[dump]

When I daydream, my mind often wanders to the day I own a patch of land suitable for jumps. This land that I dream about is also next to the house I own, and I don't want the jumps & trails to be unsightly to the untrained eye.

I've seen some well manicured jumps before, but I'd love to see if you have other ideas. Something like a garden but with features that are actually jumps.

Thoughts?

 

[-BB-]

Looks pretty cool...

 

[cmc]

I had an idea for a rhythm section line of jumps in a field except that all of it would be below ground level.... Back to back trenches/pits in other words. It could make some rad photos and footage because you'd see several riders in the air over what appears to be flat ground.

Only drawback is the pits filling up with water. You might be able to French drain them tho.

 

[dump]

I had an idea for a rhythm section line of jumps in a field except that all of it would be below ground level.... Back to back trenches/pits in other words. It could make some rad photos and footage because you'd see several riders in the air over what appears to be flat ground.

Only drawback is the pits filling up with water. You might be able to French drain them tho.

I like that idea a lot.

 

[dump]

the below ground idea had me thinking... depending on elevation, you could build up a couple mounds to hide any jumps, some of which could dip below ground for extra jump height.

 

[dump]

I'll also add, if I lived in town and had to have a driveway, it would take inspiration from this.

 

[pnj]

I've built a few pump tracks for home owners and always thought it would be cool to manicure/landscape around them. I've never seen anything like I am thinking about. I am talking rock walls, ornamental grasses and bushes, etc. Not just grass nicely mowed next to the riding area.

Maybe even a koi pond....

 

[cmc]

Maybe even a koi pond....

and some some ashram style mud buildings . . .

http://www.taiwan-guide.org/david/permaculture/thailand.html

 

[sealclubber]

ive had thoughts about combining the two, but personally i like seeing gnarly trails simply nestled/built around the beastly trees that were already there, and id hate to blast a hip with a steezy whip and have to bail into some pre-planned pretty pink plants that someone actually payed for.

the best garden to build jumps in is the one nature gave us for free

 

[pnj]

Strait trails should be in the woods, for sure. I'm talking about pump tracks in back yards....

 

[dump]

I've built a few pump tracks for home owners and always thought it would be cool to manicure/landscape around them. I've never seen anything like I am thinking about. I am talking rock walls, ornamental grasses and bushes, etc. Not just grass nicely mowed next to the riding area.

Maybe even a koi pond....

I like the sound of that.

 

[Mutt]

http://themerged.com/2011/03/23/pumptrack-meets-landscape-garden/

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/suburban-pump-track-madness.html

http://dirt.mpora.com/news/pumptrack-mendrisio-switzerland.html

and there is something trails-looking about this garden set up: http://fwfarms.com/pond-setup-and-maintenance/water-gardens/

I feel like you need to choose one of two strategic options a) plan the track you want in the available space, and then just cram in the aesthetic features you like, or b) plan the garden and aesthetic features you want and build around that (eg, a koi pond can be a pretty big deal in terms of planning and should probably take placement priority over the line(s)

choosing your approach would at least let you get meaningfully started on planning

 

[jasride]

That track in Switzerland is the titties!
I'd even bring a picnic basket out with me when I would ride it!

 

[dump]

those look pretty cool. I'd pass on the koi pond for sure, but those two options sound like good approaches.

 

[boostindoubles]

I think about this every day. I'd like to have some lines that weave through a nice veggie garden. I would love to air over my carrot bed and then rail the broccoli berm.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

...I'm talking about pump tracks in back yards....

oh, you must be looking for the 'pump track in the garden?' thread then...

 

[Mutt]

don't know if you saw this clip Dump; its not garden, but is is an interesting hybrid situation between pump/trails/park riding. maybe some inspiration in here on how to have trails without big sets. Although with large dirt mounds designed to be ridden on all sides, there is probably limited camouflage potential once in a garden.

 

[dump]

don't know if you saw this clip Dump; its not garden, but is is an interesting hybrid situation between pump/trails/park riding. maybe some inspiration in here on how to have trails without big sets. Although with large dirt mounds designed to be ridden on all sides, there is probably limited camouflage potential once in a garden.

yeah, that's a neat setup. Like how everything flows and is ridden both directions.

 

[TortugaTonta]

You guys have lost your minds . The reality is that when you have backyard trails it consumes all your time building and riding them. There is no time for gardens and whatnot. I am lucky to get the laundry and dishes done when it is build/ride season.

Every year my backyard trails get smaller and smaller because its just easier to drive to the bmx track and the other spots that are available to me.

