mentioned in the 2009 Budget report

tweaks

Did a little tweaking on the track today.
Jordan and I raised about 4 rollers on the near side.
It wasn't riding that smoothly when we had to leave it.
If you ride it, leave us a comment and let us know if it's better or worse.
There's one roller on the back straight that seems a little pointy too. But maybe it's also packing down a little, as it doesn't seem quite as pointy as it did when we capped it a few weeks ago.

Visitors from Philly

Story here on his blog

Carlisle kidz

Dave Bender brought some students from the Yellow Breeches Education Center to ride the pump track yesterday. Looked like they all had some good bike handling experience (they get out on a lot of adventures).

Dave scored the school a fleet of brand-new Redline 29er, rigid single-speeds, thanks to Jes at Gettysburg Bicycle.

Buck Keich, and Hayden, greatly enjoying our work and town.

Over dressed

I am new to blogging, but here is a group of images I put together of an over dressed rider :)

Nice Tie! Great smile!

Pictures

See Larry tamp,


tamp Larry tamp.
















Kids of all sizes



















and ages













and skill levels



Not gonna catch me!

had FUN

more images from the weekend at

http://www.elementoftheeye.com/

We had a great weekend, thanks to all that helped!

Chuck Armstrong

At 8:00 PM on Sunday, there were kids riding there bikes on the pump track. Larry Camp, Ben Blitch and everyone at MBM have given the people of Chambersburg a great thing. People are having fun, and getting fit without even knowing it. Everyone, far and near, should come to Chambersburg to ride the pump track; then have your municipality talk to our Borough Council. Let's get some more of these things built, and develope a true bike culture in this area. This thing is just fun. Thank-you Larry.

Opening Day

I'm running low on words. A few pictures will have to tell today's story.


Chad and his crew from GTown BMX know how to ride, and how to work dirt. They have lots of ideas and skills.

Thank you Ben Blitch!
By the time I write this, Ben is in Philly to work on singletrack at Wissahickon for 2 weeks. Then on to Richmond to build a large pumptrack for Richmond-M.O.R.E.

Day 4

Here is MY final update for the project.

What a day. Fire trucks for a water source? YES…and YES. I unloaded 500 gallons of water on a thirsty pump track in about 5 minutes this morning with the real fire hose. It allowed us to see a few of the low spots that would hold water and correct those, but within a half hour she was thirsty again, but rock solid. Then we steeped it down to a normal garden hose for a few hours.

The rest of the day consisted of working with a handful of local BMX riders, they finally showed up and dialing everything in with the water source. Now? The pumptrack is complete, and rocket fast. This afternoon produced a great session of some of the local rockstars and a few little kids as well. A side note to take away from this one is the smaller loop at the edge, the “Kid’s Loop” works as a great way to allow a slower rider in front of you to get away from you a little bit. I find it interesting though that everyone is wanting to take the long laps. It is rare, now that things are faster, that people want a short lap.

There are a lot of great things that came out of this project and one of them was meeting someone like Larry, he had never undertaken a project like this before and he has given a great gift to the community, even if it disappeared tomorrow. The friendships and comradery that were formed around Hood St. will last lifetimes. It is these little ripples in the universe and the smiles they come with that make this such satisfying work. I believe if we all took on little missions in life, to do a project like this, our world would be a better place.

What’s next? A long shower and some beers with these new found friends. Then tomorrow it is a little ribbon cutting ceremony and a drive to Philly. I am going to miss this town and the cool people that have bonded in it, but hopefully I will be back and the experience will allow me to take smiles to other folks around the country.

THANK YOU ALL !

Ben

B4 Consulting and Construction

Ben Blitch

benblitch@gmail.com

828.606.0211

"Nostalgia By Design"

I Dig Good Blog

Day 3

Here is the Thursday update.

Another awesome day. We finished the major dirt work today. Tomorrow is simply getting things watered and fine tuning it all. Interesting spin on a water source, we will be using a fire truck for the water. That is gonna be really cool.

