Gravity Logic: Designing, Digging and Riding
Gravity Logic, a bike park design and innovations company based out of Whistler, BC, reviews their biggest year of buildin', diggin' and riding bike parks around the world and looks forward to what should be an amazing 2009.
It’s been almost a year since we at Gravity Logic cast off from the comforts of being owned by Whistler Blackcomb. At first we couldn't be certain if it was the right thing to do, but as we look back on the year we just had building and designing bike parks around the world, we’re pretty sure it was absolutely the right choice. We are made up of four full time individuals who each bring something unique to our business and we are lucky enough to have a significant group of experienced machine operators and trail builders from Whistler and around the world at our fingertips to bring to each of our clients.![photo]()
As soon as we officially became our own bosses, the phone pretty much started ringing off the hook. We had calls from just about everywhere, and we had to be careful to manage our time wisely so we would be able to do the best job possible at each of the resorts that hired us.
![photo]()
It was a tricky adjustment at first, but once the season kicked into gear, there was no time to reflect on how busy we all were. We started in Calgary, where we were mandated to design a bike park from the ground up in under 8 weeks. The local riders were stoked and incredibly helpful and we couldn’t help but be impressed with the level of enthusiasm the local riders had for pitchin' in. While we believe that the project is still under construction, the foundation we left COP with was ideal for what they needed to have a bike park that will accommodate riders of all levels.
![photo]()
After our whirlwind in Alberta, we all parted ways. Rob was off to New Brunswick to build a bike park at Sugarloaf, DK to Winter Park, Colorado to prep for Crankworx and new construction , Pro was off to the Ukraine and Sarah was in the middle of making her permanent move from Calgary to Whistler. Sound insane? It definitely was.
![photo]()
![photo]()
Somehow amidst the madness of building for weeks and weeks on end, we managed to fit in the Gravity Logic Forum in September at Winter Park and still spent time at a lot of other amazing resorts to scope out the feasibility of future bike parks and to help some with the complications associated with building on US Forest Service Land. Keep a special eye on places like Steven’s Pass in Washington and Mount Bachelor, Oregon, as the construction of these bike parks is lying in wait (pending USFS approvals, of course), ready to stoke you out over the next couple of years.
So what now, you ask? Well, since bringing Sarah Leishman on full time as our Business Development Manger, we’ve worked to update our website, built and launched our Instructor Development Program for clients world-wide and started scheduling our building season for the upcoming spring, summer, fall and winter. 2009 is sure to be crazy and amazing all at the same time-who knows, you may just see us at a bike park near you!
![photo]()
Sorry, winter lovers, but we're praying for the melt!
-Gravity Logic
www.whistlergravitylogic.com
![photo]()
It’s been almost a year since we at Gravity Logic cast off from the comforts of being owned by Whistler Blackcomb. At first we couldn't be certain if it was the right thing to do, but as we look back on the year we just had building and designing bike parks around the world, we’re pretty sure it was absolutely the right choice. We are made up of four full time individuals who each bring something unique to our business and we are lucky enough to have a significant group of experienced machine operators and trail builders from Whistler and around the world at our fingertips to bring to each of our clients.
Marc gets out of his machine for a test lap at COP
As soon as we officially became our own bosses, the phone pretty much started ringing off the hook. We had calls from just about everywhere, and we had to be careful to manage our time wisely so we would be able to do the best job possible at each of the resorts that hired us.
Part of every day life: the important tools of our trade
It was a tricky adjustment at first, but once the season kicked into gear, there was no time to reflect on how busy we all were. We started in Calgary, where we were mandated to design a bike park from the ground up in under 8 weeks. The local riders were stoked and incredibly helpful and we couldn’t help but be impressed with the level of enthusiasm the local riders had for pitchin' in. While we believe that the project is still under construction, the foundation we left COP with was ideal for what they needed to have a bike park that will accommodate riders of all levels.
