dirtjumping

Planning Your Dirt Jumping Trails

You should plan for your dirt jumps before you start building them. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before planning.1. How big do you want to build the jumps? If you are an experienced dirt jumper then building only big jumps may suit you just fine but what about the other people that will be riding there? It is usually best to make a variety of sizes so you and your friends can work up to the big jumps.

2. How much space do you have? Be aware of the area where you are building your dirt jumping trails. Make sure your plan is for the area you have and not just a random sketch of a few jumps.

3. How hard are you and your friends willing to work? You may not want to overdue your plans. It is sometimes better to start small and keep building your dirt jumps over time. If your project is too big you or your buddies may get discouraged and quit.

4. What direction do you want to go? Dirt jumping trails are directional. This means that you will only be able to go one way. You have to decide which direction you want to go before you start building dirt jumping trails.

5. How is rain going to affect my dirt jumping trials? Water will stand berms, holes, pits, and other low areas of your trails. This can ruin your dirt jumps and your day. Plan ahead to dig out a draining system to direct the water away from anything that it can harm.

Dirt Jump Sizing and Distances
The size of your dirt jump is very important. You want them to be the right size to project you and your bike the correct distance. You don’t want to build a jump two feet tall and have the take-off and landing twelve feet apart. It would take too much speed to clear a jump like that and you wouldn’t get any height.

A dirt jump for beginners should be about two feet tall and around four or five feet apart. An average dirt jump should be about four feet tall and around six foot apart. Check out some photos to get a good idea of what dirt jumps look like and how tall they are in comparison with how far apart they are.

Be sure to leave plenty of room for pedaling and building up speed to hit the first jump in a series of a rhythm trails. What you ultimately want to be able to do is pedal and get a lot of speed to hit the first jump and maintain your speed by riding smooth and flowing through the dirt jumping trails without pedaling.

If you are building your dirt jumping trails around trees be sure to build the Take-offs and landings beside the trees so the pits can be in-between them. You can’t have your pits beside the tree because of the roots.

Sketching Your Dirt Jumping trails.
First you should check out other dirt jumping trails by either going to some or looking at photos on the internet or in magazines to get a basic idea of what you want and what they should look like.

Now go to the area where you plan to build your dirt jumping trails and start to sketch out what you want your dirt jumps to look like.


Blueprinting your dirt jumping trails
Now that you have a good sketch of your dirt jumping trails, go out and measure your area with a tape measure and blueprint the area showing where the trees are and anything else that may interfere with your dirt jumping trails. Use your sketch from before and draw the dirt jumps on the blueprints. It should look similar to this.







Building Your Dirt Jumps
Go out to your area and clear it out. Cut down the weeds, rake the leaves, and remove anything that is in the way.

The next thing you can do (this is entirely optional but I think it helps) is to take your white spray paint and spray your blueprint onto the ground. Now you know exactly where everything needs to go. It can also help to motivate you because it makes it easier to visualize what your dirt jumping trails are going to look like.

It can be a lot of help to stack things where you are going to build your dirt jumps such as logs or other solid objects. This way you can pile the dirt over them and it will take less dirt to build a jump, less time, less work, and they will be more solid.

Getting Your Dirt
The first place you could start getting your dirt is your draining system. Use your spade shovels for digging. If you dig your draining system out first you can shovel the dirt into wheel barrels and five gallon buckets then dump the dirt onto the areas where your dirt jumps are going to be.

Next you can simply find a place where you aren’t planning to build any jumps that has good dirt and start digging. Take turns digging and operating the wheelbarrows and carrying the buckets if you are using them.

[B]Shaping the Dirt Jumps

The Take-off

Continue to pile the dirt until you get the mound of dirt the size you want. Now pack the dirt by hitting it with the shovels and standing on it. Once you get it packed down good start to shape the face of the Take-off. You want a good lip on your Take-off jump so start from the top of the jump and start carving down with your flat shovel creating a nice smooth curve. The face of the jump needs to be very smooth and even all the way across. The curve should come to an almost vertical position. This is the lip that is going to get you the air time you want. Continue packing the face of the Take-off. You can use your front wheel to roll up and down the face to help pack it in. It is very important to get your jumps packed so that they are solid. You can also use ATVs of other heavy machines with wheels but be very careful. They can be just as harmful to the dirt jumps as helpful. Never allow anything but bikes to ride your dirt jumping trails once they are finished. If you do they will not last long.

The Landing

Follow the same techniques used to make the Take-off jump. Pile the dirt and pack it as solid as you can. The only differences are the shape and the size. The landing is going to be a little wider and longer. The shape of the landing shouldn’t be near as steep as the Take-off. It needs to be shaped for a nice smooth landing like the image below.

The Pitt

The pit is in between every set of jumps that you have. It is what is going to allow you to keep your speed and momentum so you can flow through the jumps. If done correctly you can pump through the pits and even gain speed. Be sure that your draining system drains the pits because they will hold water if you let them. It is very simple to carve out the pit. You just want to dig out a smooth curve in-between your landings and your Take-offs like the image below.

Water Your Dirt Jumps
Yes you read it right. Dirt jumps need to be watered too. Soak them down with a hose or water from your five gallon buckets. If you can’t get any water to your trails you will have to wait until it rains once. The water is going make your jumps strong and solid once they dry. However, do not ride on your dirt jumping trails when they are wet. This will cause grooves in your dirt jumps that can be dangerous and a lot of work to fix. You have worked hard enough building them in the first place to screw it all up now.
Once your dirt jumping trails are dry you are ready to ride.