in Group Rides, Bike Trips, and Events

Stoughton has abandoned dirt jumps at Lowell Street Park as well as some small ramps which function as a roll in for the line. Although the spot has been built with the permission of the city, the person maintaining the spot last summer has moved out of state.  However, I think this spot has potential to be some of the best dirt jumps in the area with a little TLC.

I'm thinking about trying to get this spot running again this month and am reaching out to see if anyone is interested in helping get some more dirt jumps/bmx trails running the area since there aren't many.

Here is a video I took of the spot:
Here is the city's (sparse) official page for the park: http://www.ci.stoughton.wi.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={A6C4EE04-2C4A-4098-A5CE-32C41EBC9515}

That is a very sparse webpage.

That is pretty far off my beaten path, so I likely won't be much physical help, but if you get meetings, workdays, etc. lined up, we can certainly help with promotion.  There are certainly a few folks around who do that sort of riding who should be willing to help out.

It's too bad SaltyBK moved; it seemed like he had some momentum going there.  Seems like everyone who rode out there was impressed.  Post up when you get a plan, and we can get it up on Facebook, etc.  Consider coming out to a meeting or other CORP event; it is harder to ignore pleas for help when it comes from someone you've met.

Historical threads for background information:
http://www.madcitydirt.com/index.php?topic=1532.msg11501#msg11501
http://www.madcitydirt.com/index.php?topic=2559.msg20247#msg20247

I agree that this area has a lot of potential. It already has a lot of things going for it that other places wish they could have. They have a suitable site, a willing partner in the City, and heck there is even a base set of trails and features to work with! Most places take years to get to that point.

I agree with Jon: The best thing that can be done is to get involved. Join up and be a member. That gives you a voice. Lots of folks like to work on this sort of thing. CORP can help provide a base of support when needed,as well as a connection point. And it's not our first rodeo so there are resources to draw on as well.

I would consider tweaks to make it an all-around Bike Park. That makes it attractive to more people. Getting it maintained regularly makes it attractive to others. And prolly not the demographic you are think of, but making it attractive to kids and families will do wonders for you. Everyone from City Hall on down will to support things that little kids enjoy. And there are ways to do it that make it so the little ones can have fun, and still be fun for the bigger kids in us as well.

Yes to the families and kids point Chuck brought up.

The youth program in Cambridge has really fueled the scene. In Middleton some of the mini kids who were brought to the pump track by their parents 6 years ago now go there on their own. The Blackhawk youth program lit a big fire and got whole families riding.

It's also good to look for business partners. Just a few bike shop partners have made a major difference. Area brewers and food firms have really helped.

I can't imagine a city parks and rec department not on board with the same sorts of groups and partnerships that have made the other trail areas around here popular and sustainable. Now that I've been at this for a long time I've seen several groups of jumpers and free riders come and go while all the youth efforts have been so popular they get filled up. The youth programs are just the opposite. They grow each year and still get filled to capacity.

A typical dirt jumper is probably in teens and 20s. They seem to stick around for 2-4 years. Get kindergarten kids on dirt and you probably have them sticking around for 12 years and getting some or all the family on board with them.

Any updates on this park? I know this is a very old post, but not sure if it's active? A group of RC car enthusiasts use the park for their hobby and reference the BMX jumps and bike trails there. The Facebook page seems to be void of activity.

I don't live in the area, so I can't just stop by to check it out, so curious if anyone in here have recent eyes on the park?

I live about 20 minutes away from the park so I might be able to drive down there sometime and report back. It would be very fun to get a skid steer out there and reclaim it; I was not even aware it existed. It could be a valuable community asset, especially if geared towards all levels of riders.

This park was looking promising and then faded away. It had community support, a big enough plot of land to make a nice set of jumps or pump track and the initial build was a great start. I don't know the whole story but it was probably too small of a group to keep the momentum going. With the explosive growth in the sport the last few years there is probably some solid potential to get this park going again.

I went out there to look at it today. It's really worn out but not completely abandoned - The main set of 3 lines is still down to dirt, so there's obviously traffic on it. The actual shape of the main line is rough but rideable. The beginner line on the main line is worn down from tabletops to just small rollers, and the gaps on middle and big were in rough shape but rideable. The wood roll-in is long gone, which made getting enough speed for the middle line very difficult and nearly impossible for the big line. On the return side of the loop, there were more jumps; a few were tracked over, but the rest were completely grown over with grass, presumably because nobody could get the speed for them, being steep-faced doubles so late in the jump line. The end of the loop was just lumps in the grass where there used to be a small tabletop, rollers, and a berm.

There was also a trail that went back into the woods that led to an extremely advanced, techy set of steep-faced dirt BMX jumps that look like they've had some very recent work done on them. That line was technically outside the boundaries of the named park but still on public land. Obviously a home-brewed thing and presumably not part of the original development.

In terms of what would need to be done to revive it: I really really think the roll-in would need to be rebuilt, probably in a different spot. A lot of dirt work, probably a complete overhaul/rebuild, would need to be done to make it more beginner- and intermediate- friendly and to make both sides of the loop viable and fun. The big berm at the back corner needs some real TLC. If a roll-in is built, it would probably take 1 weekend with a skid steer and plate compacter, and 5-10 pairs of boots to bring it back to life. Then we'd need people to ride it and maintain it long-term.

one of the pictures

the other side of the loop

Does anyone know a local person who is or would be the site's steward/liaison/leader/champion? That's what's really needed. The success and sustainability of all our ride sites  is pretty much always a team or individual taking on some responsibilities beyond just dig and ride.

For anyone interested or afraid, the trail steward commitment is work but very rewarding. Your volunteers are great people, the land managers and CORP board are great, and it's pretty cool when you see a kid or family or rider lit up from a place to ride.

What William said.  There is the will at the City level in Stoughton, some volunteers doing some work (as Corker pointed out), and possibly  some money in the near future.  But it will take someone willing to be the lead person, to go to meetings, make phone calls, organize, and not give up when it seems like giving up is the most reasonable option.  The dirt work is the easy part, but someone needs to cut through the red tape.  CORP can offer alot of help and guidance, but current volunteers just don't have the bandwidth to make this happen.

What William said.  There is the will at the City level in Stoughton, some volunteers doing some work (as Corker pointed out), and possibly  some money in the near future.  But it will take someone willing to be the lead person, to go to meetings, make phone calls, organize, and not give up when it seems like giving up is the most reasonable option.  The dirt work is the easy part, but someone needs to cut through the red tape.  CORP can offer alot of help and guidance, but current volunteers just don't have the bandwidth to make this happen.

Any feel for the approximate number of hours per month this would require on average?

Any feel for the approximate number of hours per month this would require on average?
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For the administrative stuff, rarely more than 10 hrs per month, usually less.  It tends to come in fits and starts, but it probably averages to about an hour a week.  Dirt work, as much as you're inclined to do.  For features like those, that are shaped and fully exposed to the weather,  it really takes a great deal of work to keep them in top form.  Hopefully if things get going and some stoke gets built, a critical mass of volunteers will materialize, that will allow momentum to build and keep going.

Looks like a decent place, will check it out this weekend possibly