Rain, Rain, frozen Rain

Has been almost 2 weeks with no progress.  I was working out of town, then heavy rain, then 8 days below freezing.  Snowing and raining today too.  Should be above freezing the next 5 days during the day, so hopefully it will dry out some.

At least I got some Clear Trans Pedals from the bicycle chain in Raleigh.  My old shop.

I also wanted to thank Jim-C at Sunday and the guys at Empire BMX for working with me to get these custom wheels built.  They were patient and really worked to get me what I wanted.  All I need now is the Eastern Brake lever and I think I will be done for ahwile.

Out of town this week

I have been out of town working, but should be home soon.  These pics are from a week ago before I left.  It snowed on Friday, pretty early for where we live.  Got some new parts too, bike has a pretty retro feel to it now.  Gsport Ratchet and Odyssey Hazzard Lites.  Pretty sick.

Berm 3 is ready to ride

I don't have any photos, because I got rained out tonight, but the third berm is shaped and packed and ready for wheels.  It was misting and about 70 degrees tonight, very nice to work in, but it started raining harder, and that clay is too slick.

The berm is a little too steep in the middle I think, and I want to add a roller to the beginning, but it needs to be ridden before I know exactly where to put it. 

Anyway, its covered in plastic for now, and I hope it clears up tomorrow evening.  only have the last straight to clean up.

About half way there!

Got the first straight and first roller as dialed as I can until the rest of the track is complete.  The track is already very fun to ride and flowing very well.

The last pump track was fast, and had great berms, but did not really flow all that well.  I want the transitions into berms and from roller to roller to feel perfect on this track.  I know there will be changes with more and more riding, but for now, I am very happy with the way its riding now, and it think it will be very fast too.

Didn't get as much done this week as I wanted, but I did finish up the second berm tonight.  I had planned to have doubleable rollers between the second and third berms, but I think it may be a little tight for that.  There will be plenty of speed though, so that is good.

It was past dark before I could get any photos, but the results were pretty nice.

Got most of the first straight shaped up today

Today was a good day, nice and cool to get some work done.

I packed the top berm in pretty well.  Lots of water and then waiting, then more water, packing, and repeat.

The first straight has a large roller out of the berm, then a series of 5 rollers that form a big camel back type set that I kind of modeled from the sea otter course from this year.  I hope that there will be double options on this line.  I do know that it will be fast and the berm at the end will need to be perfect to handle the g's.

My son was all over the place on the Strider bike today.  Lots of the dirt is getting smooth, even away from the completed track areas.  I believe with the size and height of the rollers and berms, there will be lots of fun options for entry/exit to the track as well as the interior figure 8.

Hope to get started on that berm tomorrow.

Progress from the new Pump track

So I took the holiday break opportunity to get this started.  This work was done over two days with one person on a bob cat.  About 60-80 yards moved.  Glad to see that I have plenty of extra in the center to work with my figure 8 design.

These photos show the sequence so far.

Moving the pump track

Decided that the 3 complete floods over the past year and a half were not worth the work.

I am moving the pump track to a higher elevation (my back yard).  Wife isn't very happy, but I think with the experience I have now, and the layout I have planned, it will be much better.

The majority of my time now is spent maintaining, and with the new plans, I will have a better balance of riding to working.

The track was going to be patterned after the Lee McCormick design for this years sea otter pro race, but I have a 3 year old, and didn't think it would work best for him.   I have a 80-ft by 35-ft design with a kidney bean shape and a future figure 8 inside.

I will post photos and any deep thoughts I have along the way.

Long time no Post

Its been awhile.  I've been riding, working on the track, and been pretty motivated to make some changes.

This week, the track flooded again.  I will either sell my house (not related to the flooding), or keep the house, but move the pump track up to the back yard.  Wife isn't too happy about it, but I think it will work out ok.

I have a couple different layouts drawn up.  One is a replica track of the 2010 sea otter pump track. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1RBoa-z7k&p=F356C4B51EE5A582&playnext=1&index=25

This is a pro level track that I think would be fun to ride, but hard to build just right, and not so much fun for beginners.  Anyway, trying to get a video posted that I just hours before the rain started.  I will post it up in just a few. Its not a great video, but gives the idea of the size and flow of the first part of the track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkgPgI0BiGU

Shaping up after the flooding

After the rain and flooding a couple Sundays ago, the track is starting to shape up now.

Its quite a process. I really wish I had planned out drainage before I had the dirt. The only problem with that is that my original plans for the rollers, berms, and everything else, was completely off, and so the drainage still wouldn't be right.

Keep in mind, I read alot about pump tracks. I read Lee's book. I drew out several plans, worked with my buddy, and put lots of time into planning and thought about the construction. It is just not an easy process. That is part of why I am writing this. Pump tracks seem like an easy process, but its more work than you would think. I am happy I did is still. When you get a section dialed and smooth and fast, it really feels great.

I added a new roller tonight. I had a friend over this weekend to help dig, and we added a step up type roller, as well as one more. The track has a total of 16 rollers, two good berms, and one big, great 180 degree plus turn. I have about 11 or 12 rollers to fine tune, as well as 2 big berms left.

If you are thinking of building a pump track, do it, it is worth all the work.

My boy takes his first pedal

Here are the before and after photos from the rain storm.

My son, 2yrs, 9 months, and about 15 days, rode a bike under his own power, without training wheels for the first time today. This photo is of him on the runner bike at the pump track.

What a feeling!! He has had the runner bike from Strider since his first birthday. He has had the Specialized 12" pedal bike since Christmas, but really took no interest in pedaling. Well, last evening, I gave him a push and he started cranking and pedaling across the lot. It really was exciting. He loves his Strider on the pump track, so now I have to get him out with the pedal bike and teach him to pump.

Anyway, it really was great to see. We went to the BMX track last night, and he wanted to get on the "pump track" there. I hope to have him race before he turns 4.

First Entry of the Blog

Yesterday I went to see the pump track, after the rain on Sunday, I wanted to pump out some of the standing water. The entire track was completely underwater!!!

I started the pump track on the 4th of July, 2009, with only the help of a friend and a couple days of rental on a bobcat.

There have been designs, re-designs, builds, modifications, and re-builds.

I read all I can about pump tracks, what works, what doesn't and why are they so much fun.

Yesterday I was quite disappointed, having put so much work in, just the day before the rain, and then to see it underwater. My son, at 2.5 yrs old, suggested the flooding might just go away and we could ride the pump track, but I knew that after the water goes away, we still have a lot to do just to get it back to where is was.

This blog will document some of the work that goes into it, ideas of what works, and what doesn't, and anything in between.

I hope to post lots of photos and videos along the way.