Thursday, November 25, 2010

Pump Track day 2

Got out this morning before the big meal and dug for another couple hours, worked on stump removal and moved the compost heap (track runs right through it).  Built up a pretty substantial berm and set the skeleton of three rollers.  Actually pretty fun pushing dirt around now that I'm developing a technique, wouldn't be surprised if I end up with an entire pump track/dirt jump-filled yard.  Sarah took a shot of me out in the yard, this will be the view from the kitchen.  The black stuff left of the basketball hoop is compost (that's what a year of veggies, grass clippings and leaves looks like), the garden goes there.


about a half hour later I'd dug the first three rollers and finished piling up the first berm.  Here's what it looked like from ground level.

Obviously there's a lot of organic material in there, some of it I'm pulling out as I go, some of it will die off and some of it I'll regret leaving in there, but I'm developing new shoveling/scraping techniques that should help get more of the grass out with less effort.  Essential to the process will be getting the bike out and seeing how the spacing feels.  I can't afford this:


(The Specialized P24, 24" cruiser BMX.  My ideal ride for backyard pump/dirt jump.  Only $550.  If anyone out there... never mind, I'll get it myself.  Sick though, right?)

But I can put knobbies back on my utility bike and start to break in the track, test out the distances between rollers and corner radius'.  I've already revised my design and I expect that to continue to happen over and over and over again until eternity.

Here's a video,


On a side note, the pictures coming out of CO and MT right now have got me literally weeping. Can't wait until Ski Tour (3 months!) this winter. Hoping to hit Big Sky, Jackson, the Cottonwood canyons, Wolf Creek, and my old DMR. I'm getting ahead of myself but I can't help it.  I need another shot at The Big.  Ed, you listening?

1 comment:

Ed Coyle said...

You know it! Love your blog. Consider myself having too much time on my hands. This thing is shaping up. Reminds me of the bike trails I spent years building as a kid in the woods.