Things have come together well this week, we have had the turnouts I would expect from day to day of kids calling kids and us having a lot of hands to do the work. A lot of these kids are the forgotten bunch, you know the ones who don’t really get guidance. I think it is great that in a setting like a pumptrack they get to see their elders experimenting with style and technique and they might learn a lesson or two about life. But the setting is so fun, they don’t really realize it.

The community around this corner that has formed is so multi faceted you can’t help but be inspired. A four year old who just learned to ride is on the track being followed by a forty year old who is trying to ride his cyclocross bike on the track because it feels more comfortable. But, my sound bite and user for the day was a mom with a baby jogger who said, “the rhythm must be perfect, my kid was awake and I took a spin on it with the jogger, just to try it out, when I came off the track little one was asleep.” I don’t really know why but, I like that.

I want to say thanks again to all the people in this great community for letting me come be a part of their lives for a week. It is really cool to have surrogate peer groups when I travel the country. This big world of ours is full of great people doing great things. Chambersburg is one of those places.

Ben

B4 Consulting and Construction
Ben Blitch
benblitch@gmail.com
828.606.0211

"Nostalgia By Design"
I Dig Good Blog

Day 2

Here is Wed. update:

Today was great. We placed all of the dirt with the machine and are now hand finishing everything. The outer loop is roughed in and the kids track is feeling fine. The local riders are quickly developing the feel and the eye. We will refine that as the next few days progress.

The goal for tomorrow is to tighten up the area, house cleaning if you will. Also, we want to rough in the cross-overs and get those operational. Then, it is all about the DIAL on Friday. Ride, tweak, water, ride, tweak, water. So Saturday will be sure to be a raving success.

Today’s highlight for me? Over 35 people stopped by the pumptrack area throughout the day and a number of them commented they have never seen so many people in the area before. Utilizing unwanted spaces, this is yet another bonus to these types of facilities.

The weather looks great the next three days so wish us luck and a new pumptrack making smiles in small town USA.

Ben

B4 Consulting and Construction

Ben Blitch

benblitch@gmail.com

828.606.0211

"Nostalgia By Design"

I Dig Good Blog

Neighborhood kid Sean has been there each day after school, digging and raking. Here he's borrowing Ben's bike and railing the small loop.

Pump Track Day 1

some words from Ben, and some pics from Larry:

What a day. Chambersburg is an awesome town on the cusp of greatness. The town features historic buildings and a real sense of community. I am here to try and tap into that using cycling as a catalyst to propel people into a healthier and happier lifestyle.

The city has worked in conjunction with the Mountain Bikers of Michaux to create an opportunity to get families and community members on bikes having fun. We are building a pumptrack measuring roughly 25 x 100 feet and full of excitement. Yesterday was an introduction to all of the players and a look at the site, today was work, work, work.

It all started by moving all of the large rocks out of the fill material and moving soil into place on the design. Then, the fun began. As we started shaping the dirt this afternoon it was like the bat signal had been sent into the stratosphere and the call was out. We had a number of little laborers show up to pitch in and do their best to make sure they had something fun to ride by nightfall. At the wee hours, we are done. What a great day. I hope the photos do the experience justice.

Jody teaches the kids how to work

I want to thank some of the key members of this team. Thanks Larry, Tom, Mike, Jody, and Herb. You all rock, it is folks with the foresight like you that can make a difference in people’s lives.

Okay everyone, days 1 and 2 are in the books.

-Ben

B4 Consulting and Construction

Ben Blitch

benblitch@gmail.com

828.606.0211

"Nostalgia By Design"

I Dig Good Blog

Ben doin' the design ride concept

Tim brought out a couple shovels and his 20"

Sept. 15th it begins!

the site is getting prepped for the work to come in a couple weeks

Thanks

Thanks to Mountain Bikers of Michaux for their generous contribution to the track.
Thanks also to Family Cycle and Gypsie for hosting donation jars at their Borough businesses, and those below who've provided additional support.

Big Oak Cafe
BranDale General Contractors
Historic Preservation Services
Ted and his skid-steer
Eberly's Custom Crank Grinding

Donate to the Pump Track

We're taking donations for the new Chambersburg Pump Track we hope to build in August. Please add your support and get ready to enjoy it later this summer!

We need to raise $2500 to match the Borough's $2500. Please help with a donation.

pump tracks