Sarah rips on Laser Fade
After our whirlwind in Alberta, we all parted ways. Rob was off to New Brunswick to build a bike park at Sugarloaf, DK to Winter Park, Colorado to prep for Crankworx and new construction , Pro was off to the Ukraine and Sarah was in the middle of making her permanent move from Calgary to Whistler. Sound insane? It definitely was.
Oja Checks It Out in Winter Park
Pro takes a well deserved break on the tailgate of the Dodge
Somehow amidst the madness of building for weeks and weeks on end, we managed to fit in the Gravity Logic Forum in September at Winter Park and still spent time at a lot of other amazing resorts to scope out the feasibility of future bike parks and to help some with the complications associated with building on US Forest Service Land. Keep a special eye on places like Steven’s Pass in Washington and Mount Bachelor, Oregon, as the construction of these bike parks is lying in wait (pending USFS approvals, of course), ready to stoke you out over the next couple of years.
<Deleted photo>
So what now, you ask? Well, since bringing Sarah Leishman on full time as our Business Development Manger, we’ve worked to update our website, built and launched our Instructor Development Program for clients world-wide and started scheduling our building season for the upcoming spring, summer, fall and winter. 2009 is sure to be crazy and amazing all at the same time-who knows, you may just see us at a bike park near you!
Talk about a season ender: Marc back on it right before the snow hit in Winter Park
Sorry, winter lovers, but we're praying for the melt!
-Gravity Logic
www.whistlergravitylogic.com
Author Info:
Whistler, BC, Canada
Must Read This Week
I drop in....."I like that first corner into a small table"......."oh a buttery hip"......"WOW, a decent sized table"......."a huge bermed corner, this trail is rad"...............??Is that it??
I hope they finish soon because that trail will be great! Only my dream never came true. That trail and all the other stayed exactly the same for the whole season. They all felt like something someone with a great Idea started but had no time to finish.
(Safari Planet)One easy level jump trail is about 2min long and is made up of a A/B line style wide switchback paths. It is AWESOME for about the first 10-20 seconds. Then it becomes just a wide dirt bike path down a hill. There are 3 jumps before the first turn and 1 later in the trail. That leaves 80% of the rest of the trail with nothing but a very wide dirt hard packed path. I imagine the idea was to have the COP staff continue to finish the rest of the jumps.
LazarFade is a mess. It is the Black/Experienced trail. It has a mixture of extremely tight berms and small jumps. It has a lot of potential but lacks the finished polish that is the bane of the new COP.
I hate being on of the Haters who complain in this forum but I have been riding at COP for over ten years now. I organized and built the very first Dual Slalomn course there years ago. I also built the next thee after that. I invited every rider I met to races to try and get COP bigger. Our weeknight races became very popular. COP began to take us seriously, and the result was a full fledged MTB park. Years later the park saw a great renovation by a very dedicated trail crew. They built wooden stunts and jumps and did there best to make a bike park when bike parks were new and knowbody knew exactly what to do. However, like all things COP the management rides on the hard work of a few people for a couple of years and things started to wear out. Trails got stale, and stunts stated to get sketchy. With more and more beginner riders thing get dangerous and COP calls in the gravity guys. They came they planned, they started and they left. I assume they thought that the COP trail crew would finish the stuff they started.
The problem; the management at COP doesn't care. I know the COP trail crew has it's heart in the right place too. However every time someone comes out and does something great like the Gravity Logic guys or they guys before them or me before them. COP management lets it all fall apart. This year was one of the worst years at the park because nothing felt finished.
www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=64527
COP is an inner city bike park in the middle of the praries, there is no way you can even begin to compare it to a mountain bike meca such as whistler. Trust me, management does care... they dropped over $50,000 into the park last year and will be putting even more into it this coming season, not to mention alot of them are riders here. bike parks and trails take time to get right, and with COP completely re-designing the park last year with extremely tight time restraints it's more than acceptable for things not to be perfect. It's just gonna get better from here.
hope to see you all out there this spring!
I really hope to be riding with everyone up there come summer 2010 :]