Yesterday's plowing of the trails near my house upset me. I wasn't surprised the jumps were destroyed because in my experience when it comes to the jumping dirt jumps, most happy stories usually have an unfortunate
ending. What really upset me was the impact it had on may of the kids in our community.
Yesterday's event motivated me to reflect upon the struggles I have had during my life long passion for jumping bikes. I created this post to help others understand what type of person I am and why our community needs to create a bike park for "other kids like me".
Let's hop in the time machine. First stop....1970
I've loved the feeling of physical movement for as long as I can remember. My mom says as a baby I loved to constantly wiggle my arms and legs. Once I learned to walk, it wasn't long until I was running and jumping everywhere. I remember rolling down grass hills at the local park and jumping over pillows in the living room. I have always loved the feeling of motion.
Undated photo of me hanging from a swing structure at the local park. I'm aprox. four to five years old (1974-75) and rocking a paper "Burger King" crown. In the original photo you can see my blue Vans shoes - I always wore Vans because I used the extra rubber on the toe to stop my big-wheel... one of my first forms of transportation. I love everything about this photo...it always makes me smile.
In 1975 my parents bought me my first two wheeled bike... a yellow Schwinn Stingray.
I was five years old when my parents bought me a bike just like this one.
I remember taking the training wheels off after a couple of weeks because I wanted to jump off the curbs in front of my house. I spent countless hours riding around the neighborhood practicing wheelies. My bike was my primary form of transportation. I preferred it over walking.
Unfortunately one day in 1976 I left it outside overnight. That was the day I learned the painful lesson that bad things can happen if you don't watch out for your bicycle. I was really bummed :(
A few months later I promised I would be more careful and my dad upgraded me to a Schwinn Tornado - my first dirt bike. The chrome ape hanger handlebars were replaced by more traditional BMX style bars...this bike was built for jumping!
This photo shows the same make/model of the bike I rode when I was six years old (1976).
I still own that bike today. It is currently sitting in my garden shed under a pile of old blankets. I have the original bars, rear fender, and chain guard but the wheels are missing. My frame is black (not red) and my forks are straight, not curved. The front fender is missing because as I grew older, I took the extra pieces off to reduce the weight of the bike. I wanted to fly as high and fast as possible.
My younger sister Amy and I chilling out in the front yard (1978). In the corner you can see my Schwinn Tornado. I had a wagon tied to the seat post - which I used to tow toys and other random junk around the neighborhood. Gotta love the black socks!
My bicycle forks were a source of pride among my friends. I rode a pair of replacement "Tioga" BMX forks on my Tornado because I bent the original ones while jumping. My first broken part! I remember my dad taking the old bent forks off my bike, flipping them upside down, and driving our 65' Mustang on top of the forks in an attempt to straighten them out. It didn't work :)
This was the first of many times my dad taught me how to fix various aspects of my bike. My dad showed me how to adjust the handlebars, tighten the chain, fix flat tires, true a wheel, etc... I loved cleaning and working on my bike..and still do today.
I posted this photo of my bike on my blog a couple of years ago. What I didn't mention at the time was I took the photo after I spent the afternoon giving it a tune-up. I love to work on my bike, then sit back and just stare at it. A good bike has beautiful shapes and lines. Definitely built to move!
I spent countless hours in front of the house on my Schwinn Tornado blasting off curbs, jumping wooden blocks, bunny hopping friends, and enjoying the freedom that comes with riding bikes.
By the time I was in 5th grade (1980) I was ready to upgrade to my first real BMX bike....a Redline. This bike was lighter, stronger, and more durable than the Schwinn. It had straight chromoly tubes and alloy parts. My Redline also had a freewheel and a hand brake. This was important because not only did it make the bike lighter, the freewheel allowed me to position my pedals correctly before hitting a jump.
