Bones Over Metal Freeride and Downhill Video Blog

Today dawned cold and overcast just like countless northwest days before it.  The only difference was that there were six inches of snow blanketing South Everett on this particular April morning.  Needless to say this unexpected little bit of precipitation put a damper on our plans to sample the best of Bellingham.  But fear not, there was still some GnarlBurl to be had…

Rather than doing battle with the snow Damien and myself decided to go south in search of warmer climates.  Our destinations today were not the ones the Collective shoot in their movies, or Decline publishes in their magazines.  Rather, we were off to the places that people go after a hard day at the office, for a study break, or just to get away from it all for a couple hours.  Sure, we all love a grand road trip but sometimes you just need to get a set of wheels under yourself, and some air under your wheels, to make the world right.  I dare say that local spots such as these are the ones that define our sport.

First on the hit list were the dirt jumps at Green Lake where we would meet up with Daryl and Daryl jr., Damien’s father and brother.  Located in the heart of Seattle, next to the Woodland Park Zoo, Green Lake (which is technically just a very large pond) provides recreation for everybody from soccer moms out for a power walk to crazy bikers who enjoy jumping in the air.  Hooligans.  Now tucked away behind one of the baseball field complexes near the lake, just at the edge of Woodland Park, there lie the only sets of legal/public dirt jumps in the area.  These are a favorite study break for students at the UW and SPU, both of which are riding distance away.  While I lowered the fork on my BottleRocket and stiffened up the shock, Damien got right to it, nailing huge whips and somehow managing to pull off x-ups with his 31.5″ bars.  By the time I finally got to jumping the main line he was already launching the newly refinished hip line like a madman.  thoroughly outclassed I decided to take a break and snap some photos.  I would also recommend checking out the rest of Woodland Park.  A favorite of cyclocross riders, there are several fun lines to set up impromptu slalom courses on and race against whoever happens to be there.

Getting to the jumps is actually very simple.  From I-5 all you have to do is take the 50th street exit, which is the second exit north of the bridge, and head west for about two miles.  Then you take a right on Greenlake Way and park in the lot immediately on your left.  The jumps, and shortly a brand new skate park, are directly across the dirt soccer field nestled on the tree line.  Now chances are you might get tired while you are out jumping and will need something to refuel yourself.  Luckily there is a Kidd Valley Burgers at the intersection of 50th and Greenlake Way where quality shakes and burgers are always waiting.  Alternatively you can make like Damien and visit one of the many 7-11’s nearby for an energy drink.  What Starbucks is to the rest of the Seattle area, 7-11 is to this neck of the woods.  Should you run in to any problems with your bike I would recommend taking it down to Fluidride on Boat Street (http://www.fluidride.com/ for directions).  Besides being crazy fast, Jerry knows his way around the toolset and chances are that the latest bike or ski movie will be playing for you to watch while your ride gets taken care of.

After we had our fill of buttery dirt jumps, it was off to Colonnade Park for some trials action and pump track madness.  Colonnade is unique in number of ways, but the most striking is the fact that it is actually under the freeway.  This makes it the perfect place to practice up on your skills on those rainy (or snowy) days when other trails are unridable.  It has also become a favorite lunch brake ride for people working downtown.  Now nobody just snapped their fingers and created a sweet park just for bikers in downtown Seattle, the folks over at the BBTC have been hard at work for years doing all of the legwork to make this happen (the full story is over at http://bbtc.org/wiki/index.php?title=Trail:I-5_Colonnade).  Until recently the park has consisted of some very tight crushed gravel switchbacks with some skinnies and small wooden features thrown it.  However the ball has really begun to roll, there are now three jump lines, an awesome pump track, and a killer trials area.  We took some time to sample the latter two.

First up for me was the trials area which Zeb from Fluidride had built.  I have been riding trials for two months now so this would be my second run in with a “real” trials spot.  Aside from the dust that got all over my rim and played havoc with my brake, I had a great time.  (just as a side note to trials riders, you are going to want to make sure you have a fresh grind before heading out to Colonnade)  There were ample places for me to practice on some of the smaller obstacles while the opportunity for some bigger moves was certainly not lacking.  The pump track was done by the guys over at Center Cycle and it really top notch.  So far I have discovered three lines but I am sure with a bit of practice I’ll find some more.  There were about ten riders getting their pump laps in, talking trash, and generally chilling out.

Every rider has some place they go to unwind, these are just two that Seattle locals go to on a regular basis.  Should there be any snow in June or July interfering with one of our trips we will be letting you know about some of the others. Seriously though, these gems, right in the middle of a city like Seattle, are a testament to the strength of riding culture in the Northwest.