There’s a new course for bike riders in Kennewick. The city just opened its first pump track, which is the first in the region, according to city leaders. This pump track, located at Vancouver Park, is a circuit of rolling hills and banked turns where riders pump their arms and legs to pick up speed.
“ It's a thrilling rollercoaster bike experience. It's a continuous circuit of rollers and bank turns designed for riding without pedaling,” said Sergio Villegas, the vice chair of Kennewick’s Parks & Recreation Commission.
Pumping your arms and legs up and down is the trick, said Presley Elison, 9. It’s all about the rhythm.
“If you just pedal, it's harder,” she explained. “It feels weird, and you can crash. Most kids that first start are scared.”
Presley is already a veteran, having ridden BMX bikes for the past five years.
A handful of young BMX bikers lined up to try out Kennewick’s brand-new pump track on Thursday. A few adult skateboarders did as well.
That wasn’t a surprise to Brandon Lange, Kennewick’s recreation manager. The requests for a new pump track have streamed in for years, he said.
“The metaphor ‘build it and they will come’ is not needed,” he said. “We've already had a ton of people looking at the fences, eager to get in.”
Kennewick’s pump track was funded by over $430,000 from a Community Development Block grant. The city has allocated nearly $72,000 to add artificial turf to the non-rideable sections of the track next year.
The track also has a bike repair stand, for that eventual accident.
City leaders hope the track will help expand the area’s large biking community.
The track isn’t just for bikes, though. Skateboarders also lined up to try out the track. Frank Ward skateboards every morning with a group, all in their 40s and 50s. Normally, they head to the skate park near Kennewick’s city hall, built out of old concrete.
This pump track course has a different texture and is rougher, he said.
“ It's nice to have variety a little bit,” Ward said, noting skateboarding around the track is good cardio and great for your core.Soon, a line formed at the track’s first hill. When her turn came up, Addyson Cameron, 13, zoomed off, easily finding her line. Her blonde ponytail poked out underneath a black BMX helmet.
Addyson got into BMX three years ago. Until now, her family has had to travel at a minimum to Quincy, Washington. That’s almost a two-hour drive to ride one of these hilly, twisty, turny pump tracks.
Now, she’s got a track a few minutes from her home in Pasco.
“Some (tracks) are scary, and some are really easy,” she said. “This one, it's right in the middle. It's fun. The corners are sharp, so it's scary-fun, but I love it, personally.”
The track will be open from 6 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset.