Garfield Park - My First Dirt Jump
I remember when the older kids in the neighborhood built a dirt jump at Garfield Park, located up the street from my house in South Pasadena. We would start at the top of a hill in the park, ride down gathering speed, and jump off a jump at the top of a smaller hill at the bottom. I remember spending hours and hours at the jump testing myself to see how far I could jump. I remember my friend holding a broom stick up at his shoulder while I jumped over it. I thought I was "skying"!
Catching air at Garfield Park in 1981 during the summer before 7th grade. Notice the people sitting at the picnic table in the background watching as we jumped our bikes. We occasionally turned heads.
I remember watching the high school kids launch off the same jump. They had better bikes and would fly higher than I could. I remember a boy on a black and gold SE Quadangle who tried to jump a trashcan but ended up nose diving into it. I remember an older guy named Scott on a red and gold FMF who jumped so high and far that when he landed he bent his rear rim in half and snapped half of the spokes in his wheel. He ended up in pile under a cloud of dust. Everyone ran over to make sure he was OK.
The best rider in town was Brian Wilson. Brian was a high school student and "the cool guy" in our BMX world. He had the lightest bike (a CW Racing frame), would get parts for a reduced rate from Main Bikes (the coolest bike shop in town). Brian raced at Azusa (nearby BMX track) and could jump a whole picnic table at Garfield Park! One day I remember practicing alone at the Garfield Park jump and seeing Brian ride by doing a wheelie. He saw me jumping, took one hand off the handlebar, gave me the thumbs up, and continued down the sidewalk while never dropping his wheeling. That was about the raddest thing I had ever seen up to that point in my life and I immediately knew I wanted to ride like him when I grew up! I assumed I would jump the Garfield Park jump forever.
Where Do Bikes Fit In Society?
Some of my friends put this sticker on their skateboard when we were younger. Of course skateboarding isn't a crime...but property damage is. I never really enjoyed grinding on people's marble walls because it seemed disrespectful...I just wanted to jump my bike.
I was 11 years old (1981) when I first began to realize that
jumping BMX bikes wasn't socially acceptable...and as a matter of fact
was considered criminal by some members of society.
As early as 4th grade (1979) I remember being stopped by police officers while riding my bike. My friends and I would ride down the street gaining momentum and then hit the curb cut in front of our house launching ourselves onto my front yard. The police would ask us to stop because we were riding our bikes in the street and running the risk of hurting ourselves.
By 1981 the police would stop us on a regular basis while jumping at Garfield Park. We were riding our bikes through the park at high speeds while families were picnicking. I suppose we were running the risk of crashing into people but we always made a point of looking out before we rode down the hill. Again liability was an issue...the police said we could hurt ourselves jumping our bikes.
In 1982 the city park department started chaining picnic benches together across our jump in an attempt to stop us. As a 12 year old, I remember waking up as early as 6:30 AM on Saturdays and riding my bike to Garfield Park so I could hit the jump alone a few times before anyone else showed up. Sometimes the police would stop me and ask why I was riding my bike alone so early in the morning. I didn't have the ablity to explain how stoked I was on jumping my bike so I simply rode home and watched Saturday morning cartoons on the television.
Chilling at Garfield Park in 1982. Normally I don't like this photo because I think I look like a dork with a big head...but the one thing it clearly shows is the feeling of "stoke" I get when riding my bike. That feeling of motion and speed has been, and will always be, very addicting. If watching someone blast a jump and doing a "turn-down" gives you goosebumps then you know what I mean. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you may never truly understand.
The Good Times Can't Last Forever
One day the city town down the Garfield Park jump because of liability and "damage to the grass". I remember the day they dug the jump up. My friends and I tried making a small little jump where the big one used to be. We assumed the Garfield jump would last forever and we were shocked to see it destroyed. We tried to "fix it" but we lacked the jump building skills the older boys had. Eventually we gave up and stopped hanging out at Garfield Park.
Launching on my bike at Garfield Park around 1982. Notice the path we wore into the grassy hill behind us. My dad took the photo.
