Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Pump Track: A Review



Back in September, Lunchbox and I headed out to Albemarle, NC to participate in a celebration of sorts. We joined the folks from SORBA Uwharrie and Middle Ring Cycles at City Lake park for the SORBA Uwharrie Ride Center Event. This event consisted of kids rides, bike checks, pump track laps, and a screening of the movie “Seasons” by The Collective. While the main purpose of this event was to talk about the new IMBA Ride Center coming to the Uwharrie National Forest, we also got a chance to check out the new pump track in the park. It had rained during the day (and a little during the event), so I didn’t get any photos or any quality riding time. Imagine that, bad weather messing up a ride. Go figure.

So anyway, while I was out in Albemarle last weekend for a visit to my bike shop, I stopped by City Lake Park to gather some photos of this wonderful creation. It looked a lot better this time, since it was much drier. Let’s have a look:
The first thing you see when you approach the pump track is a bicycle rack. I find that odd that someone would ride their bike to the park, and then park it in front of something that was meant to ride. Did I confuse you? Good, because I was confused.



Next up is a huge welcoming sign, chock full of information. Mountain bikers are required to read: a lot.



Now we can get to the features. As you can see, there are plenty of rock gardens.



There are also lots of skinnys, including one that I think would be really difficult to do on a bike. Maybe I should bust out the uni next time.







Wasn’t I talking about a pump track? Yep, and here are the photos to prove it.






This place is as fun as a barrel of monkeys, as you can most likely tell. You should drop what you’re doing and head out to Albemarle right now and ride this thing. There are also a few miles of fun trail in the park, so you can make a day of it. It is well worth the trip. Oh yeah, while you’re there make a point to stop by Middle Ring Cycles. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

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