I was feeling nostalgic for my hometown of Santa Maria and thinking of all the things that my family left behind and found your paper’s 2015 article on the Santa Maria BMX track (“Trick-less speed: Santa Maria BMX racing is alive and well,” March 31, 2015).
My father and our family built that track back in what seems like another lifetime ago, around 2009 when I was in high school at Righetti. I know it’s an old article at this point and there are much larger pressing issues in the news now, but reading about it again and seeing names of people I rode with still around in 2015—and especially reading that it was at the time being run by someone I had never met—brought me so much joy and happiness! I am so touched that it has survived and continued to foster a community of thrill-seeking racers. The people were always the best part of that sport, and it warms my heart to see that something my father and our family poured so much of our love, time, effort, and personal investments into has survived to touch so many people.
It would be nice to know how my father’s legacy is holding up in these trying times. Unfortunately my father, Michael Porter, the founder of the track, lost his battle with cancer in 2017. But it always brought me comfort that his name was stamped on a small plaque by the moto boards of the racetrack that he believed in so much. I would love to hear how the track is doing now—I am so far from home, and with all the strains of life these days, I have no idea when I will ever be able to return.
Thank you for keeping journalism on the Central Coast alive.
Ryan Porter
A local far from home