Somewhere around this time we decided to build a small dirt track at the end of our alley as a replacement to the Garfield Park jump. I remember spending the summer with my friends building the jumps and berms. Every day my friends and I filled our wagon full of shovels and picks and tow it to the end of the alley. We spent the day digging holes, laughing, telling jokes, and throwing dirt clods at each other. We were proud of our first BMX track because we constructed it ourselves. We had two jumps that led to a berm that linked to a hole with a jump out of it. Two more jumps and another berm completed the track. It took days to complete.
One day in September my 6th grade classroom took a field trip to the local library. Our class happened to walk by our jumps and to my surprise I saw a bulldozer knocking down our summer project! I couldn't believe it. Why? Liability...and access to power lines. The open space at the end of the alley was used by the local power company to access high voltage transmission lines. Not a good place for jumps I guess. Of course we were twelve.....so what did we know?
Our next plan was to build a jump in my backyard. We figured that jumps in the backyard would be safe from destruction by the city. I had a small backyard so our options were pretty limited. With a little creativity we built a berm around an old avocado tree that led to a small jump. The backyard jump was better than nothing though not as good as the jump at Garfield Park.
Hitting a jump under the avocado tree in my backyard cerca 1983. Nice OP shorts and Adidas Stan Smiths! The CW Pro bars look gigantic compared to what we ride today.
Being in love with a sport that is considered illegitimate by many in society is frustrating. My friends and I built and rode other jumps in South Pasadena over the years. Johnson Track off of Fremont Blvd, Oneonta, a dirt track in a vacant lot behind Oneonta Church, Elephant Hill near Monterrey Hills. None of them lasted forever. A trend was developing...find an open space, build some jumps, have fun, get in trouble, and then watch them get torn down.
Trying To Make Sense Of Conflict
Some people like to claim that "things were better back in the day". When it comes to riding bikes, I will argue nothing has changed. In 1983 most people were opposed to kids building dirt jumps because...
- The rider can get hurt
- Innocent bystanders can get hurt
- Someone might sue someone else
- Private property
- Dirt jumps damage the environment
Do you ride bikes? If you do, you know the excuses listed above are as common today as they were twenty eight years ago. I remember being hassled by people walking down the street yelling "you are going to break your neck!" An old lady told me that last month. Times haven't changed...and neither has my passion for movement.
When I was younger I felt the "skateboarding isn't a crime" sticker applied to bikes as well.
As a child, the most frustrating aspect of this situation was how ridiculous it seemed to me. How could riding bikes be "a bad thing"?
- Obviously I knew it was dangerous and I accepted that risk.
- I tried to be careful when riding near others at the park.
- I didn't think my jumps destroyed the environment (of course this is a matter of perspective...for example we wore a track in the grass hill at Garfield Park...as a 41 year old I could see how that might look ugly to some people...)
- I never destroyed public or private property (broke handrails, concrete steps, outdoor light fixtures, etc...) beyond leaving some rubber wheel marks on a wall behind the liquor store (again as a 41 year old I can understand how frustrating the marks may have been for the store owner).
I loved riding and didn't understand why others were opposed to it. In my teens I assumed adults were simply out of touch with reality or held a grudge against young people.....something many teenagers think anyway (regardless of if its 1982 or 2012.
Watching our hard work get plowed down was depressing but it didn't stop my passion for riding bikes. I started "riding street" while in high school. Basically this involves finding man-made obstacles to jump your bike on. For example, concrete lips, asphalt jumps in parking lots, walls, staircases, etc.... The benefit of street riding is you don't waste your time building a jump that eventually gets knocked down.
The drawback
is almost no one in the community supports street riding. The property owner with the concrete lip on their driveway will tell you to leave. The shop owner will tell you to get out of their parking lot. The number of interactions with police increases dramatically.
I am not the type of person who enjoys conflict with police/authority so I started riding bike earlier and earlier in the morning. Sometimes I would wake up at 4:00 AM and ride my bike through town in the dark. These early sessions were magical because the streets were empty and quiet....I was free to ride where I wanted.
Footplant on the bike rack at the local public library circa summer of 1988. I had recently graduated from high school. I remember the Librarian was definitely not as stoked as I was.
