Cleveland Rocks mountain biking

Take 35 riders, add in eight hours on a bus and one of North America’s best man-made riding spots this side of Whistler and you’ve got one great way to spend the Saturday before Christmas.
The first ever Cleveland Rocks mountain biking road trip went off without a hitch Saturday, Dec. 18 as nearly three dozen riders were introduced to the recently opened [L=http://www.raysmtb.com]Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park[/L] in Cleveland, Ohio.
Taking off from St. Catharines, Ontario (located about an hour south of Toronto), the trip crossed over the US/Canada border at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and then made the four-hour trek to Cleveland, a Northeastern waterfront city on Lake Erie.
Getting 35 riders to Ray’s was as easy as hiring a Coach Canada full-size tour bus. Frank the driver couldn’t have been cooler. “You’re driving four hours to ride your bikes?” he questioned us before we left. “Whatever. I’m just here to drive.”


But while Frank and the rest of the excited crew enjoyed four hours of Drop-In and other bike videos on the comfortable coach bus, yours truly followed behind in a large Hertz cube van which carried 35 bikes valued at well over $60,000.
Loading the bikes proved to be the slowest point of the day, but thankfully everyone’s bikes survived the trip both to and from Ray’s Park.
As the riders unloaded and filed their way into the massive 66,000 square foot warehouse in the industrial part of Cleveland that the Park calls home, there were more than a few dropped jaws. The most popular comment was that Ray’s website doesn’t do the park justice. It’s hard to picture how vast the park is until you’re standing in it, looking up at the 12-foot high berm or dozens of other manmade stunts.
Even Frank was impressed.
“I guess I can see why the trip was worth it,” he said. “It’s amazing to think someone had the creatively to think this up.”


But enough looking around, after four hours in a bus it was time to ride. And ride we did.
Whether riders were looking to air it out on the many box jumps, try their hand on one of the three north shore circuits of varying difficulties or ride the trials area, there was something for everyone.



There were some very talented riders in the group of 35, but the highlight of the day was when Deity sponsored pro rider Joe Prisel (previously seen in the Match Videozine movies and in the Red Bull Bike Battle), started ripping up the course and pulled a backflip on one of the box jumps. Prisel is the resident pro in Cleveland. He works at Ray’s part time, and uses the park as one of his spots to prepare for the events he competes in.


Our group rode the park all afternoon, but all good things must come to an end, so after five hours of riding a very tired bunch of bikers loaded their rigs back into the truck and shuffled into the coach bus.


After handing out a few prizes (courtesy of Pinkbike, Libery Bicycles and Bikefit in St. Catharines), Frank the driver pulled away and we made the trip back home (which turned into a five-hour trip thanks to a large group of foreign shoppers on three busses in front of us at the border).


It’s fair to say everyone had a great time, and thankfully we returned with no major injuries, no damage to the bikes and the same number of riders we went down with.
It was a fantastic day all around, and the response was so good we’re already planning a return trip on Saturday, Feb. 12, once again leaving from St. Catharines.