Scoutmasters Guide to Camp Jackson s Pump Track

Scoutmasters Guide to Camp Jackson s Pump Track

What Is a Pump Track? A pump track is a bicycle track that is continuous loop of rollers and banked turns. When properly riding a pump track, a cyclist can gain speed and travel around the track without pedaling. Some experienced cyclists can gain speeds up to 20 miles an hour. The first pump track was built by some professional mountain bike riders in Australia in 2003. The first pump track in United States was built by professional mountain bike rider Steve Wentz in Boulder, Colorado, in 2004. Pump tracks have become extremely popular in mountain bike cultures all over the world. Why Ride a Pump Track? When ridden correctly, pump tracks should be both fun and challenging to ride. Riding a pump track provides a cyclist with the opportunity to learn proper mountain bike skills much faster than he/she would on a mountain bike trail. A pump track will teach a cyclist: To ride with his/her head up in order to look ahead, see what is in the bicycle s path, and plan accordingly To position his/her body in the proper attack position over the bicycle (knees and arms slightly bent with the weight over the center of the bike) To have proper body movement over the bicycle in order to keep the bicycle tires firmly planted against the ground and give the cyclist greater control over the bicycle To have proper body movement over the bicycle in order to create speed without pedaling Pre-Ride Track Preparation A pump track is built by compressing a mixture of clay, topsoil, and water into a solid form of roller or a banked turn. The key ingredient to holding the pump track together is water. The track should be watered down 15 to 30 minutes before any cyclists ride the track. Water should be lightly sprayed on all track surfaces until the track is soaked, but not to the point of having water run off. The watering should include the following: rollers, inside and outside edges of the rollers, area between rollers, inside surface, and tops of the banked turns. Depending on the dryness of the track, this process may have to be repeated 2 to 3 times. The watering process should only take 5 to 15 minutes. Upon completion of watering but before riding, the soil of the track should be red in color and slightly tacky to the touch. Overwatering and heavy rains can cause the track comes to be soupy and overly tacky. The outer surface of the track will no longer adhere to itself and will start to stick to anything that touches it. If this happens the track must be allowed to dry out before riding it. If the track starts turning more brown than red in color and becomes dry to the touch while cyclists are riding it, the track should be watered down again. If the track is ridden without being watered, the track s rollers and turns will erode become unridable. Bicycles Camp Jackson will provide bicycles for use on the pump track. Eastern Bikes worked with Camp Jackson to provide safe and quality-made bicycles. Only Camp Jackson s dirt jumpers, Eastern Bikes Thunderbird bicycles, will be allowed on the pump track. The dirt jumper's are only be allowed to be used on the front side of camp. While bicycles may appear small, a small bicycle is more nimble and easier to pump around

the track. A BSA Quick Check should be done on each bicycle before it is ridden. (see attached file or sheet for BSA Quick Check) Helmets* The helmets are a skateboard/action style. While they come in a one-size-fits-all style, the size can be adjusted by changing out the different sized padding on the inside of the helmet. The helmets have been pre-sized by color: Light gray helmet fits a large- to medium-sized head Dark gray helmet fits a medium- to small-sized head If a cyclist s head is too small for the smaller helmet, extra pads will be available to make the changes that are needed for a proper fit. Cyclists should never ride without a helmet, not even for quick test ride around the parking lot. Helmets provide protection for a cyclist s head if he/she crashes a bicycle. However, helmets only provide protection during a crash if they are fitted properly and are in good condition. If a helmet is involved in a crash or an impact of any type, it should be reported to Camp Jackson officials, and the cyclist should be provided with a replacement helmet. *Thanks to the manufacturer Six Six One for providing helmets and gloves at a reduced price. Helmet Fit The cyclist should 1. Make sure that the helmet fits on top of the head, not tipped back or forward (see Diagram A) 2. Only use Camp Jackson s Six Six One padding to custom-fit helmets 3. Leave about two-fingers width between the cyclist s eyebrows and the front of the helmet Straps The cyclist should 1. Join the straps just under each ear at the jawbone 2. Ensure that the buckle is snug with his/her mouth (while mouth is completely open) and positioned so it is not sitting on the jawbone 3. Periodically check the strap adjustment because improper fit can render helmet useless Diagram A

Pump Track Rules Have fun. Wear a helmet at all times. Track surface must be sprayed down with water before riding (ideally the track surface should be red and slightly tacky to the touch). Ride only on the tracks surface. Do not ride features of the pump track in any other way that they were intended to be used (i.e. no riding on the back side of the banked turns, no jumping of banked turns, etc.). Skidding (i.e. over breaking) is only allowed in emergencies. Control your bicycle, inattention for even a moment could put yourself and others at risk. Dirt Jumper bikes are only to be used/ridden on the front side of Camp Jackson Do not bring any objects and/or materials that would damage or to change any of the features in the pump track area. If there is a problem with a feature of the pump track. Do not try to fix it yourself. Report it immediately. Only one person per bicycle: no passengers on handlebars or any other part of the bicycle Bicycles may not be ridden after sundown. If you have a bicycle that is not back to its storage site by sundown, it needs to be walked (not ridden) back. Scouts are not allowed to leave camp on any bicycle by way of road, trail or any other route. Do not use a handheld electronic such as cell phone, gps units, mp3 players, etc. device while riding. Headphones of any type are not allowed while riding a bicycle period. Any violation of those rules could result in the following: 1. First offense: a warning 2. Second offense: a warning that could include pump track maintenance/repair work 3. Third offense: pump track maintenance/repair work or loss of all biking privileges at Camp Jackson. How to Ride a Pump Track In theory, the art of pumping around the track is simple. All you need to do is unload all the weight you can off the bicycle on the uphill side of a roller while applying all your weight to the downhill side of roller. The unloading and loading weight on the bicycle while riding over the rollers creates forward momentum. In practice, the art of pumping takes time to learn.