But Is It Cool?
In my experience, BMX has been a sport for outcasts. This fact contributes to the difficulty bikers face when being accepted by society in general. Surfing is acceptable. Skateboarding is getting there thanks to X-Games and Shawn White. Bikes? Forget about it...
I realized riding bikes wasn't cool by the time I was in 9th grade. The popular kids in South Pasadena played football, waterpolo, or volleyball. Skating was the cool "alternative sport". Most people over 14 years old rode bicycles for no other reason than to get from point A to point B. Some said I needed to grow up and stop riding "a little kids bike".
I could count one one hand the number of friends I had in high school who still jumped bikes. Most people thought we were goofy or weird...walking around school with bloody shins and Oakley t-shirts. I had to choose between trying to be popular and enjoying the "stoke" of jumping bikes...and I chose the later.
I remember how excited I was when I learned how to do no footed bunny hops in the parking lot behind the Wells Fargo bank in 9th grade.....I knew I would take that feeling over a high school letterman jacket any day.
Cross up over a driveway on Cape May Avenue in Ocean Beach circa 1990. I was twenty years old at the time. I remember hitting that jump every day as I did my daily surfcheck. A couple minutes after this photo was taken, the owner of the house came outside and told me to "get lost". I checked the surf on my bike a month ago and hit the same jump...22 years later. I wonder if the same owner still lives there :)
I moved to Ocean Beach in 1990 and immediately experienced a drastic culture change from the conservative world of South Pasadena. Unfortunately BMX's place on the social ladder didn't change. Surfing replaced waterpolo on top of the social ladder. Riding bikes still seen as a "hick sport".
NOTE: Today many people still associate BMX with El Cajon and Lakeside...communities in eastern San Diego county where BMX is more respected / mainstream. Traditionally very few students at Dana jump bikes.
In 1991 an older friend of mine, who I surfed and jumped bikes with, told me
"jumping bikes is what we do when the surf is flat". I disagreed. I didn't see one sport as superior to the other and I was perfectly happy riding around OB jumping curbs.
My BMX bike didn't help me out with the girls......but it was a totally different story when I passed the Harley riders in the bars on Newport Avenue. The bikers frequently gave me "the thumbs up" or a whistle when I busted a wheelie down the block. Maybe it takes a hick to respect hick talent.
Exploring San Diego
At the age of 23 my love for dirt jumping was still alive. My friends and I rode dirt jumps at:
- ...the dirt quarter pipe in Sunset Cliffs Park - probably the most beautiful place I've ever built jumps.
- ...the dirt cliffs in front of Law Street in Pacific Beach - we would do wheelies up the Mission Beach boardwalk, hit the jumps and ride home. I remember learning 360's there.
- ....Tecalote Canyon in Clairmont - broke a pair of forks there.
- ...a dirt lot on the corner of Clairmont Mesa Blvd. and Balboa Ave. - torn down to make room for a church.
- ...the dirt mounds and hills surrounding Robb Field in OB - some of our jumps were lost when the city converted the open space area into the OB Skate Park.
Video clip from Sunset Cliffs circa 1991. You can see the Nazarene College on the hill in the background. We found a natural "quarter pipe" in a gully and built some jumps around it. We used to cart in trash cans full of water to the jumps for the purpose of packing down the lips. I was riding a Hutch Pro Star at the time and snapped the frame learning no footed can cans.
The Sunset Cliffs jumps was the most controversial spot listed above. The jumps were located in a small gully immediately north of the "subs" surf break. I remember being harassed by surfers and community members because they thought the jumps ruined the natural look of the terrain. Good jumps but bad vibes.
We enjoyed our time at the cliffs...riding our bikes down Sunset Cliffs Blvd. to "The Arch" where we would take a couple dives into the ocean before continuing towards the jumps. At one point we started tying a rope around an old Mongoose and jumping it straight off The Arch into the ocean. It was fun doing 20 foot table tops to water!
