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The trail under the freeway

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
Collonade

So far a year into the construction phase of the mt. bike skills park and things are coming along pretty well. Underneath I-5 just north of Downtown Seattle, this park will be a great showcase for mt. biking to the public.

The beginner trail is really getting close to being done. i envision this Spring we'll have a fun new stretch of singletrack that everyone can enjoy while work will be focused on the intermediate and advanced sections. That's when i think people are going to really start raising their brows to this parks potential.

My job today was to get the framing on a bridge completed. Also helping me was Ross who had his own project of setting in sandstone pavers on both sides of the bridge.



Mike W who's worked extensively on the project really was pushing to have me complete the bridge. Since i'm in construction by trade, basic carpentry is not anything i dread. While pushing for that he also clued me into the fact that we have a ton of sandstone that nobody knew what to do with. Grippy like sandpaper i thought it was a no-brainer we should use them to make easy approaches to each side of the bridge. Ross came over and really did an outstanding job putting the idea to reality.

Packing in the gaps with fill gravel.



Art T who's really like the project manager for this whole shindig, really wanted a bridge that started with a right bank, leveled, then as it turns left at the top have it bank to the left. The height of the 2 post were a little extreme so i had to replace one, and trim another down. The angles were super odd, so getting the frame done took alot of time. Then toe-nailing some 2X6 bracing to tie it together and add a touch more lateral strength. It's very solid now, once we get some split cedar for runners it's gonna be dialed for years.

Stoked to get it done, and stoked to use my new 24 volt cordless toys!



Comin together nicely, it won't be long before people can start riding here. Most of the volunteers hauled rocks and dirt, clearing another switchback, and filling more gabions for support.



And yet another group of volunteers congregated on the first real project of the intermediate/advanced side. Seattles first legitamate pump track. i met Van, Nate and some others before i left for the day, they all seem stoked to contribute to the cause.



And why not be stoked since all the hard labor put into this place is not eventually going to be bulldozed for whatever reason. No it's here to stay, total legit.
And personally that's a big reason of why i back this project, because there are so many underground XC/DH/FR/DJ's trails and this is a huge step in making possibly the existing ones and more in the future cemented as legit.

 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
Thats so unbelievably badass. How did you guys get permission?
Simon from a local shop named Fluidride got the ball rolling.
The city was looking what to do with this open space that was being used by bums and junkies etc...
BBTC (Backcountry Bicycles Trails Club, local IMBA affiliated advocacy group)
along with Urban Sparks got involved in making a Mt. Bike Skills Park.
Years went by and meetings were attended.
Proposals were drawn up by Art and others.
Then a year ago work started with cleaning up trash, needles, you name it.
Now we're almost to the point of being done with the beginner section.

This is a bonafide city park. For mountain bikes.
 

Hunter

Monkey
Sep 14, 2006
793
0
The Right coast
Collonade Underneath I-5 just north of Downtown Seattle, this park will be a great showcase for mt. biking to the public.
You guys should put gnomes, trolls, or gnome-be-gones all over the place. :biggrin:


Very cool, that will be one busy place once there's some additional trails finished.
 

littleraw

Chimp
Nov 26, 2006
41
0
concord, CA usa
that is so cool. where i live everytime we build jumps they jus get torn within a year its kinda lame cuz we always have to find new spots to ride.but good luck with your track.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
that is so cool. where i live everytime we build jumps they jus get torn within a year its kinda lame cuz we always have to find new spots to ride.but good luck with your track.
It is the same thing here.

You get a club and do it right politically.

You get stuff like this...

It just takes a long time.
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
ok, but how do i make it.
Start out with a shovel, and a rake.

Dig dirt.

If you need to harvest dirt for your starting point, berms and rollers dig from a high spot first to avoid having huge ugly holes around your track.

You want the entire track to have a slight slope so the rain runs off, but not too much.

Test ride, change what you don't like, or what doesn't work.

Rinse, wash, repeat.