Arrowhead Trails Portfolio - Pump Tracks
Pump tracks are unique trails carefully design to allow riders to maintain and increase their speed by strategically weighting and un weighting their bikes through turns, dips and hills. They require very accurate and careful construction to allow the unique pumping action to work properly. When done well, a rider can complete many laps with little or no pedaling.
The Link School, Buena Vista, Colorado
Arrowhead Trails, Inc. was approached by the Link School in Buena Vista, owned and operated by Bobby Lewis, the creator of the outdoor oriented alternative high school, to design and build a bicycle pump track as an alternative learning activity with the students.
The students were eager participants to the challenge. ATI composed a design and directed the students enthusiasm in the realm of moving, shaping, and creating earthen structures including rhythmic gravity flow sections and a series of berms, jumps, and log trestles for the kids to increase their mountain bike riding skills.
Arrowhead Trails, Inc. employees were impressed by the teenager’s attitudes and work ethics as they creating a piece of riding art the summer of 2010. Their eagerness to learn new skills and provide labor to the project was an inspiring experience for all of us.
See the Link School Pump Track Construction slideshow highlights.
April 2010 -
Pumpanhoot, Salida, CO
See some pump track action from this track built for Absolute Bikes by Arrowhead Trails. See the Arrowhead Trails Pump Track Construction slideshow highlights.
November 2009 -
Absolute Bike Park -
Salida, Colorado
“For a family who loves riding bikes, having Arrowhead Trails build a pump track in our backyard was a dream come true. Arrowhead trails did a superb job of laying out, excavating and sculpting the track. The pump track is simple to ride, exhilarating, and a great workout. We've found it to be accessible to all skill levels since it can be ridden at any speed. We've had everyone we know, from young kids to decades-long mountain bikers ride the pump track, and they all love it. The more we ride it, the better our bike handling skills have become, so that pumping the bike over rollers instead of pedaling, and cornering through bermed turns has become a fluid and fast, super fun, endurance challenge. Anyone who can pedal a bike will have fun riding a pump track. As parents, we strongly believe that every town should have one in their park alongside the swing sets and basketball courts.”
Amber, Anton & Ava van Leuken
Salida, Colorado October 2009
December 2009 -
2009 World Pump Track Champion Mick Hannah Training Session -
Pump Farm, Salida, CO
Bike Parks & Pump Tracks
In just a few years, hundreds of pump tracks and bike parks have sprung up in communities around the world.
Cyclists of all ages and abilities are “getting their pump on”.
Numerous Colorado communities have already built pump tracks and/or bike parks including: Gunnison, Crested Butte, Del Norte, Lyons, Ft. Collins, Eagle, Leadville, Snowmass, Keystone, Colorado Springs, Telluride, Winter Park, and right here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. Salida, Poncha Springs and Buena Vista have public pump track projects in progress, and are actively seeking volunteers and funding for summer plans.
"Pump track mania is sweeping the globe. Mountain bikers everywhere are building endless loops of rollers and berms, and the riders are getting smoother, fitter and faster” states Lee McCormick, author of “Welcome to Pump Track Nation” published on-line in 2006. 1st track.
The popularity of “pumping” highlights its inherent ability to offer an incredible cardiovascular and core body workout in an extremely short time. It rapidly develops and hones biking skills for all fitness and skill levels; whether you’re a five-year old kid pedaling thru the rollers or you just won the 2009 Pump Track World Championship in Australia, and a top-ranked downhill racer.
In our never ending fight against obesity and our pursuit of “quality of life”, we now have another tool. Pump tracks and bike parks are inexpensive to build, easy to maintain, expose less liability and serve a larger slice of communities than golf courses, health clubs or pools. Did I mention they are almost always free to use, like skatepark’s or your neighborhood, “daily” walking path.
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May 2010 -
Homerun Pump Track -
Salida, CO