Sunset Cliffs circa 1992. The jump line lead downhill to a cliff overlooking the ocean. We carved dirt hips out of the natural terrain. Beautiful but short lived.
Most of my riding during this time involved curbs and street in OB. We carved a couple of lips out of the natural terrain around Robb Field but there wasn't really anything special to hit.
Hitting a lip at Robb Field circa 1992. I was 22 years old and loving the sun in Ocean Beach. I was never sure if I was a surfer who rode bikes or a biker who surfed. The frame was a first generation Haro Master built by Torker.
Taking A Break
Around 1997 a variety of factors led to a multi-year break from jumping bikes.
- I was riding an aging bike at the time...my parts were "top of the line" but getting old. Things were cracking and breaking.
- Technology changed....I still rode a gooseneck and Bullseye hubs with 3/8" female studs. Seatposts changed, brakes changed....and none of the "new stuff" was compatible with my old set up.
- My friends stopped jumping bikes and I couldn't find anyone in town who shared my passion - I was all alone and getting burned out. I started to get my "movement fix" from surfing and bombing hills on skateboards.
I reached the point where "jumping my bike" didn't consist of much more than riding to and from the beach to check the surf.
In 1999 a group of people build a set of jumps near Nimitz Blvd. I had not jumped my bike on a regular basis in three years and my skills were rusty. I showed up at the jumps with my junky old bike and immediately crashed enough times to beat the thrill out of me. I had a similar experience at the Mission Trails jumps around 2000. I couldn't make a simple set of doubles without crashing. The stoke wasn't there.
I decided my jumping days were over. I disassembled my bike for the last time. I kept my hubs and pedals, put my Redline flight ranks, GT stem, and Excalibur seat post clamp on my beach cruiser, threw away the cracked frame, fork, and bars, and focused my life on surfing. It was the year 2000 and for the first time I didn't own a working BMX bike.
My favorite Bullseye hubs. I rode them from 1983 until when I finally disassembled my bike. I only stopped when the alloy flanges started cracking. Never had to lube them once - zero maintenance. My dad used to work with Roger Durrim, the founder of Bullseye. I remember working all summer long to earn the money necessary to buy these hubs.
Shimano DX pedals. Platform pedals with pins are common today....but back in 1982 these pedals were revolutionary. I've owned a couple pairs of them in my lifetime. These are my favorite - my shoes rubbed the gold right off of them.
During the next few years I occasionally had dreams of the good old days of jumping. The feeling of flying through the air and pushing my limits was only a memory.. nothing more. My only bike was a rusty beach cruiser that I used to check the surf.
Around 2003 I considered buying a 24" BMX cruiser. The change to a 24" bike would be monumental because it would validate my days of jumping bikes were over. The cruiser, a bigger and slower bicycle that only has "remote connections" to a BMX bike, is really an old man's bike. I remember being 23 and riding a 20" while my 27 year old friend had already graduated to a 24" cruiser. I was 33 in 2003 so I figured at least I outlasted him.
In 2004 I visited a bike shop in Imperial Beach and took a 24" SE Floval Flyer for a test ride. The Floval Flyer is a replica of a famous bike originally built in the 80's. The original bike was made in the USA. This one was made in China. Its a cruiser...not a jumper...just a distant memory of an exciting past.
Something didn't feel right. The cruiser was a BMX bike in "name only" and even that was a stretch. It wasn't built to jump, fly, or move. My urge to buy a new bike was connected to my desire to resurrect the feeling of stoke. If I'm going to do it, I had to go all the way. I walked away from the cruiser....and never looked back.
Bringing It Back
In 2005 I started visiting BMX websites in an attempt to catch up with the latest technology and trends. It had been ten years since I purchased a BMX bike and I had no idea which companies were respectable and which ones sold out. Torker was gone...its name sold to a Chinese company and placed on children's strollers. GT was making mountain bikes and ten speeds. You could purchase a Mongoose in a department store. Redline made weird aluminum racing frames. Times had changed.
