#velosolutions

There is an activity that I recently gained interest in. I was not expecting to have so much fun as I did when I went to this new pump track that opened in Longwood, Florida.

One Friday afternoon, I got picked up from school and my mentor told me about a grand opening happening over near his house. I go to his house a lot and that’s usually how I spend Fridays and Sundays. He told me there is something new that had just gotten added to Candyland Park. He said he went to a bike shop called Mr. Bikes And Boards to get a part for his bike and the employees told him about the opening. 

We both went to see what this new opening is all about. When we got there, there were some people who are officials for the City of Longwood talking all about how they made the pump track possible. The track construction expenses were covered by donations, and there were many people who were waiting for this pump track to open.

A pump track has these waves called rollers that you ride on a bicycle, skateboard, or scooter. Riders use a pumping technique to generate momentum and gain speed to go around these curves called corners, and it’s a full body exercise that is a lot of fun. The goal of a pump track is if you are on a bike, you ‘pump’ your bike instead of pedal.

When people started riding it, I was thinking to myself, “That would be really fun to do.” While watching these teens ride this pump track, I wanted to try it out another day, because it was a crowded day and it was a little too cold.

I rode the pump track a couple of days later, and I am super interested in them to this day. It has since become my favorite outdoor activity, and it’s also what I love about biking now. 

There was a news station covering the opening as well, which made the grand opening much more of a big deal to the City of Longwood.

It has closed recently to make the grass grow, because it was very slick and I was slipping on it, while going up the inclines to take a break. It is expected to reopen at the end of March.

Read the full story of its grand opening and how it was built in Longwood here: https://www.news965.com/news/video-longwood-opens-new-bmx-track-funded-100k-grant/yahh1SeK8jFp9R2FDnuPYJ/ 

The Jordie Lunn Memorial Bike Park will be having a soft opening May 28, with the full opening scheduled for some time in June.

The Jordie Lunn Memorial Bike Park will be having a soft opening May 28, with the full opening scheduled for some time in June. The Park will include a full skills area, jump lines and a Velosolutions pump track, available to ride Friday. Jordie Lunn, who passed in October of 2019, lives on as generations of riders follow him, and will perfect their riding at this dedicated bike park. The park…

Press Release: Huge progress at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park as the construction progress continues at full speed.

Press Release: Huge progress at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park as the construction progress continues at full speed. Velosolutions Canada and a full crew of volunteers began construction of, what has become, one of the most unique pump tracks they have built to date. The anticipated completion of the Jordie Lunn Bike Park is Fall 2020

In my last blog post, I talked about the closure of Longwood’s Candyland Park pump track and skate park. They were both originally closed for almost a 2 month period to let the grass grow around the sides of the track, but it now seems like it will be closed for a lot longer, since Longwood Leisure Services (LLS) has commented on the closure on Facebook.

The post states as follows: “In observation of CDC recommendations about keeping crowds to a minimum due to the increase in cases related to COVID-19, the skate park and pump track will remain closed until further notice. Once it is safe for crowds to gather again, we look forward to notifying the public and re-opening the skate park and pump track for good. Thank you and please be safe.”

Also in the report is the confirmation that the restrooms at both Reiter Park and Candyland Park will also be closed until further notice, since the increase of the coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has brought more companies to either shutdown for good, or to keep crowds to a minimum, and take more preventive measures to ensure the safety of everyone who visits the parks.

There is no opening timeframe or month when the pump track and skate park will reopen, but LLS has speculated that they plan to reopen it when it’s safe for groups to be together again, and when the coronavirus pandemic has died down immensely.

Stay tuned to LLS and give them a follow on Facebook for updates!