MMBA Expo Pump Track

Today was the MMBA Annual Meeting and Expo at the MSU Pavilion. From my perspective, the big attraction for most visitors was the swap meet and bike shops with booths of stuff for sale. There was also a silent auction and some seminars and meetings. I volunteered to sit at the MMBA merchandise table in the morning, which involved little more than sitting near the Pavilion entrance and directing visitors toward the event. My presence wasn't really needed, but I suppose I was there just in case.

After lunch, we all came back to ride the other main attraction at the Expo: the pump track. In a matter of a few hours, a small group of men with machines and shovels constructed an indoor pump track. It was a blast. Quinn rode his Trek and Abbey her Chameleon. That green Chameleon makes a pretty good pump track bike, and Abbey and/or her bike attracted the attention of couple of the guys on dirt jump bikes. She even got some personalized instruction on riding the track. I decided to bring the Nickel, which isn't the best pump track bike around for a couple of reasons, but it worked. Cindy rode a few laps on the Chameleon, which seemed to be a pretty good fit for her. Quinn did really well -- he certainly the fastest of the 8 and under crowd. Even Abbey will have to admit that Quinn was quite a bit faster than her, despite the appeal of her green lizard. I think it's all about having the confidence to push hard, and overcoming the fear of going down.

Some pictures of the pump track have been posted: click here to see them. Look closely and you'll find Quinn in several of them and me in one of them.

Although it can be done, a dual suspension bike isn't really first choice hardware for pump tracking. The squishy rear end sucks up leg energy that should be converted into forward motion on each roller. I attempted to offset that by pumping some extra air in my rear shock before the ride, but it was still squishy. Also, even with it as low as it can go, the seat on the Nickel is still high enough that it gets in the way. You really need to be able to bring the rear wheel almost up to your butt for maximum pump track speed. Something like this should work: The Santa Cruz Jackal...

Nonetheless, I think I did alright with the Nickel, despite being the only rider with clipless pedals and dual suspension. I'm pretty sure I was one the fastest in the 40 and over crowd. Of course, pushing as hard as I could around the track, I blew over the top of the north berm twice, and each time went down pretty hard. It was too much fun.