In 2005 I bought a used Fly Panteria on eBay and started riding again. I remember the first time I put my bike together and rode around town. I was so rusty I couldn't remember if I jumped with my right or left foot forward....both felt awkward.
(NOTE for someone who doesn't jump bikes: this is the equivalent of forgetting if you write with your right or left hand) I couldn't bunny hop, didn't know how to wheelie or manual, and felt like a dork when jumping. BUT I felt the stoke and continued to jump curbs around Ocean Beach.
One day in 2006 found some abandoned dirt jumps in a vacant lot behind Barnard Elementary. Three old sets of doubles that needed a lot of work. I started hanging out in the lot by myself working on the jumps and practicing my jumping skills. I'd show up on the weekends and tune up the lips while trying to remember how to do a table top.
Over time I increased the size of the jumps and started adding additional sets. I was progressing.... learning new tricks. Within a few months I was jumping higher and farther then I did ten years before!
Toboggan at Barnard Elementary circa 2007. What started as three old run down doubles eventually grew to twelve sets of jumps in a row. I buried the trash I collected in the dirt lot under this set.
It didn't take long until others started showing up. I met Mitch and Cody.. two teenagers from Mission Bay High who loved jumping as much as I did. I also met a whole group of old jumpers from Ocean Beach who built the original jumps at Nimitz in 1999. Kale and Bird were old dirt jumpers from OB. Dan and Jessie were students who attended Correia Jr. High during my teacher assistant days in 1994. Now in their late 20's, they were strong, fast, skilled, and a perfect inspiration for me. They could do tricks I had only seen in magazines - big tuck no-handers, 360's over a huge set of doubles, big turn downs, one footed tabletops, etc... They added to my jumps and started building new ones..and everything they built was BIG.
A couple of them were expert builders who really knew how to shape a lip. I watched and learned...and soon my jump building skills advanced. I became proficient at using a flat head shovel to apply an appropriate mixture of dirt and water to the face of the lip. Together we quadrupled the quantity of jumps at Barnard. We had a really cool scene going on with weekend BBQ's and trash pick up days. Things were looking good!
That is until one Saturday morning in 2008 when I showed up to the jumps only to find them plowed. Apparently the school district owned the land and was concerned about the issue of liabilty. Same story - new decade. The scene died and the friends faded away.
In 2009 I saw Kale while riding around town. He told me about a new set of jumps they were building at the old Nimitz site. I starting hanging out with the same crew from Barnard and things took off where we left them in 2008. New jumps, new stories, progression, stoke, I was loving it. I event met a couple of new friends including Josh who worked at Performance Bike Shop and Darren who taught Algebra 2 at High Tech High. Both expert jumpers and dirt jump builders.
A video I made of the jumps at Nimitz II in 2009. Look for the no footed can can over the second to last set of doubles.
One weekend in May Dan built a huge set of doubles at Nimitz. They were the largest gap I had ever attempted to clear. I could barely make it over them but kept pushing myself to increase my skills. I was trying to do tabletops over the gap but cased it bad 50% of the time. One day I wrecked REALLY bad on the jumps and ended up almost breaking my wrist. I was out of commission for two weeks and when I returned, I pulled up to the jumps in my truck only to see a bulldozer flattening them. I drove away and didn't look back.
Jumps Can Be Legitimate!
During the summer of 2010, Michelle and I took a road trip to Fort Collins, Colorado
to visit her parents. I decided to bring my bicycle along for the trip and I'm lucky I did because you wouldn't believe what I found... Fort Collins had LEGAL dirt jumps! I couldn't believe it..dirt jumps that were not in danger of being plowed! The jumps are located in
Lory State Park, 15 minutes away from Michelle's parents house. The park staff converted an old horse corral into a "mountain bike center" complete with a pump track and various size jumps.
The Mountain Bike Park at Lory State Park. The "spectator area" had picnic tables under shade trees. The park itself was located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains - beautiful scenery. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
I didn't even know this type of place existed! Once I convinced the staff that I knew how to build dirt jumps, they made me an unofficial "docent" for the park. This meant I could enter the park at no cost. In trade I tuned up the lips of their jumps. I ended up spending three to four hours each day at the jumps...during our entire stay in Fort Collins.
