CEDAR FALLS - On a warm early fall day, yellowed leaves fall from trees along Snag Creek.

Two owls hoot back and forth in the woods.

And on this Sunday, when many are inside watching football or outside walking their dogs, adrenaline junkies are enjoying launching themselves through the air while perched atop small bikes.

After a summer of wet weather creating problems, the BMX course in North Cedar has been in perfect condition this fall. The course, now 6 years old, survived the flood of 2008 and came through virtually unscathed. Bikers from just down the block and from as far away as Cedar Rapids and Des Moines regularly meet up to challenge the dozens of jumps and obstacles the park presents.

Ho-Jung Wong comes up from Cedar Rapids to ride at the park. He started a year ago and has found himself continually improving, moving on from smaller jumps with easier landings to tougher lines.

"It was very intimidating. You practice over and over again and you get it," he said.

Two of the stalwarts at the Cottage Row park are veterans of the BMX scene, Brian Heath, 46, of Cedar Falls, and Rick Condron, 43, of Cedar Rapids. The two friends used to travel together as professionals in the regional BMX scene but now just ride for fun.

"Why give up something you love? As long as your body is able, keep doing it," Condron said after running a flawless line with five stylish jumps.

Heath, who serves as operations manager for the city's Public Works department, was the driving force behind building the course.

To him, the park provides just another alternative form of recreation, although this one happens to be his passion. The skate park appeals to one segment of thrill seekers, and some of them also come to the BMX course. Other riders like the mountain bike trails at George Wyth State Park, while the majority of bike riders are content to stick to the paved bike trails all over the area.

The Cedar Falls BMX course was constructed in 2003. It started with a variety of terrain, with jumps simple enough for complete neophytes to expert jumps that require crossing a no-man's land to hit the landing ramp. Since then, the all-volunteer labor has added more loops and built a deck atop the starting hill for riders to congregate and rehash each other's rides.

Austin Jensen lives near the course and was just getting started in the sport when the course was created. Now the Cedar Falls High School junior comfortably flies through the air off of some of the gnarliest jumps.

While his skills have improved, he still marvels at the abilities of the top riders.

"I know for a fact some of these guys can go 15 or 20 feet from the ground," Jensen said.

The old pros, Condron and Heath, make it look easy. They launch in graceful arcs over one jump after another in succession. Some of the younger riders swear they've never seen either one miss a jump.