Position First of all, it's all about the cyclist s position over the bicycle. The neutral attack position is the first thing a cyclist needs to learn; it is the foundation for all types of mountain bike riding (cross country, downhill, all mountain, etc.). A cyclist s body should be in the following positions: Feet: should be at the 9 o clock and 3 o clock position Weight: should be centered over the pedals Hands: should be light on the handle bars Knees: should be bent until his hips are about halfway between sitting and standing upright Head: should be up and scanning ahead (remember the bicycle will automatically follow where you are looking) Elbows: should be bent and pointing out Back: should be straight and not hunched over Pumping the Rollers The key to pumping is being active over the bicycle. The actions on the bicycle should include the following: compressing and uncompressing the cyclist s arms and legs and moving his weight forward and back as he travels over the roller. The cyclist s head and shoulders should stay at the same height through a set of rollers while the bicycle moves up and down under his. Pumping is like the loading and unloading of a spring. When a spring is compressed and then released, it releases energy. It also takes energy to compress a spring. But, the cyclist, with proper timing and movement, will cheat Mother Nature of most of this energy loss. Front side of the roller (load the spring): Start in the neutral attack position. As the cyclist approaches the front side of a roller, the front bicycle should be made as light as possible. To do this, the cyclist should simultaneously make a slight shift in his weight over the rear wheel while pulling up on the handlebars. As the rear wheel starts to travel over the front side of roller, the cyclist should lift his feet up. It s like taking a small hop. The lifting of the feet will make the bicycle lighter on the front side of the roller. Top of the roller: The cyclist brings the bicycle close to his body by bending his arms and legs. At this point, the cyclist is positioned over the bicycle like a loaded spring. Back side of the roller (unload the spring): As the front of the bicycle starts down the backside of the roller, the cyclist should push down on the handlebars and bring his weight more forward. When the rear wheel starts down the back side of the roller, the cyclist should push down with his legs. Tips Start slowly when learning to pump. It s better to pick one technique (i.e. moving forward and back over the bicycle) and practice it over and over. Once you have mastered one technique and can accelerate over the roller, you can add another technique (i.e. pushing and pulling on the handle bars) until you have combined all of the techniques into one fluid movement.

Look all the way into the next turn because the bicycle will naturally travel where a cyclist is looking. If a cyclist is looking at just a few feet in front of the bicycle, he is limiting his ability to ride the track. The cyclist s head and shoulders should stay at the same height through a set of rollers. It s the bike that moves up and down. The cyclist movements on the bike should be smooth and fluid, not choppy and erratic. Don't be afraid to experiment (i.e. push here, pull there). If it works, you will feel bicycle accelerate. If you don't feel the acceleration, try something else. Just don t break the rules of pump track. Exaggerate your movements over the bicycle. Here is a short video that will help you visualize what riding a pump track is like: http://on.aol.com/video/bikeskills-com--pump-track-fundamentals-11257582

BSA Quick Check BSA Quick Check is a pre-ride check of your bicycle. It should be done before every ride. B is for break. You should make sure you can reach the brake levers comfortably. Squeeze one brake lever at a time all the way. There should be room for your thumb in between the brake lever and handlebars. You will need to squeeze both brake levers at the same time and try to move the bicycle back and forth. The wheels should not spin. You should lift up one wheel of the bike and spin it. The wheel should rotate freely and not slow down rapidly. Repeat with the other wheel. If the wheel slows down rapidly or if you hear a lot scraping your brake pads are rubbing against the rotor get a staff member to help you. S is for suspension. XC bikes: There will be a zip tie on the shock of your bike. Push the zip tie down until it hits the body of the shock. Sit on the bike like you are riding it, do not bounce up and down, and let the shock settle into a natural position. Get off the bike and check the zip tie. It should have moved up about 20% to 25% of the total range of the shock. Next, you should push up and down on the shock multiple times. It should compress and rebound back to its starting point smoothly and quickly. If you find a problem with the shock on your bike get a staff member to help you. Dirt Jumper bikes: the suspensions on these bikes are set to be stiff. You only need to should push up and down on the shock multiple times. It should compress and rebound back to its starting point smoothly and quickly. A is for air. You should check the tires make sure that their inflated properly with a pressure gauge and checked the tire for damage. Different people like different pressures in their mountain bike tires. But, a good rule of thumb is 40 to 50 PSI for tires with tubes and 30 to 40 PSI for tubeless tires. Q is for quick release. You should check and make sure all the quick releases on the bike are tensioned correctly. The quick releases can hold the wheels on your bike. They can be on the brakes, and seat post. When you close the quick release it should leave a small imprint on your hand. C is for cassette, crank and chain. You should check with the whole drivetrain. First, look at the chain it should be clean metal, not solid black with old grease. You need to check to see if chain travel smoothly through the drivetrain by turning the crank backwards. Next, you should take the bike for a small spin and run it through all the gears and make sure the bike is shifting/riding properly.