Jumping the table tops at Lory State Park, Colorado, 2010. Legal dirt jumping....who would have thought it could be possible?
The fact that I could jump my bike without being harassed was unbelievable. To my surprise the vibe was the total opposite. Hanging out and jumping bikes was ENCOURAGED! The park staff provided riders with tools, water, shelter, shade, picnic tables, bathrooms, a hose to wet down the jumps.....basically everything you need. Visitors came by to watch and say "hi". Words can't explain how suprised I was.
I kept thinking....there must be a way to make something like this in San Diego...
Upon returning to San Diego, I started hanging out at the local OB skate park. Flowing through the bowls in the back of the park was fun but it was a poor substitute for dirt jumps. The place can become crowded. Oh, did I forget to mention the fact that riding bikes at the skatepark is illegal. Lots of people do it, but it definitely is a bust. If you happen to be there when the police show up then there is a good chance you'll end up with a ticket. Fortunately I never received one...
Hitting the hip in 2011 at the OB Skatepark. Weekend mornings are best...you can sneak in around 8:00 AM and avoid the crowds.
Video footage from OB Skatepark - 2010
I put my ipod in my mouth and rode around the park - 2011
Giving A Gift To Our Kids - Then Taking It Away
One day in November of 2011 I drove by the vacant lot where the old Nimitz jumps were located and noticed someone had built some new dirt jumps in the valley. The jumps were in located the same place where Dan's jumps were back in 1999. I parked my car and ran down the hill to check them out. They looked legit. A drop in down the hill that went to a jump that set up a "left hand transfer" that led to a jump into a berm. Two rollers and three doubles later you ended up at the bottom of the hill you started at. Fun!
I started hanging out at the jumps and soon met the guys who created them. Stan, Keigan, and Cliff are three mountain bikers who love dirt jumps. We shared a common love for jumping and soon began hanging out every weekend building jumps. Josh and Darren from the 2010 Nimitz jumps showed up as well. Josh brought his roomate Fred, who happened to be a student in my history class over ten years ago!
Things really took off. We dug every weekend and throughout the entire winter break. Within a couple of months we had a serious set of trails. I stopped surfing and rode bikes exclusively. The stoke was on!
Nimitz III - February 5th 2012. The trails were rolling! There were multiple lines everywhere..you could pump through the track without peddling. Big jumps, small jumps, transfers, the place was sick....the best I ever rode. Two days after this photo was taken it was gone.
From the beginning these trails were different. For example some people called them Famosa, not Nimitz. The open space is located between Nimitz Blvd. and Famosa Ave. so there is a good reason it has two names. It all depends upon who you talk to...some of the old guys from 1999 still call it Nimitz.
I am from the older generation that called it Nimitz but I am OK with the new name because to me it symbolizes a more global change....in the overall vibe of the place.
The original Nimitz jumps could be a little rowdy. Beer drinking, loud music, and other questionable behavior existed right along with the bike jumping. It is not uncommon for this to happen but it sure doesn't help to improve the image that police, parents, and the community at large has of BMX. You could argue this behavior causes the eventual destruction of the jumps.
Even without the alcohol, the general feeling among those who rode bikes at Nimitz (including myself) was "society doesn't respect us so screw them". You have read up to this point. When has my community ever lifted a finger to support my passion? I've been kicked out of areas, chased by cops, yelled at by adults, and treated like a criminal in general. Why would I consider trusting anyone?
The new vibe at Famosa is different. I will always remember the first time I met Keigan. He said "hi I'm Keigan and we want to work with the city to make this a legitimate place for people of all ages". Keigan, Cliff, and Stan wanted to work WITH the city to make Famosa a community park. They figured it was the only way we could make something that would last.
An awesome idea - and count me in!
