Pump it up!
Pump tracks build bike-handling skills for anyone on two wheels
BY KATHLEEN WILKER
For those new to the attractions of pump tracks, they’re like a BMX bike track, but without big jumps or any other dangerous elements. A pump track is basically an outdoors, flat, loop-style track built on hard-packed soil. It should appeal to anyone from the youngest kids on scoot bikes and trikes to talented mountain biking adults.
The loop contains banked corners called berms and undulations called rollers. The idea for advanced riders is to build up speed and then ride the loop without pedalling, to use upper body and core strength to “pump” up the berms and into the rollers, increasing momentum as they go. Competitive mountain bikers perfect their skills and build endurance on pump tracks, and transfer these gains onto trails. Children and less experi- enced riders pedal their way around the loop and learn to take sharp turns on the berms and how to lean into rollers to increase speed. Given the relatively low risk – no cars, no roots, no boulders – it’s the perfect place for a family ride. Mountain biking parents can take the kids for a weekend afternoon and know that everyone is going to get some great riding in. Pump tracks remove the need to choose between a solid, adult trail ride or hanging out with young children. Another benefit comes later on when the kids are old enough to mountain bike on trail with their parents – years of pump track outings will likely
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convert young riders into better bike handlers. According to Matt Wood of the
Ontario Mountain Biking Association, pump tracks are “a flatland roller- coaster where you don’t need to pedal.” Wood was one of the volun- teer trail builders who designed and rebuilt Camp Fortune’s pump track last season. “While we initially started with an
L-shaped track, the design had to be re-thought after a few run-throughs with the bike,” says Wood. “In the end we settled on a triangle. The track consists of three bermed corners with two rollers between each berm.” A well designed pump track with good drainage might need minor repairs after the snow melts, but shouldn’t need to be completely rebuilt each spring. Pump tracks need only a relatively small area to be a lot of fun and offer a great workout. Ottawa’s Anthony Bereznai built a pump track at his parents’ cot- tage last summer. With a load of soil and a borrowed back hoe, an after- noon’s work created a track he and his mountain biking wife and their three kids, then aged two, four and seven, could enjoy all summer. Ber- eznai would love to see a commu- nity pump track in his west Ottawa neighbourhood so kids can practise biking skills without having to drive to Camp Fortune.
Derek Heffernan in Hintonburg is
another Ottawa parent who would like to see pump tracks in City parks. “I think that youth in my neighbour- hood would really benefit from a pump track,” says Heffernan. “It could be a recreational hub for youth from the age of five on up. Specialized mountain bikes are not necessary, and any bike would work, making it an accessible and super-fun exercise option.” Heffernan is working with the Hin-
tonburg Cycling Champions to iden- tify a good location for a pump track. “The pump track at Camp Fortune is in a beautiful location, but is relatively raw,” says Wood of his team’s handi- work. “It’s entirely possible to mani- cure pump tracks and plant flowers, bushes and grass between the trails.” Wood imagines that elegantly land- scaped pump tracks would be appro- priate in parks where a wide range of people use the land. /OO
PUMP TRACKS IN ACTION
• Camp Fortune pump track –
http://momentumplanet.com/ videos/pump-track-party
•
Professional Scott Bicycles mountain biking team riding a beautifully manicured crushed stone pump track in Italy – see
http://vimeo.com/21720837
•
Jay Hoots on community involvement in building pump tracks - look him up on YouTube.
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