in Beginners, Newbies, Noobz, etc (Moderators: imwjl, TheMayor1)

I went out to Rays every tues last year over about a 3 month period. Also went to their New Year's Eve bash which is a lot of fun. I think some people might be indimidated by it because of it's extreme nature but... The builder at Rays is really really good. The transitions are very smooth and the lips on the jumps are not crazy aggressive. Meaning if you aren't into getting air you can still ride every single jump line there without risk. Or at least with low risk. The courses are very well constructed. Very solid. Very confidence inspiring. Even the outside beginners loop is fun and has enough thrill to it to get your blood flowing. It's in an old Menards so it's quite large. Probably as big inside as Quarry Park. It's a hoot and pretty cheap @ $20 for all day. Especially after the snow starts flying and you have cabin fever it can really hit the spot. They keep it around 70 degrees inside so it's t shirt and shorts weather.

Last year at Rays it was never crowded.  Never had to wait for any of the different courses. There are the normal assortment of teenage boys that get extreme air and can do backflips and 360s but they stick mostly to the expert jump track and the BMX jump track. The BMX jump track is still rideable on Mtn bikes and still fun to ride even if you don't air out the jumps. There was one little 4 year old boy that rides everything on a 12" wheel bike including the expert jump track and gets air. His dad is retired pro. Each time we have gone out it's usually for 3-5 hours. The expert obstacle course is a blast. Very challenging with teeter totters elevator hamster wheel and log rides obstacles. I normally ride there with a full race helmet but have also ridden with a regular helmet. There is a foam put for trying things you know you can't land or getting huge air. I'm going to add knee and elbow pads just in case. Seems like most of the time we go we put in about 6 miles. They do have snacks and drinks there and you can get pizza delivered.

I'm kind of the weird one there one a full suspension rig but it is very doable. They also rent jump Mtn bikes for cheap.  Trek product. I was also able to demo a Trek Slash for 3 hours for free. You can pick up new skills that can all easily be transferred into dirt riding.

And they have hands down the best wood pump track in the Midwest! Which is very rideable on a Mtn bike. It has really nice high banked berms which you can ride near dead flat which is a wild experience! Never having been on a banked bermed pump track before I was able to get up on the berms near dead flat within a few tries. Wild considering you're about 5' of the ground at that point. Very very fun. For me Rays is like Six Flags.

Ill be there throughout the winter.

Sweet!

I've never been but hope to make it a time or two this winter now that I'm a lot closer. I'm sure I'll learn a few things or at least lose some of the fear of dying while in the air for extended periods of time...

(I can do it on dirt bikes all day, but bigger air on pedal bikes has always gotten to me for some reason)

it's a blast!

im planning on it.  I have a friend in Sheboygan Falls who keeps constant pressure to come over and visit- so trips to Rays would be in-expensive and easy to justify (I mean, ill be in the neighborhood anyway).

I have a ton of crap to get done at work over the next month or so (feast and famine is the business model that best describes the place I work) so by the time cold weather sets in, ill have a shit-ton of comp time to burn at Rays.  WINNING!!!

as an aside- what type of bike is best suited to Rays?  my options are

Niner EMD (2X9)
SS Jabberwocky (once I finish building it, I plan on getting a RD hanger for it so it can also be a 1X9)
Pugsley (alfine 8sp)

BMX jump bikes are common. Those guys usually hang at the expert jump track, BMX jump track or pump track. Single speed 26" wheel jump bikes are common. They go every where. Some of these have a rear derailleur. Most don't. I do see some full suspension. Usually the guys that bring full suspension rigs crank the psi up so they are as stiff as they get otherwise you wallow in the transitions and lose momentum. There was a ton of rebuilding done over the winter so I am not sure how much changed. I gotta check their website to get more details. I ride clip less pedals and I think I'm the only one. It works fine for me. I am so used to clip less and my whole jump style is built around them so I make it work. I keep my pedals much looser than a lot of other riders so I have never had problems getting my feet off. Although if I start getting decent air this year and twisting it up with tabletops etc I will have to tighten them up a lot of risk chucking the bike. Another funny aspect to clip less pedals that can be embarrassing is all the course is made out of plywood. I lost momentum, took a wrong line, on the expert jump track and found myself stuck at the bottom between two between two jumps and couldn't get enough purchase on the plywood to climb out. I had to have some one grab my bike so I could climb out. The jumps are about 5' tall where I was. Couldn't take my shoes off for fear of getting possibly a nasty splinter in the sole of my foot. Ah well. Live n learn. Overall I would rate it less dangerous than the jump line @ Middleton Mtn bike park or Quarry Park. Most of the jumps are at least 5' wide. Plenty or room to line up to. Plenty of room to land. Very smooth transitions. Very few jumps have aggressive lips. Ya know the kind that throw your back wheel up? Not much of that. There are copious amounts of jumps that present serious potential got huge air. You will see guys getting up into or slapping the rafters which has to be a solid 22' off the ground. Even just sitting and watching between runs is better than most anything on ESPN. So it is extreme and can be a bit crazy but their jump builder is an expert and the lines are so well build that it makes it much safer.

Frankly I am very excited to be heading back. Can't wait to see how they've changed it. Last winter I was 295 and just back riding after a decade off so I was not getting big air. In fact my first couple of trips I didn't get any air at all but had a lot of fun and got a great workout. Helped ease the winter doldrums. I was starting to air things out as it got into spring. Now I'm at least 30 pounds lighter so hopefully that will improve more

Other people that have ridden different indoor BMX tracks or skateboard tracks know that they are very hard to ride because the transitions are so tight and abrupt favoring short wheelbase. Not so with Rays. Everything is built for longer wheelbase BMX or Mtn bikes. Their builder really knows what he's doing.

I'll be there at least a few times, as soon as I get my fork fixed :'(. Gotta dial in some tricks for next year! (And by tricks I mean maybe X-up,barspin, and table...maybe).

as an aside- what type of bike is best suited to Rays?

IMHO, it's totally worth it to rent one of the DJ bikes there. I fell hard enough to bend the cr@p out of a brake lever...I was really happy it wasn't my nice XT hydro levers.

as an aside- what type of bike is best suited to Rays?

IMHO, it's totally worth it to rent one of the DJ bikes there. I fell hard enough to bend the cr@p out of a brake lever...I was really happy it wasn't my nice XT hydro levers.

excellent point.