Palmer Park in Janesville, Wisconsin, has expanded to include 35 acres across the street from its original location. The newly added 35 acres are home to the brand new Palmer Urban Mountain-bike Park, or “The PUMP,” as the locals call it.
Janesville-area mountain bikers are excited to see the PUMP in its final stages of completion. This is especially true after locals recently lost access to riding in Palmer Park, where the trails were swapped for a dog park.
“Chains were traded for leashes,” Paul Murphy, former president of the Janesville Velo Club (JVC), put it. Fortunately, the city of Janesville had something in mind for local mountain bikers.
A cycling history of Janesville
Before PUMP, and even before the trails in Palmer Park, Janesville had a BMX racetrack. Despite its popularity through the 1980s, the track lost its lease and was replaced by a botanical garden in 1988.
“It was just a group of people that really didn’t have any political clout or ability to stand fast and keep their BMX track,” Murphy told us. “They were pushed aside, and they went down the road to what is called Palmer Park.”
These off-road cyclists settled in Palmer Park and began building what the locals would call the Crazy Eights. The area became a well-known gem for BMX and mountain bikers, with jump lines pushing the limits.
For roughly three decades, the unsanctioned Crazy Eights trails existed on the north end of Palmer Park without significant disruption. That was until COVID hit.
Up to that point, cyclists and other park users, specifically dog walkers, had little conflict. This was largely because these user groups had little contact with each other.
“[There were] kids that liked riding their bikes at the Crazy Eights. Well, instead of not being able to get to the course until after school, they were finding themselves down there all day,” Murphy explained.
Weekday morning and early afternoon hours were a prominent time for people to exercise their dogs at Palmer Park. With use times now overlapping for mountain bikers and dog walkers, inevitable conflict arose.
With Crazy Eights technically being illegal trails, Janesville decommissioned the jumps and trails, giving way to the park’s four-legged users. However, they didn’t hang the mountain bikers out to dry. City and Parks and Rec officials recognized the growing popularity of mountain biking and offered a different location.
“[They said they’ve] got 37-plus acres across the road and wondered if we’d design something,” Murphy told us. “It was basically a story of turning lemons into lemonade.”
In late 2020, planning for the PUMP project was officially underway.
The Palmer Urban Mountain-bike Park
After the City of Janesville asked JVC if they would be interested in the 35 acres for off-road trails, JVC was able to move the PUMP from concept to completion relatively quickly. JVC’s website points out the partners who helped make the PUMP possible: the City of Janesville, Rock Trail Coalition, and Michael’s Cycles.
These organizations were able to scrape some initial funds together for the planning and design of the PUMP. Most importantly, they could hire professional trail builder Chad Landowski of Traction Trailworx.
“[Landowski] did all of the topographical walkthrough and markings and layout in 2021,” Murphy said. “That allowed us to get a design and a concept, and in late 2021-22, we started raising money, and we had enough money to start in early 2023.”
Rather than having to come up with all the funds at once, Landowski planned the PUMP in phases, allowing JVC and its partners to fundraise as they went. A total of $250,000 was needed to complete the project, and it was broken down as follows:
- East Flow Loop – $50,000
- Intermediate Jump Line – $25,000
- Expert Jump Line – $30,000
- West Flow Loop – $45,000
- Skills Area – $40,000
- Pumptrack – $45,000
Trails at the PUMP
The West Loop is the longest trail at the PUMP, running 1.29 miles. This beginner loop snakes its way through the forest as it climbs roughly 50 feet to its highest point before returning to the trailhead. The West Loop easily connects with the 1.26-mile East Loop, another beginner trail very similar to the West Loop. Both East and West Loops have intermediate options and have a clockwise direction.
Access to the Intermediate and Expert Jump Lines will be from the East Loop. The Intermediate Jump Line is just under a quarter of a mile and gradually descends from PUMP’s Gravity Hub. Riders can expect 10-15 foot table tops, berms, rocky tech, and rollable drops. The Expert Jump Line descends two-tenths of a mile from the Gravity Hub off the East Loop and incorporates wooden features, 15-25 foot tables, and rock gardens. It will also start with a drop/rock roll feature as a squirrel catcher.
Between the East and West Loops will be the Skills Area and Pumptrack. The Skills Area will cover over half an acre and feature various elements such as bridges, rock gardens, narrow milled logs, rock rolls, berms, and small jumps. Covering three-quarters of an acre, the pumptrack’s main loop will be more mellow, allowing riders of all ages and skill levels to ride. There will be alternate lines off the main loop that will allow more experienced riders to challenge themselves.
A fall opening, and more funding needed.
The PUMP officially opened on October 12, 2024. While most of the funding and much of the building is complete, JVC points out that the skills area has yet to be funded. They also need additional funding for the park’s signage, as the $15,000 needed has only been partially funded and completed.
Much of the funding came from the JVC and the City of Janesville. But Murphy mentioned how incredible it has been to watch community members and organizations get behind the PUMP.
“When we started this, we [were] trying to tell people that have no idea about mountain biking or off-road trail riding to financially support this,” Murphy told us. “We’re fortunate that
very benevolent and generous people saw that [mountain biking] was physical fitness, it was family, and it was kids.”
Murphy thinks the local NICA team also contributed to the support. In 2014, the JVC started and financially supported a NICA team for the area with seven riders. In 2022, the same team had 52 participants. And, similar to what we commonly hear about NICA teams, it wasn’t just the kids who got involved. Soon, parents were also on mountain bikes and helping coach the teams, and the community supported them on a greater level.
As Wisconsin heads into the winter months, snowfall will inevitably close down the trails at the PUMP for riding and building. This means that the PUMP likely won’t be completed until spring of 2025 at the earliest. However, the JVC has an interesting, albeit cold, way of raising funds to finish the project.
Every winter, JVC members brave enough to participate join the Winter Challenge, or “Frozen Fools,” as it was once called. The fundraiser has participants tracking days and miles ridden during January and February, with pledged funds set aside for a charity, organization, or project. This upcoming Winter Challenge will support the PUMP.
1 Comments
2 weeks ago