what a crazy last couple days.

What a NUTTY last couple days. I won't go into to many details but for those who know, here is the aftermath. For those who don't ask me about the picture of the black hole in the future.

Yesterday was a bit of a productivity bust, but in true crazy build style today I had seven guys on site cranking out some awesome work. I hope to have a good day tomorrow even in the rain.

Here is a photo of one hard workin' hammer slinging dude. This is Ryan and he is the man. Check him and his work so far out.




We have the roller line done and really sessioned it like crazy tonight, it was nice to get on the bike and rip tonight. We also started dialing in the pumptrack and laying out the advanced line.



This is Kit, the other guy who has been pushing this thing through. He has managed to sell ice to Eskimos. He is the best. Check him out in the skidder. He is really having a good time in this little machine.



Tomorrow it is getting the advanced line on the ground. Finishing the tool shed/double wall ride/step-up platform. This place is gonna be SIIIIIIICK.

NLR Full Speed Ahead...I don't know what day it is.

Well things have been hauling over the weekend. The park is taking shape and over the next couple of days, it should all start tightening up. This weekend the plan is a huge volunteer day both Saturday and Sunday. I hope there will be around a hundred folks. Here are photos of the work so far, not just the tools that are doing it.

NLR DJ Park Day 3

Argenta, AR Dirt Jump Park…North Little Rocking out. Well, the last couple of days have been insanely good. I was called in to help build a DJ park in North Little Rock at Burns Park and was given a “good luck” on the way. Two weeks to drop a premier DJ park in the locals laps. I think it’s gonna happen.

So far I have changed the design a couple of times, picked out the actual site in the base of an old shale quarry, graded and prepped the site (Thank You NLR Parks and Rec.) and begun digging a HUGE borrow-pit. I also found out the Ark. Dept. of Environmental Quality has been to the site with white gloves and now have to really consider all of the storm-water management for an old quarry, DOH!

Digging down and I found dirt very similar to that in Rapid City; a lesson is coming out of this one, I’m just not sure what the solution is. Saturated dirt that is buried six feet down in borrow-pits makes for hard stuff to work. So I am going to try and figure out how to keep mixing it to break it up and dry it out; and hope it doesn’t rain.

The Dirt Jumps have a lot of potential, and will tie into a larger free-ride area inside the quarry over the next five to ten years. The opportunity to build something here is amazing and the city already wanted the space to be an “extreme sports park” in their master plan, so they have been great to work with once I got on the ground. It seems to be a theme, at all of the jobs, that you can’t really get a lot done in the prelim until you get to meet people on the ground.

Okay the photos…TOYS, I mean tools and A BIG HOLE they dug.

Sorry for the break, I was on vacation...and it was GREAT

But, now I am back at it feeling a little more refreshed.

It is probably good I am refreshed, because this is about to be a BIG job. Welcome to the Little Rock DJ Park build. I will do my best to update daily, but I have very limited access to Wi-Fi in this part of the world and am going to have to work with what I can get.

On to the project, the ARFreeriders and the city of North Little Rock have teamed up to build a DJ park as part of a greater overall goal of an "extreme" sports park in Burns park, a world class city park facility. I have been brought in under IMBA to help all of them get what they want and this also provides me with a venue to be able to show off what I do during the National Trails Symposium.



For some of you that know me, and some of you that don't, I have obtained a new travel partner so hopefully there will be some cool shots of me working coming down the pike. So far, so good.



These photos are of the site and a meeting with the key players from ARFreeriders. It is an old borrow pit/mine for fill around the city and park. This DJ park is one of the first steps in cleaning it up. There is still a lot of dumping occurring on the site and clean-up will be a key part of this project. Check out what two year old hay-bales look like. Hopefully things will look much different in a couple days.

Well...Broken camera, SUCKS!!

Well, I killed another camera, which sucks. This will be a great week for pictures as we are putting all of the finishing touches onto the Laurel Hill "Lorton" project. There is sure to be some crazy North Shore type of rock armoring. Don't know? Check it out. Roots for dead-men, and rip rap style rock for tread. Wish I could take photos. Doh!!

Here are the last photos for the week. A sample of some of the turning structures we have been building.

Enjoy.

Asland PT Final and Lorton Home-Stretch

Ashland Pumptrack-

1. Best Dirt Ever
2. In the TREES
3. On the site of an old DIRT Go-cart racetrack
4. Driving Backhoes is fun!!




Lorton-

1. Rock retaining wall for a switchback climb
2. Telephone pole retaining wall for a switchback climb

Ashland Pumptrack Almost There...

Today was a good day with a skeleton crew. We got a lot accomplished and tomorrow she will be ready to test out. I hope we get some extra two wheeled friends to give this thing the compaction it deserves. I do have to say this is probably the best DIRT I could ever imagine.

Enjoy the photos.