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Pumped on bike tracks - Pump
tracks pop up all over N.E.
Concord, NH
Time for mountain bikers riding in
North Conway to pump it up.
Armed with rakes, shovels and other
tools, about 20 avid mountain bikers, including members of the White
Mountain chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, helped build
the Mount Washington Valley's first public pump track last weekend.
The track, about 75 feet by 40 feet,
is located near the entrance to the Sticks and Stones Trail by the Green
Hills Preserve kiosk off the Thompson Road trailhead. If looking at
the kiosk, turn left, cross under the power lines and look for three huge
boulders. The track's in there.
"Kids love them," said White Mountain
NEMBA chapter President Rob Adair of North Conway. "This is Generation
X, after all. Even kids up to 50 years old love them.
" What is a pump track?
Simply, it's an enclosed dirt loop
with rollers and berms. Think of a BMX track but on a smaller scale.
The track can fit on a small piece of land and requires light maintenance.
"Riders can improve their bike
handling skills and have an incredible workout," said Adair, an engineer.
The site is adjacent to the Sticks and Stones Trail, a mile-plus long loop
with rollers, berms, s-turns and other challenges, so riders can practice on
the bump track and then utilize their honed skills out on the trail.
Pump tracks are springing up across
the country. Do a quick Google search and see everything from huge to
simple from California to New Hampshire. Towns now use them as part of
their municipal multi-use trail systems like in Salida, Colo.
They vary in size and difficulty.
Here in New Hampshire, there is a pump track at the Highland Mountain Bike
Park in Northfield. In Maine, the Midcoast Maine NEMBA chapter put one
in at the Camden Snow Bowl. In Vermont, look for them in places like
the Kingdom Trails in East Burke, the Catamount Family Center in Williston
and Stowe.
Building a track does take some
planning. Credit for designing the valley's pump track goes to North
Conway's Chris Krug. Krug has ridden pump tracks all over the world,
including Mark Weir's legendary backyard track in California. Krug
doesn't have to travel far to pump it up. He's got a track in his
backyard, too.
"There does take some planning for
this, but not much," says Krug. "You have to have a basic idea, build
it, try it, tune it and go from there. You can do anything you want
with it."
The skills learned in the track can be
used in all disciplines of mountain biking like cross-country, downhill and
cross.
The North Conway pump track went from
drawing board to reality first with Adair and Krug. Adair brought a
tractor to the pump track site a few days before the volunteer day and the
two created the pretzel-shaped park.
Last Sunday a small army of volunteers
from middle school students to the retired were out for about three hours
moving dirt for the track designed to be ridden clockwise.
Among the soldiers were father and son
Joe and Mitchell Yahna. Mitchell's 14 and a middle school student.
The two were out there before leaving for Mitchell's lacrosse game.
"Mountain biking is one of our strong
connections," said dad. "Since he was a little kid, he liked riding
and going off jumps. This is a bond for us."
Yahna said once his son learned of the
track, he also convinced a couple of his friends to volunteer, too.
"He got his friends to come here," he
said. "He figured this was going to be his summer playground."
There is room to expand the track.
It is in a spot frequented by mountain bikers and black bears, too, as a
young cub was spotted ambling along. As work wound down, a couple of
high school students - Alex Leich and Owen Tulip - who helped build the
track were on the dirt loop for a test ride.
"You have to get out there and ride it
to tweak things," said Leich, 17. "I like trail building because you
get to see things take shape and be part of a cool process."
Source:
Concord Monitor
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Posted By: Diesel
Date: 05/27/2009 |
