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 DJHOME - SUMMER 2002 - SUMMER 2003 - DJLINKS )
The New Set: July 13, 2003Shown to the right is the largest of three jumps (so far) in the new set on the back of the property. This is shot looking at the landing, so the approach is down the slope towards the camera. (You can click on the images to pop-up a larger version. Please be patient, the images may take a moment to appear.) Below left is the same jump, taken from the other side looking at the takeoff. About 15 meters down, about where the shadow below the line of trees on the left ends, is where there will be a 90 degree berm shooting riders to the right and down another gradual downslope to the next set of jumps. In time this would also be a great spot for a hip jump, as there is plenty of room for it.
The grass and Goldenrod may look a little tall around the jumps, but the run-in and run-out is quite clear and smooth. However, if the site is not visited for a couple of weeks, the plants move in pretty quickly. Luckily, it only takes a couple of runs on the bike, and a bit of trimming with the clippers, to have a nice clear path again. The same is true of the XC trails - if we do not use them for a while they get overgrown pretty quick.
The jumps have quite a bit of space between them right now, but the plan is for them to get progressively bigger. Once they are up to "full size", the distance between them should be just right. Also, because there is a reasonably large enough space (width-wise) between the trees, this single line could morph into two lines in the future, in which case the distance from one jump to the next can be re-investigated (maybe a more "rhythm section BMX style" setup?). For now, though, this spacing suits me fine because I tend to require a bit of extra setup time between jumps. Also, mountain bikes (what I ride on these since I do not own a BMX right now) can keep their speed between jumps a bit better due to their larger diameter wheels. The next step is to finish these three and move on to the berm and the set that follows it. Also I have to remember to take a photo of the slope that will hopefully be home to either a nice drop to tranny or a large kicker at the bottom, or both. For now I just have to keep diggin'...
The small double in the forground of the picture above right is now rideable. Small, but rideable. The large tabletop gets larger (length-wise) each visit, and is pretty nice right now. The middle soon-to-be tabletop should be rideable within a week. With that, a complete line will be rideable. Sweeeet. A bit of rainfall lately (it has been pretty dry) has packed down the jumps quite nicely, but also eroded some parts. A bit of maintenance in the form of putting more dirt in the eroded areas is necessary from time to time. As the jumps pack down and get harder, the erosion generally lessens, and if you keep tabs on where the erosion occurrs, you can build things up just right to minimize the damage.
The middle table is now rideable, although it still needs a lot of work. But the three jumps are now rideable in succession, which is a lot more fun than it was before - it used to be either a single hit, or hit a jump, dodge an unfinished jump, hit another jump. The spacing between the jumps seems just about right, which is to say, a bit too much right now, but perfect for later when the jumps a bigger. A bit of rain during digging today gave turned the dirt a bit muddy, which actually made the building process a bit easier because the dirt would stay where you put it more than when it is dry. Two weeks ago I had an interesting run-in with one of natures little creatures while digging a hip jump. There is a small ridge running next to the fence line on a shallow downhill closer to the front of the property that looks perfect for a nice kicker hip jump. Well, after digging into the ridge from the side for about five minutes, I decided to jump up on top of it and dig in from the top. About two shovel-fulls in, I dug right into a large nest of small-but-nasty ground wasps. They swarmed around my feet, and I was running before I even knew what I was doing. Luckily I only sustained a single sting, but it hurt like hell. Mental note: watch where you dig. We are going back with wasp killer spray when we decide to finish the hip...
Today was what you might call "wildlife day". Not only did we see a large deer run up the trail, past the spot where the big berm is going to be, and jump a fence into the adjacent farmer's field, but I also managed to scare the crap out of myself getting ready for my first run of the day through the jumps. As usual, I pedalled up the trail to the turnaround spot, made sure I was in the proper gear, and spun my bike around to face back down the trail towards the jumps. Just as I did so, I noticed about twelve feet away in the grass a cute little SKUNK! Well, it was not so little, and I think it was as startled to see me as I was to see it. Luckily it was not facing ass-towards-me, as if it was I'm sure it would have gotten me good. Instead it was facing front-towards-me, mid-stride on its merry way accross our trail. We both looked at each other in bewilderment for a split second before I bolted back down the trail, running beside my bike before jumping on. We waited down by the jumps for a moment, then went back to the spot to see if it was still there, beating the bushes and making loud dog barking sounds to scare it away. We could smell just a hint of skunk spray in the air, as if it just let out a little bit of the smelly stuff to give a warning against future encounters. Luckily, skunks will generally stay away from humans if they know we are coming, and for that reason I am making it a habit of making a lot of noise each time I ride up to the turnaround spot. First wasps and now deer and skunks...
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