Bike-jumping park becomes a reality

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

Whitefish will soon be sporting a new bike-jumping park, thanks to the hard work of numerous volunteers and the city's cooperation.

"Two years ago, we went to the city council with our ideas, and they said, 'Let's try it'," said Tyler Tourville, of Glacier Cyclery. "It's great that the city is letting us do it."

Tourville, along with Whitefish residents Pete Costain and Jake Christenson, local donors and city parks director Dan Keyes have been working hard to complete the project.

About 850 cubic yards of dirt — 70-plus dump truck loads — was brought to the site of the new park. Dirt from the Old Towne subdivision with more clay and rock was used to build a 25-foot high running-ramp, complete with a pathway that spirals up the hill.

Costain said a load of Chief Cliff stone donated by Montana Rockworks will be used later to create retaining walls on the spiral pathway. Materials for a post-and-rail fence separating the road from the bike park was sold at a reduced price by Mild Fence. Landscaping will take place this week.

Costain emphasizes that the park is not open to the public, even if it looks ready to use. The city's insurance won't kick in until the city council approves the work that's been done.

Located inside Armory Park near the David Olseth Memorial Skateboard Park on Second Street, the bike-jumping facility will be geared toward beginners and mountain bikers, Tourville said.

"The emphasis is on kids right now," he said. "We want to make sure that everyone who wants to can get out and ride on it."

Tourville said the park is composed mostly of dirt mounds so any changes necessary in the future will be relatively easy to make. Much of the dirt for the mounds contains organic material and came from two digs at city projects — the new parks maintenance building and the Cow Creek sewer line.

"If we have issues, things can be changed easily," he said. "We want to build it so as many people can ride on it as possible."

Bikers leaving the launching ramp will encounter about six or seven jumps of various heights. A berm at the other end will allow riders to easily change direction and head back to the starting ramp.

"I think it's going to be great," Tourville said. "Right now it will be mountain-bike oriented, but over time it will evolve. We gotta start somewhere, and this is it."

Tourville said he is excited that kids will have a legal place to jump bikes for the first time in Whitefish.

"Right now, there are a lot of renegade jumps around, like the viaduct. This will give people a legal option," he said.

Tourville said the plan is to let the park sit over the winter so the dirt will set and the park will be able to withstand heavy use next summer. He also stressed that the park's planners consulted with nearby homeowners to address any concerns they might have.

"We are going to have a sprinkler system installed to mitigate dust," he said. "And we moved the original location because it was right next to somebody's house."

Tourville, who works at a busy bike shop, knows the demand for a bike-jumping park is high in the area.

"People have been talking about this for years, it's just taken us this long to get going," he said.