!

All Poker Run riders will start at Chico Bike & Board for a bicycle and helmet safety check. Each participant will receive a ‘Poker Ride Card’ and a list of card stops and map of how to get to the Card Stops. Riders will then stop at each sponsor business around downtown Chico and select a card, at random, from a regular deck of cards. The selected card will then be written down on the ‘Poker Ride Card’. After the participants have stopped at all the stops they will then go to Chico City Plaza to join in the Poker Run Bike Fair & Show. The ‘Poker Run Cards’ will all be evaluated and those with the best poker hands will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.

The Card Stop businesses include:

Can you see a plan here? The Poker Run is a great way to help the kids in the community to have a safe place to ride and it is a great way to enjoy a family bike ride and it is the perfect excuse to have a cup of coffee under the trees at Has Beans, followed by a breakfast wrap at T. The Tea Bar and Fusion Café. And then you’ll be on your way to get in on some great shopping at Trucker Clothing, Alley Cat Costumes and Lyon’s Books. The only thing left to do before you turn in your ‘Poker Ride Card’ at City Plaza is to decide between Chico Mint or their heavenly strawberry!

All ‘Poker Ride Cards’ must be turned in at the Plaza where the winners will be tallied. Prizes donated by local businesses for best ‘poker hands’ will be awarded at 3:00pm by our Celebrity Judges:

The Bike Fair and Show will be at City Plaza from 12noon to 4:00pm.

It is going to be a HUGE event with GREAT entertainment:

Land behind Costco has been earmarked for a Freestyle Park. But the City needs help raising funds to build the Park. Chico Bike & Board owner, Brian Daellenbach and a committed group of community members, most of them current or past BMX riders have formed the Chico Freestyle BMX/SK8 Park Committee and are working with City officials to help make the Freestyle Park a reality.

Freestyle BMX riders are prohibited from riding at the Humboldt Road Skateboard Park and many Chico citizens and businesses prohibit riders from practicing their skills and having fun around town. Having a Freestyle Park would give riders of all ages a safe, modern facility that could also host competitions and exhibitions.

The City of Chico and Silver Dollar BMX racing have joined forces to build a new BMX race track on land adjacent to the existing track. Although the current track at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds is a great facility, all BMX racing is closed for nearly two months every spring while the fairgrounds prepares for and hosts the Butte County Fair and other events like World of Outlaws, sprint car races, rodeos and concerts. Due to the recent fires that have plagued the area, the fairgrounds have been the major staging area for firefighters. That has meant that many of the regularly scheduled Thursday and Sunday BMX races have been cancelled as well. The new BMX track will alleviate all of that.
The new track will be an exact copy of the existing track but will have more grandstand seating, its own parking lot and restroom facilities. The planners of the new track hope to attract more riders and more big races to the facility because of the increased availability. The more high-profile races mean millions of dollars of revenue each year for our Chico economy.

The BMX racetrack will take up three of the four acres which are located adjacent to the Fairgrounds and behind Costco. The remaining acre is to be used for a Freestyle Bike and Skateboard Park. Freestyle riders are prohibited from riding in the Chico Skateboard Park located at 359 Humboldt Avenue at Flume. Riders can be fined over $80 and/or have their bikes confiscated if they break the no-ride rule at the skate park.

The fact that no competitions can be held at the Humboldt skate park and the fact that there is no freestyle BMX facility in Chico makes a new Freestyle Bike and Skate Park a must-have. The City of Chico, SilverDollar BMX, and Chico Bike & Board are committed to making the new Freestyle Bike and Skate Park a reality.

If you would like to be part of this exciting project that benefits everyone - especially the kids - then contact the folks at Chico Bike & Board!  Anyone of any age and background can be of help and we'd love to have you on our team!