Backyard trails are great in some ways but a burden in others. . .

 

[don]

You guys have lost your minds . The reality is that when you have backyard trails it consumes all your time building and riding them. There is no time for gardens and whatnot. I am lucky to get the laundry and dishes done when it is build/ride season.

Every year my backyard trails get smaller and smaller because its just easier to drive to the bmx track and the other spots that are available to me.

Backyard trails are great in some ways but a burden in others. . .

Agree - would I love to have a nicely sculpted backyard zone complete with lush landscape to blend it in with the rest of the backyard? Sure. But just like Ted said, it's a bunch of work and sometimes easier to get to one of the local spots to help out.

But I'm looking to get a final tune on mine. Might sound aweful to many but thinking of wooden lips. Reason being I want my setup to have as little work as possible. Just there for a quick fix and with dirt lips I'll need untarp and retarp each time.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

....thinking of wooden lips...

where the hell is the banhammer when you need it?

 

[don]

where the hell is the banhammer when you need it?

I know, I know. But my setup is real small - a 6' wooden roll-in to a couple of 4' tall tables with a berm that feeds a couple of rollers. Length is short - maybe 100'. The dirt isn't great anyways and I hate untarping/tarping just to get a quick couple of laps in a little 15 minutes session.

I'm defintely not talking about our real trail spots. If that was the case the banhammer would be needed.

 

[TortugaTonta]

Yeah Don, I think you were at my house around the peak, maybe 25 to 30 jumps running. It was not bad then because I had some solid help. Now diggin solo I break my back to be lucky to have 10 good jumps running.

Last couple years I have been thinking of goin all out for one last hooraah but man its so much work, my old hands and wrists just can't dig like they used to.

I've been thinking of goin back to jumpin a double squish so I don't have to buff anything. Stack it and monster truck

 

[dump]

Yeah Don, I think you were at my house around the peak, maybe 25 to 30 jumps running. It was not bad then because I had some solid help. Now diggin solo I break my back to be lucky to have 10 good jumps running.

Last couple years I have been thinking of goin all out for one last hooraah but man its so much work, my old hands and wrists just can't dig like they used to.

I've been thinking of goin back to jumpin a double squish so I don't have to buff anything. Stack it and monster truck

Could machinery help?

 

[TortugaTonta]

I have machinery and it is great for roughing in stuff but you get a point where you do more damage bringing a loader in that just digging by hand.

The other catch 22 is that you end up changing stuff on the monthly because you can. Its great because I would get bored of the same jumps after a couple weeks but then you have all the detail and finnish work to get stuff buff.

Like I said there are great benefits but also burdens. I just wish I had the nutz to ride all the trails that are semi-local to me but most of their stuff is just to burley for my old pansey ass.

 

[don]

I have machinery and it is great for roughing in stuff but you get a point where you do more damage bringing a loader in that just digging by hand.

The other catch 22 is that you end up changing stuff on the monthly because you can. Its great because I would get bored of the same jumps after a couple weeks but then you have all the detail and finnish work to get stuff buff.

Like I said there are great benefits but also burdens. I just wish I had the nutz to ride all the trails that are semi-local to me but most of their stuff is just to burley for my old pansey ass.

So true. The changing stuff up because you can is the worse. Also I think the "problem" for both of us is that the local trail spots are so good that anything you'd want to build you want to be as dialed and buff but it's so much work like you said.

Riding your place a freeride line like you said might be a cool thing with the hill/slope you have. Maybe cut it with the machine and the run it in with a DH/FR bike. Do you still have those sets on the lower half with the big right hand 180 - think it was 5 sets total? That was a fun run. Have a FR line up top and the lippy trail sets down below?

 

[TortugaTonta]

Don, something came over me this weekend and I plowed a lot of sh!t. Even the concrete berm got plowed.

I have some crazy ideas. I will keep you posted and if things go as planned you will definately want to come out this summer.

 

[Mutt]

Ha! For some reason, Ted, I think you just illustrated indirectly what I've been thinking. I live < 10 min from a great spot, where I even have my own line, but cannot quite seem to also get the idea out of my head of wanting to own some land in order to build more trails. And I've struggled with why would I still want this being so close to an excellent spot, coming up with ideas like:

-won't get plowed (if a liability event occurs on my property.... yeah, I'd probably have to plow)
-get in a quick dig
-get in a quick ride (de-bunked with de-tarping requirement as Don pointed out: maybe heavy soil-tac could solve)
-try out 'crazy' ideas in a more controlled environment (use machinery, wood if necessary, sole creative license)

and damn it, I think from what you have been saying, and now doing "something came over me this weekend................I have some crazy ideas" that I want to do this more for the digging and creative process than for the actual riding. So now it becomes even harder to explain the value I get out of the activity to my wife.

me: 'honey, its not just the riding, I love the digging and creative process just as much'
wife: 'can't you just drink beer and watch sports or something?'

