You might ask, "What's a pump track?" It's a bicycle course with rollers and berms that can be ridden (in theory) without having to pedal. Nope, there's no free energy, and it doesn't defy physics. The rider uses gravity when descending each roller to pick up speed, but by standing up on the pedals prior to climbing each roller and then lifting only the bike (not the body) less speed is lost on uphill than is gained on the downhill. The input of energy into the system comes from the rider pumping his body weight up after the descent of each roller. I find it a fascinating concept, but so far, I can't do it. I've seen it done on plenty of YouTube videos, but my technique is nowhere close to developed yet.
The track mostly looks like a bunch of dirt piles with bike tracks going over them, but there actually is a plan. It's a work in progress, and will likely be refined and smoothed over time. It will be fun to see it develop. I hope that it will eventually get some landscaping, too, so that it will blend into the park a little better.
Here's Quinn going over a roller. I think his legs may not be long enough for him to get sufficient pumping action to propel him without pedaling. That's OK. He had a great time on the track, and I think it will really improve his off-road bicycle handling skills.
Here Quinn is coming out of the berms at one end of the course. He's just come over the roller at the exit of the berm, and he has three rollers ahead of him.
He had good speed going into this berm, but not enough to really require -- or allow -- getting his wheels up on the berm.
Abbey took all the pictures on this post except for this one of her. She rode the course and liked it, too. She did very well, but had a bit more trouble than Quinn because she has a full-size bike with a longer wheelbase. This is a really tight course, and Abbey would probably be better able to ride it on a smaller BMX style bike with 20-inch wheels. Hmmm, we have one of those.
Abbey also took some pictures of me. Here I've just come up a roller, but I haven't done it right. Most pump trackers ride hard tails or rigid bikes with the saddle pushed all the way down. The suspension soaks up a lot of energy that ought to go into pumping. Next time maybe I'll lower my saddle and lock-out my rear shock.
Coming down the roller here, my front fork has squooshed nicely. It may not be the best thing for a pump track, but I love the dual suspension on my Cannondale Rize!
I was able to get plenty of speed coming across those rollers, but I never could come out of those tight corners with enough speed to keep going without pedal input.
There were quite a few kids there with their dads (where were the moms?) giving it a try.
This guy was a really good BMX rider. How do you suppose he broke his arm? His 20-inch wheels were good for this course. His dad, one of the builders of the course, road a rigid 24-inch bike on the course.
A little father/son bicycle maintenance.
The pump track seems pretty safe. The rollers and berms are low, and the course is tight so speeds are low. There's some risk of minor injuries due to collisions and crashes, but probably not much risk of serious injury.
On the other hand, notice the "table top" jumps in the background of some of the pictures. They are not really part of the pump track. Plenty of kids on BMX bikes were jumping them with ease last weekend. They'd ride fast straight toward them and shoot up, somehow rotating in mid air, to land smoothly pointing downward on the other side. As easy as it looked, a couple of them did have minor crashes, and when I tried it, I seriously wiped out. The small one I tried to jump is at the back in this picture:
Yes, I'm an idiot. I've spent plenty of time in the air with my feet stuck to a flying bicycle. I really enjoy it. But I knew that a jump like that, one that points nearly vertical at the top of the ramp, was much different than the more natural obstacles that form my usual jumps. I knew that I'd need to coax the front end down significantly to keep from going over backward. I gave it a little test at low speed and landed OK, only a little too much nose up. I should have stopped there, but I had to try it once more.
I rounded the last corner of the pump track, then pedaled confidently toward the jump at only a moderate pace. I hit the jump and was launched into the air, my bike in near-vertical wheelie. Sweet. But I could tell immediately that I was tipping over backward. What to do? My feet were clipped to my bike (oops) and I was doing a reverse somersault through the air! All I could think to do was brace for a crash. It only took a few seconds. I landed flat on my upper back with my bike on top of me. The wind was squashed from my chest from the tremendous impact, releasing an uncontrolled, horrible, guttural moan. For an immeasurable moment in time, I lay on my back, lungs empty and unable to inhale, a piercing pain through my torso. I lay thinking about the first aid course I'd just taken... check, call, care... And after a while, I inhaled and I curled with pain. Abbey later said I lay writhing on the ground like spider suffering the cruciatus curse. I'm sure I did. It was torture. All I could do was squirm. I pulled off my helmet. I pushed away my bicycle. My feet had come detached from my pedals on impact. After perhaps a minute, I got up. I picked up my bike. There, stuck in the tops of the bolt on my right brake lever, was a plug of skin and hairs. I looked around and found a small hole and two long scrapes above my knee where the skin and hairs used to live. My back hurt so badly that I could feel no pain anywhere else. I had survived, but it hurt. The kid with cast said, from a distance, "You OK?" I can't remember what I said. I had probably lied and said, "Yes".
I guess I didn't break anything, although one rib in my back is particularly painful. My insides are bruised. But all the pictures in this post were taken after that crash, so I was able to continue riding despite the pain. I had tried that jump as soon as we had arrived at the track, and if we'd gone home after my crash, the kids wouldn't have had the chance to ride the new pump track. I couldn't do that to them. So we rode.
Even now, 28 hours later, the pain in my upper back is still debilitating. I worked from home today in part because I didn't think I could sit at my desk (I have also been fighting a nasty cold, so it made sense to stay home).
So... the pump track. It's fun and it should be a great way to improve bike skills and get some exercise close to home. The kids love it. For me, I don't think it could ever compare to a good piece of mountain single track, but who's comparing?
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