Pumped To Play

Good news for those who want to add amenities to a park on a limited budget—pump trails serve a whole population.

That’s the message Pineville, Mo., Mayor Gregg Sweeten got when their town of 791 installed a bike park and a pump trail.

“Sometimes there’s 20 people out there,” he notes. “That really is something for a town our size.”

According to Bermstyle.com, a pump trail is a type of off-road terrain for cycle sport consisting of a circuit of banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by riders “pumping”—creating momentum by up-and-down body movements.

“We had meetings with the youth in the community about what they would like to see,” Sweeten says. “We knew it would be used, but the amount of folks using it is just incredible.”

But it’s not just young children utilizing the half-mile trail. Residents young and old take advantage of the track, which doubles as a walking trail.

“It starts out as a normal walking trail, then there are some elevated parts,” Sweeten explains. “Then when the extreme up and down starts, that’s where the walking trail breaks off into an asphalt surface trail. 

The idea to build the park came from the town’s city clerk after she met John Hunter, owner of Progressive Bike Ramps, a ramp design and manufacturing company located in Joplin, Mo. Then a landowner donated a half acre to build the bike park. Then it was time to get to work.

Sweeten said the town’s fleet of equipment and Progressive helped to bring the project in for $175,500. The bike park was completed in July 2017 and the pump trail followed a month later.

“$175,000 is a big chunk of change for us, but we know it’s going to benefit us in the long run,” Sweeten says.

He adds that maintenance thus far has been adding mulch and keeping the area mowed.

“It’s still a work in progress,” he explains.

Future plans are to add restrooms and a gazebo to offer shelter from the elements.

Sweeten adds for a town lacking sidewalks everywhere but the town square, the bike park and pump trail are a perfect opportunity to encourage residents to get up and moving.

“We’ve had all positive comments that it gives people a safe place to walk,” he notes. “And kids now days, they like to stay inside with their computers, cell phones and all their technology. This is a nice place for the whole family. I wouldn’t change or do anything differently.”

To learn more, visit https://www.progressivebikeramps.com.