By Shannon Nutley
At long last, Ogden is finally getting a bike park. Jeremy Little and Josh Jones have been working for 2 years and have assembled a volunteer committee to raise the funds to build it. The new park will feature three one way trails from 9th Street to the 12th Street dirt jumps . There will be three options, all of which will have riders giggling.
The first option will be a flow trail that will be fun for everyone with smooth, flowing curves and rollers that can be ridden and with just about any dirt-worthy bike. The Advanced Jump Trail will have a few more features such as tabletops and optional gaps. For the more adventurous, the Advanced Downhill Trail will have some rock features, step down/step ups and drops.
The 12th Street Dirt Jumps will also receive a facelift with a larger starting ramp, and the path from the parking area on Maxfield and 1350 South to the jumps will be smoothed. The first phase is scheduled to begin construction in March with Alpine Trails doing the heavy lifting and volunteer workers to buff the rest out. The existing water tanks will be buried and there will be kiosks with maps and information at the trailheads.
There will also be parking lots added at trailheads on Maxfield and Hislop and also at Maxfield and 1350 South to ease parking concerns on neighborhood streets. Future plans include a pump track and a slope style trail.
QBP, through advocacy director Gary Sjoquist, has generously stepped up and donated $5,000 toward the construction of Phase 1, which has helped the committee reach the halfway mark. Ogden City Mayor Mike Caldwell has also promised to match further fundraising efforts with in-kind services from Ogden City.
The bike park committee recently held a fundraiser and brought in $13,000 for construction of the park. Phase 1 of the park will cost $10,000. With Phase 2 in the planning stages, the park is well on it’s way to completion.
For more information, or if you would like to donate or volunteer, get on Facebook and like the Ogden Bike Park page at facebook.com/ogdenbikepark.
