We’re finally coming into the final stretch on phase one of the Dirt Lab at Gateway Green, with work on the bike park and trails resuming after a painfully long stretch of inactivity on the site.
The official opening is June 24th, which is just a few short weeks away! Volunteers have been gathering on site each weekend, trimming back grass, branches and doing trail work to get the site ready. But what’s more exciting is the long awaited arrival of the pre-fabricated bike park features.
While we’d prefer a dirt track over concrete, there are undeniable benefits to the precast concrete track. Not only do they not require maintenance, they dry quickly and as they’re elevated, bypass the need for drainage. They’re also very beginner friendly, which means a dirt pump track down the road could be designed to be more progressive and suit more advanced riders to compliment the precast one.
In addition to a prefabricated modular concrete pumptrack, we received our first look at the prefabricated take off ramps for the jump line. As there is still only enough dirt on site for a single jump line for the time being, we were a initially a bit concerned that it might end up too advanced for the majority of riders to progress on.
It doesn’t sound like it will be an issue though, as the angle of the ramp can be adjusted, and a platform will be bolted on to reduce the gap that new jumpers often find intimidating. We’re looking forward to many afternoon sessions on these, and helping our friends bring up their level of riding!
We’ve been discussing a progressive drop zone for a while, and it’s great to see the area finally graded and cleared.
The drop zone has an short entrance line to help you get into the groove.
The primary jump line has a curved wall ride feature that was being installed the day dropped in. Crews have been working on it all week and we’ll be updating this post over the next few days with more up to date images.
Last weekend, volunteers worked to shape the pump trail along the bottom of the cliff line. While it’s still loose, today’s moisture will hopefully help in getting it compacted this weekend. There are volunteer opportunities, so leave a comment below if you’re interested in more info.
Volunteering obviously means getting ride time in – not only does it help pack things down, but first tracks are part of the deal!
Wood skills features on site.
We spent a good amount of time trimming back branches and bushes getting the trails ready. Though the sections are short, if you can ignore the constant roar of traffic from I-205, you would never know you’re surrounded by cars.
Update: June 9th
Work is progressing quickly! The first ramp, wall ride and pump track are now installed!
June 12th Update
The ramps have arrived!
The run in to the jump line is evolving considerably. These aren’t going to be BMX track style jumps.
Volunteer turnout this weekend was small; that said, it wasn’t promoted. Work continues on improving the pump line and trail experience. We groomed a section and added some berms to aid in flow. The soil is already quite dry and difficult to work with so going has been a bit slow. This winter we’ll have our work cut out for us.
For more info on the Gathering at Gateway Green June 24th, visit www.gatewaygreenpdx.org