Oakley Pump Track Opening day. By BdJ

Sep 29, 2010

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 10673 times

Oakley invited everyone for a few laps on their newly built pump track in Foothill Ranch. The bumps and berms are located in their backyard. When the people at Oakley do something, they do it right so we decided to check it out. The Oakley fort is always worth a visit, from their inhouse museum to the new vehicles they've come up with, or the tank track that we hadn't seen yet. It's an amazing company making awesome products, but what about the pump track? Sure, it's not the most impressive set of trails ever seen, but that's not the point here,

it's a pump track, meant to be fun and safe. The inside had some trucked in dirt and formed a mellow lap that you could either ride to the left or to the right. You've got to pump the bumps and carve the turns to keep your speed going. Don't be fooled that even if you're not pedaling, you'll still get tired.

On the outside are two lines with table top jumps and turns. Making it through these requires a bit more jumping skills but again, fun is the word. On this particular opening day riders like Jim Cielencki, Lawrence Werrell, Eddie Fiola, Stu Thomsen, Scott Breithaupt and others were enjoying the ride. The BMX racers were out in Chula Vista while the qualified riders were in SLC at the Dew Tour. This made for a smaller turnout but the riders that brought their bikes did not complain about that. A band was playing, free PBR and icecream was given out, riders brought old school bikes and everyone was just enjoying the day at Oakley.

Check out the pics to get a better impression of the set up. Contact Oakley to see what the riding policy is exactly and while you're over there, check out the factory shop, the museum, and the new Oakley rides.

BdJ