You mean, aside from a dream backyard playground?  Just imagine taking an empty, unused lot in San Francisco, and terraforming the flat and unremarkable lot into a miniature earthen replica of an ocean wave, a miniature pump track, and suddenly you have created the new community hangout, getting riders young and old to come out and have fun on a human powered rollercoaster.

The city is still reviewing our plans for a McLaren Park bicycle skills development area, which would include a pump track.

A pump track certainly wouldn’t be much of a hit with the youth:

And, if you look far and wide, you might just find a pump track in the least likely of places, like your local Jaguar dealer

Of course, if anyone has a backyard pump track they feel like sharing any time, we’d always like to hear about it.  Ahhh, dreams.

Keep dreaming, and we’ll keep pushing for those dreams to become reality.

That all has changed at the Colonnade, thanks to the efforts of their local bike club, the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.

While it was something that didn’t happen overnight, through their dedicated efforts and the aid of the community, they succeeded in creating a major success story. This dead urban space is now a draw for the local community, and also brings in mountain bikers from all over, bolstering the local economy. It now is a destination on the local bike path, and also features a dog park for local community residents.

There is much we can take from the example of Seattle. It clearly is possible to create an urban riding destination, and a safe place for children as well as riders and enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. Let’s remember to shoot for the sky- there is no reason San Francisco shouldn’t be the next major city known for its urban riding opportunities. We have a great need for a place to ride for all user groups in the cycling family, and we can and will make it happen.

Here is a great documentary on the I-5 Colonnade Project:

For another great feature on the Seattle Skills Park, click here