 

[OffCamber]

I find this thread very interesting with a lot of truth. I move on to a piece of land 13 yrs ago when I was still racing BMX (now MTB only). After building my house, I had an starting ramp with an 8 pack going one direction across the backyard leading up to another starting ramp with a BMX rhythm section running the other direction. They were there for 7 yrs and maintaining them wasn't a problem because I allowed all the kids/teenagers to ride as long as they cleaned up and helped out. One of the young kids broke his ankle and his PARENT's sued my homeowners. Going for the max $250,000 but only getting $40,000. The insurance company told me If I tore them down my rate wouldn't go through the roof. Those parents didn't realize what was taken from me and the others that rode them.

Fast forward to today, where that insurance dropped me and now have one that doesn't know what I have. Basically, a starting ramp with 2 wooden jumps, wooden berm that leads in to a pumptrack.

I say all this because me and one other person are the one that ever maintain and ride them. Because I don't want to be sued again. Maintenance is always an issue. By the time I get it up and running it gets over grown again because it's only me. This is in no way suppose to be a sob story because it is great having your own stuff but it's nice to know there are lots of others doing and thinking the same way.
I'm 46 y/o, married, with 2 kids but really miss hearing those kids in my backyard having fun.

By the way. Posting this is also way of venting

 

[TortugaTonta]

Mutt, that was/is my deal. But after 6 years the digging is like 20% of the fun now and part of that is probably because my younger friends are moving away/growing up and my older friends are getting divorces and growing up so I am basicaly solo down here.

Like offcamber said, its not a sob story just the truth and reality.

If I can keep my motivation going and get my current vision built it will rekindle the fire, if not it could be like f it and just have a couple hits in the woods to keep my skills and go to the semi-local spots on the weekends.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

dump funny you posted this, just bought a house in late 2011...With a landscaped backyard that the garage opens up to. 'landscaped dirt jumps' are my exact plan. Will prob be under construction much of the summer...ill get some pics out there.

Edit > some great thoughts on current owners in here. I have a great setup though so i am going to give it a try...2 car garage under house, with a through door to the backyard where the line will start. Right by the music and beer fridge ... Plan to keep it very contained...I do have access to machinery but really dont want to track up my yard. Hand work is how we always built trails in the past so going at this with a little TLC.

 

[Mutt]

TorTu, no offense, but compared to the local spots you've got, at least the two legalized ones that I'm most familiar with, whatever your doing solo, even if it blew up with help, would probably still be a couple hits in the woods in comparison. And I don't mean that as an insult or anything, but it might be good to keep that perspective, and then be more liberal and crazy with what you build and not worry so much about it becoming any kind of extensive coherent network, or even fit into the traditional mold of trails. Make it just about you, you know.

Personally I want to build a mile long line, that just travels through the woods, kind of like a rockin cross country mtb line, but absolutely no flat sections, and no tiny jumps, like stretched out big flowy sets that are built into/onto/part of the natural terrain, but don't ever head back to the starting hill.

 

[don]

Don, something came over me this weekend and I plowed a lot of sh!t. Even the concrete berm got plowed.

I have some crazy ideas. I will keep you posted and if things go as planned you will definately want to come out this summer.

Holy sh!t!! That's cool tho and I'm sure you have some good ideas. Can't wait to hear about them!

Not sure what machinery you have but one thing you could do is just make stuff big in overall size but maybe not necessarily big in gap if that makes sense. Think of a smaller snowboard/ski park where they use the snowcat to do all the work. Figure if a the tractor is 6' wide maybe make the landing 12' wide so you can go back and forth to shape and pack. IDK, just throwing stuff out there. You've got a very nice canvas of woods to work with I'm sure you'll come up with something rad :thumbs:

 

[don]

Ha! For some reason, Ted, I think you just illustrated indirectly what I've been thinking. I live < 10 min from a great spot, where I even have my own line, but cannot quite seem to also get the idea out of my head of wanting to own some land in order to build more trails. And I've struggled with why would I still want this being so close to an excellent spot, coming up with ideas like:

