Ventura Park Pumptrack, Portland, OR. Rebuild Day 2

At the end of our second day of reworking the Ventura Park pump track in Portland, Oregon, the revitalized pump track is now rideable!

Neighborhood kids began gathering almost immediately after we pulled the trail work signs and placed them back in the car, asking if they could play on the track. Though precipitation is needed before the trail can be fully groomed, packed and ridable, with rain in the forecast things are looking great and the pump track should be flowing with a few more hours of work. We’ll be back on site in a few days to rake and smooth ruts, and to continue shaping the outside line.

Big ups to these local riders that came out to help dial in our local pump track!

Big thanks to the nine mountain bikers came out Sunday to put some sweat equity into our local community pump track in Portland, Oregon.

Setting up for the day of work on the pump track.

A good amount of effort goes into putting on a volunteer trail building event. Although I’ve participated in planning a number of them as well as leading them, I’ve never had to also do the promotion or the setup. After a long day of working on the Ventura Park pump track, I have a new found respect for the unsung volunteers that act in a support role for events like these.

After the second day of trail building, the pump track is already useable! Photo: Inga Beck

My morning was super hectic, but I somehow managed to pull it off and got tools onsite for the build day.

My arms and hands are torn up today, but a huge amount of work was done by a small group of dedicated riders, and I’m stoked to say that we have a ridable pump track after only two full days of construction.

At the end of the work day when volunteers had gone home, Nick and I fetched our bikes to test our work.

Huge props and shouts especially to the MVP of the project, Cole Pruitt. Sometimes the best way to manage a successful project is to recruit the right people, and Cole is one of the most bad ass trail builders I know. Without his assistance, this project would not come as far as fast as it has.

The track surface is still rough as well as soft and loose, but it rained last night and we’ll be out later in the week to groom the track. Local kids got first tracks but we had a chance to give it a shot too.

The track is far from complete, but the trail work day was a success, as the goal was to get the track back in usable shape for the local kids to ride. Our berms are looking great as well. Many of our rollers and features still need be reworked and redone over the next few weeks, so if you’re interested in helping drop a line below and watch for updates on the Bermstyle Facebook page.