A new mountain bike venue is set to take shape in the coming weeks on Colorado Springs’ southwest side.
-By Seth Boster–The Gazette
Planners expect construction to start in early June on a dirt pump track and “skills trail” occupying a 1 1/2-acre corner of Cresta Open Space, between Cheyenne Mountain High School and Skyway Elementary. The pump track’s rollers and berms are projected to span 765 linear feet, while the skills trail is envisioned as a 1,550-foot stretch of more rollers and tight corners and challenges defined by rocks, logs and drops.
The project has been spearheaded by Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates. In partnering with Cheyenne Mountain Cycling Team and fellow nonprofit Kids on Bikes, the mountain biking group’s executive director, Cory Sutela, said about $45,000 have been raised.
He said that’s $15,000 short of the goal, ahead of contractor FlowRide Concepts’s scheduled job next month. The plan is to open in July.
“If we’re not able to raise all the money to do it exactly the way we want, then we’ll have to build other features over time, and that’s not the end of the world,” Sutela said. “We’ve got enough money to make a good park that people will love.”
The hope is that developing riders from the nearby schools will love it, along with others in the surrounding neighborhood. Sutela sees it as a “community facility” more than a “citywide destination.” But the facility figures to be an appealing stop for cyclists roaming the broader, 40-acre Cresta Open Space, along with Bear Creek Regional Park, Stratton Open Space and North Cheyenne Cañon Park.
The pump track and skills trail are parts of a bigger mountain biking vision, said David Deitemeyer, the city parks department’s senior landscape architect. He noted the new bike park covering a similarly sized tract at Panorama Park, on the city’s southeast side.
“We’re really trying to spread out those opportunities throughout our community and keep them as true amenities for those local neighborhoods,” Deitemeyer said.
Last year, Fountain joined a trend by opening a pump track of concrete — generally much more expensive to build than dirt, but not requiring nearly as much maintenance. Water-needy dirt features are notorious for degradation.
At Cresta, the desire was to “take advantage of the natural terrain,” Sutela explained. “More mountain bike-feeling, rather than a pure sort of BMX track.”
Water tank storage is expected, and Medicine Wheel has pledged maintenance in an agreement with the city.
“We feel strongly that we’ve got a great community around there that’s going to want to take care of it,” Sutela said.
Seth Boster, The Gazette
Seth is a features writer at The Gazette, covering the outdoors and the people and places that, in his words, “Make Colorado Colorful”
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