-won't get plowed (if a liability event occurs on my property.... yeah, I'd probably have to plow)
-get in a quick dig
-get in a quick ride (de-bunked with de-tarping requirement as Don pointed out: maybe heavy soil-tac could solve)
-try out 'crazy' ideas in a more controlled environment (use machinery, wood if necessary, sole creative license)

and damn it, I think from what you have been saying, and now doing "something came over me this weekend................I have some crazy ideas" that I want to do this more for the digging and creative process than for the actual riding. So now it becomes even harder to explain the value I get out of the activity to my wife.

me: 'honey, its not just the riding, I love the digging and creative process just as much'
wife: 'can't you just drink beer and watch sports or something?'

Funny how we all think alike. The what if/can option is deadly. At our local spot I usually run things by the other locals or they are working on something too so you are actually held in a bit (i.e. - trail peeps will be ultra pissed if you decided to totally scrap a line or make a big change).

Mutt - how much do you have to work with? One of my problems but a fun challenge is that I keep my zone to a tight area. I like having the "how much can I cram in but make it run good?" obstacle. I also have 3 kids that ride too and need to have a rollable line for them to have fun with too.

 

[Mutt]

don: how much space do I have to work with...... functionally.....zero. The wife and I moved to long island for a 2-3 year stint for her to do some work at a gov research lab out here. we moved to a town 5 miles away which had a bmx track, and as it turns out, is also the home to a swa-eeet set of trails with great builders/riders. We had no plans or expectations to be staying, so didn't want to buy. But just this past summer we decided to stay in the area more long term and have been discussing real estate.

She and I had agreed previously that we could buy a place with some land (I had wanted 10+ acres), but now with such a strong (and seemingly stable) trail scene, does in make sense anymore to do that. Especially since we would like our kids to have a neighborhood environment to grow up in and that is a significant constraint to put on finding a land parcel that big in this local. not to mention long island land usually = not cheap.

So I'm torn about what to look for. I know that long term, I want the land. But I'm not thinking its worth the investment right now with my kids too young to really enjoy it yet (2,4) and such a great and close trail setup. I mean, we have the space at the house we've been renting for 3 years for me to do something no problem, but I just haven't. And I think it might be more of having panamoka rather than not owning the property.

regardless, you're in NJ and Ted is in PA, you guys should trip out here some time once the season is on.

 

[don]

don: how much space do I have to work with...... functionally.....zero. The wife and I moved to long island for a 2-3 year stint for her to do some work at a gov research lab out here. we moved to a town 5 miles away which had a bmx track, and as it turns out, is also the home to a swa-eeet set of trails with great builders/riders. We had no plans or expectations to be staying, so didn't want to buy. But just this past summer we decided to stay in the area more long term and have been discussing real estate.

She and I had agreed previously that we could buy a place with some land (I had wanted 10+ acres), but now with such a strong (and seemingly stable) trail scene, does in make sense anymore to do that. Especially since we would like our kids to have a neighborhood environment to grow up in and that is a significant constraint to put on finding a land parcel that big in this local. not to mention long island land usually = not cheap.

So I'm torn about what to look for. I know that long term, I want the land. But I'm not thinking its worth the investment right now with my kids too young to really enjoy it yet (2,4) and such a great and close trail setup. I mean, we have the space at the house we've been renting for 3 years for me to do something no problem, but I just haven't. And I think it might be more of having panamoka rather than not owning the property.

regardless, you're in NJ and Ted is in PA, you guys should trip out here some time once the season is on.

Yeah, I hear you. I have about an acre now but it's all landscaped and I just have a small area for the "jumps". If I really really wanted to I could plant a row of trees and build something pretty burly on the back of it to keep my wife and neighbors happy. But... like you said and I think the most enjoyable thing with a decent set of local trails is getting out of the house and enjoy some riding, building, hanging with the homies.

I grew up in Western MA and we had about 8 acres. It was given to us from my grandfather and my dad built the house himself to keep the costs low. There were times I wish I lived in a neighborhood but damn was it nice just to be able to do what we wanted. The flip side of that is there is always a lot of work keeping that place up - just cutting grass was like a half day event, or snow plowing, bringing garbage down to the street, etc.

10+ acres is a lot. The only way I'd go that much is if I lived up in Vermont where that's how much everyone has. I think with 1-2 acres you could have the best of both. Probably close to a neighborhood and enought land that if you needed to or want to do something one day it's there.

And you are right - I need to get to more places this year. NY and PA ain't far at all to ride some good dirt.