Our unofficial rules for the Famosa jumps represent the new mentality:
- The jumps are for everyone - we built small jumps for kids and larger jumps for adults. Stan was instrumental in creating a "roller track" which attracted dozens of younger kids and beginners in the neighborhood. Respect and a positive attitude is key. Everyone is welcome.
- Wear your helmet - I've been doing it for the last few years but we made sure everyone had one. We even kicked out kids who didn't bring a helmet. Its law...we need to set a good example for everyone.
- Pack your trash - keep the place clean
We encouraged families and children to come. The adults kept an eye on the kids and made sure everyone was safe. We monitored any adolescent misbehavior and encouraged younger kids to try jumping their bikes. We showed them were the beginner lines were and gave them tips while cheering them on. We did the best we could to create a family environment and it is paying off!
By January 2012 the jumps were crowded with kids from 8 to 15 years old! Parents would bring elementary aged kids to ride the pump track. The older guys were giving away old bike parts to the younger riders. I was teaching kids how to fix their brakes and change flat tires. We taught them how to shape the lip of a dirt jump with a flat head shovel. Within a month a dozen kids were riding dirt bikes to my school. The stoke was alive!
Parents expressed their appreciation for what we created for our community. We encouraged the adults to contact our local city council representative and express their support for the bike park. Keigan was meeting with representative from the city and working towards creating a formalized park.
I was loving the vibe. I was having fun jumping my bike, expressing my creativity through building dirt jumps, and enjoying the feeling of watching a new generation of children learn the thrill of movement through BMX.
Then just like that.....it was gone.
Screenshot from the news story about the destruction of the Formosa dirt jumps. It takes one man in a Bobcat a few hours to destroy days and days of work completed by over a dozen people. It didn't seem fair...but it wasn't the first time I experienced this. Follow this link for photos of the destruction and students talking to the TV crew.
Stan, Keigan, and Cliff called me on Thursday, February 9th, and told me the jumps were being plowed. I drove to the jumps after school knowing they would be gone by the time I arrived but I wasn't prepared for the emotional impact of what I witnessed.
At first I was disappointed because the source of "my personal stoke" was gone. The jumps were just getting good...it usually seems like dirt jumps get torn down during their "peak of evolution".
But what really made me sad was watching the reaction from the children. There were over twenty kids with bikes walking around the remains of our jumps. Some brought shovels and were attempting to fix what had been destroyed. Others were standing around just staring. A few were trying to jump a few small remaining piles of dirt. Most of the kids wanted to talk to me. They wanted to know why the jumps were torn down. They wanted to know when we were going to fix them. They asked if I was going to come after school tomorrow and help them rebuild their jumps.
For most of the 10-12 year old students in the group, this was their first dirt track. Just like my experience with the Garfield Park jump, they were shocked that someone would take something they loved away from them. I tried to help them make meaning of the situation. I explained the city plowed the jumps because we were on private property and they were concerned that someone would be liable if we got hurt. I shared our ideas for how we could work with the city to create a park like the one I found in Colorado.
The students wanted to create a petition, they wanted their parents to call the city...they just wanted their dirt jumps back.
Seeing their reaction made me feel sick. Most of these kids loved jumping bikes just as much as I do. I know exactly how they were feeling....horrible.
Cliff called the local news station and they came by and filmed the kids. The clip aired on the 10 o'clock news. Please click the "Breaking News" image below and watch the video. It is an accurate description of how how we all felt.
Almost all of the kids in the video are students at my school. Look for the footage of them digging with shovels and patting the dirt down. They are using the techniques we taught them. We didn't tell the students to do anything for the camera......they did and said what was on their own minds.
So where now? I told the kids I won't be digging at Famosa in the near future. The police said they will ticket anyone who builds a dirt jump on the property. I am the 41 year old Vice Principal of the local middle school. I want to set a good example for my students by "getting things done the right way". I am not interested in having run-ins with the law.
We are trying to organize the adults and petition the city to turn the vacant land into a bike park. I am hopeful and I will keep you posted via this blog.
I still love bmx.
