While there have been rumblings about an indoor park opening in Las Vegas before, it now looks likes it’s finally happening.
SK8XTC, what the new park is called, will cater to skateboarders, BMX riders and inline types. The features and amenities include dirt riding areas, concrete bowls, a BMX SX track and a whole lot more. There’s even a sushi restaurant planned!
Seems pretty over the top…but then again, where else but Vegas could something like this fly?
If you’re not in one of the sunshine states right now, you’re probably dealing with the record low temps of this unbelievably cold winter.
It’s what weather forecaster types call the polar vortex.
It’s enough to drive a BMX enthusiast crazy.
Sure, there are a few options to cope.
If you’re near an indoor bike park, you’re just a short drive a way from your much needed riding fix. This is probably the best of the cold weather options…if you live in the right area.
Another option is finding an enclosed parking garage..this limits the type of riding you can do…think flatland, sprints, maybe some low-key street…but it’s still riding, right?
Or maybe it’s time to look old man winter in the eye and say to hell with it…suit up in some cold weather gear and pop some wheelies in the snow! Like rrdblocks does in this pic that originally ran on the SE Bikes FB page. Sometimes you have to take a stand.
The story behind Ray Petro and his wild idea to build an indoor bike park (so he’d have a place to ride in the winter) reads like a Hollywood movie.
To this day, I’m still surprised that someone hasn’t jumped at the chance to make a movie about it.
Thankfully, as Ray’s MTB celebrates its 10th anniversary this season, the story of how Ray took his dream and made it reality is getting shared by a number of mainstream media outlets.
One of them is Start UP , a new television series that looks into the experiences of American entrepreneurs. They caught up with Ray at the Milwaukee location and do a great job of capturing how Ray managed to pull it off. A truly inspiring story.
(Nice to see some Taj Mihelich riding in the clip too.)
Watch for the segment to air sometime soon on your local PBS station.
Another good feature done on Ray’s MTB was published recently by the Akron Beacon Journal. The article includes a good interview with Ray, pictures and a short video to round out the coverage.
If watching or reading these accounts doesn’t inspire you to follow your dreams, I don’t know what will.
So awesome.
It’s looks like Sin City might just be getting itself it’s very own indoor bike park.
According to the Hub Bike Park Facebook page, the indoor park will open in Fall 2013 and feature:
100,000 square feet of dirt pump track, dirt jump lines and foam pit. All inside a climate-controlled building.
Here’s artist’s rendering/promotional illustration of what it might look like.
This is pretty interesting development in a certain sense…while most bike parks have sprung up as a rider’s response to dealing with the cold (and snow, ice, etc.)…I’m guessing a certain part of the appeal to this park in Las Vegas will be beating the heat (hence the climate-controlled angle), especially in the summer.
Had a chance to ride Cranx Bike Park in Syracuse, New York a week and a half ago and came away smiling.
Built in the spirit of other indoor bike parks like Ray’s MTB and Joyride 150, it has a little something for everyone. From a pumptrack, to jump lines to skatepark/street setups to the newly opened bowl…you can amuse yourself for hours.
Which I did.
Showing up on an unseasonably warm day, the park wasn’t as busy as I suspected it might be at this time of year. But that didn’t take away from the fun of the session. Upon getting the usual paperwork handled (waivers, etc.) by Dale, I was told that Matt, one of the guys on staff there, would give me a tour and show me around.
Definitely a pleasant surprise….and definitely something more bike parks should do.
Matt was laid back and a great tour guide…giving tips on lines, pointing out “escape routes” (if you had to get out of harm’s way) and making sure I had a good feel for the park and what it had to offer.
This run in the bottom left of this group of photos was probably my favorite line in the place. Starting at an elevated part of the park it sent you down into a banked turn and than into another banked turn in the opposite direction with a couple small jumps thrown in for good measure. Once you get used to it and hit with a little speed it becomes superfun.
The wooden bowl was definitely a good time too.
Tons of stuff to ride for sure with many updates and refinements already in the planning stages. (An outdoor dirt jump area has already been roughed for example.)
In the event that you break a bike part or need something for your bike, there’s also a satellite store for local shop, Advance Cyclery (you can see a bit in the left side of the top photo) to help you out.
All in all, definitely a cool place to check out if you’re in the area.
Bonus tip: when you’re done riding and have built up a healthy appetite, check out Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in town. Billed as a “honky tonk rib joint” it is a must-see/stop if you’re into bar-b-que….sooo good!
Photo credit: all pics (except the top one) from Turndown’s photo album on the Cranx Facebook page
Sure the weather outside is frightful in many places right now but if you’re fortunate enough to have a good indoor park nearby count your lucky stars.
Joyride 150 is my home away from home during the winter months and it is a godsend. With jumps, a skatepark area, pumptracks and cross-country stuff there’s a little something for everyone.
Heading out there for a weekly session is how I keep myself sane over the winter. While I miss hitting the local trails, I do kinda look forward to the laidback weekend sessions that happen during the colder months at Joyride.
As an added bonus, Drew Bezanson is a regular there. As you might gather from the video below, that keeps things pretty interesting as well.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
cruiser revolution 