The initial idea of the pump park came straight from the Sils im Domlescheg town council, who also funded it, together with private sponsors and contracted Velosolutions to design and build the park. Situated right in front of the school in Sils i.D., the park is principally for the use of the students but also for riders from further afield.
The Velosolutions Sils Pump Park is a study is function and design, and rides pretty sweet too!
To allow for year-long use in any weather condition, the park has been laid using asphalt, and this hard-wearing surface means it can be used not only by mountain bikes, but also by inline skaters and skateboarders. The fully covered asphalt surface provides manifold possibilities and enough grip for the craziest line choices and tricks. The park is also underpinned by an efficient drainage system, which leaves no puddles on the track, and dries extremely quickly - as we saw ourselves during the shoot - within minutes of heavy rain.
Come rain or shine, the park is grippy and drains so fast you won't believe it.
As Sils gets really cold temperatures during winter, the park's managers are going to consider spraying the surface with water when it's cold, to allow it to be used with ice skates!
The pros were out, as was most of the town, for the inauguration of the new park.
The park was officially opened recently and geebeebee media was there to capture the action. It was great to see so many riders of all ages and on bikes of all sizes having a go once the professionals - Adrien Loron, Timo Pritzel, Xavier 'Sherwy' Pasamonte, Benoit Chauvet, Oscar Medina, Alex Teschner, Sandro Schmid and Swatch Pro-team inline rider Kilian Braun - had showed everyone the endless possibilities of lines, gaps and tricks.
| We were very happy when the mayor gave us the ok to try out the pump park idea, which leaves the riders every possible line choice open. There is no more restriction to a certain track, you just ride the way you want to, be creative. It's kind of real free riding on a pump track. We had to pay attention to the drainage, since there is no open section. But that worked well. We had the whole track built in two weeks. The whole area was already well drained, which made it easier. The kids were waiting next to the construction all the time, and as soon as we started cleaning up, there were around 30 kids riding. - Claudio Caluori, Velosolutions |
It might be small, but with so many options, you could ride all day and still find new lines. | 'Jobs' like this are the reason I am still a bike pro! Riding with friends and having a good time, showing people from a small town surrounded by beautiful nature, how much fun you can have on a pump park build by Claudio and his crew and that there are more sports out there than soccer, is amazing! I had flashbacks of my childhood, acting as Professor Pump. That was pretty awesome! The smiles on the faces of the kids were priceless. I think we did a really good job there inspiring them, and we'll probably have another Adrien Loron coming out of Sils pretty soon! The atmosphere at the show was incredible! How often does the Mayor of a town ride a pump track with you!? - Timo Pritzel |
The Sils i.D. Pump Park is open and free to ride for anybody until 10pm every day, and if you're lucky, you might even find it lit up at night!
For more Velosolutions projects, see
velosolutions.ch or
facebook.com/velosolutions
It is still there, and still ridden but the council won't give permission to modify or expand it, even if I could raise the cash for the build.
If only I had the space and money to do this....
Maybe I should show them this video!