Skip to content

VIDEO: Langley BMX racers propel pumpkins down their track

Once the standard race day was over, riders let a series of gourds roll down their Brookswood track.

After two-hours of intense racing around the BMX track in Brookswood Saturday, children and adults swapped out their bikes for pumpkins – and tried something a little different. They tested the starting speeds of various sized pumpkins.

The Langley BMX pumpkin roll-off was initiated three years ago, after the club had a bunch of bikes and helmets stolen.

What started it as a fundraiser has since morphed into just a fun Halloween event, explained club vice-president Bea Lindsay-Hawkins.

“The kids just love to see the pumpkins come out of the gate,” she said. “And because it was so much fun, we do it every years as part of our Halloween celebration.”

While there’s no official winners and losers in the roll-off, she noted that a lone small white gourd was able to propel itself the farthest, almost making the cusp of the first hill.

“The giggles and squeals are pretty awesome,” Lindsay-Hawkins added.

The roll-off concept was picked up from a sister club in Squamish that started the fun event several years ago. Since then, Abbotsford and now more recently Langley have picked up on the idea.

It was a standard race day for the club, with about 30 of the 100 participating kids and adults also dressed up in costumes – everything from a ninja and Batman, to an aviator and Mr. Potato Head.

14080040_web1_OutOfTheGateC
Racers know how quickly they can leave the gate on the Langley BMX track. But Saturday they tested the speed of some pumpkins racing along the same stretch of track. (Bea Lindsay-Hawkins and Ashley Reiter photos/Special to the Langley Advance)
14080040_web1_IssacJohnsonChasesPumpkinC
Racers know how quickly they can leave the gate on the Langley BMX track. But Saturday they tested the speed of some pumpkins racing along the same stretch of track. (Bea Lindsay-Hawkins and Ashley Reiter photos/Special to the Langley Advance)
14080040_web1_CostumeC
Racers know how quickly they can leave the gate on the Langley BMX track. But Saturday they tested the speed of some pumpkins racing along the same stretch of track. (Bea Lindsay-Hawkins and Ashley Reiter photos/Special to the Langley Advance)
14080040_web1_ReadyC
Racers know how quickly they can leave the gate on the Langley BMX track. But Saturday they tested the speed of some pumpkins racing along the same stretch of track. (Bea Lindsay-Hawkins and Ashley Reiter photos/Special to the Langley Advance)
14080040_web1_RunC
Racers know how quickly they can leave the gate on the Langley BMX track. But Saturday they tested the speed of some pumpkins racing along the same stretch of track. (Bea Lindsay-Hawkins and Ashley Reiter photos/Special to the Langley Advance)


Roxanne Hooper

About the Author: Roxanne Hooper

I began in the news industry at age 15, but honestly, I knew I wanted to be a community journalist even before that.
Read more