Joyride 150: 112,000 square-­feet of hand-crafted bike park beauty. Saturday November 9th, 2013, marked my first rip around this somewhat local playground.

Feature Fear:
Do not be fooled, as I have avoided riding Joyride 150 like the plague, thanks to “Feature Fear”. You know, the voice in your head that tells you there is no possible way you can ride a straight line once riding a surface that is not cement or dirt. 1 cm off the ground or 5 feet, I shut down. It’s ridiculous, I know. As if I road ride swerving in and out of traffic. Why would I all of a sudden decide to swerve on top of a bridge? Not sure. After a few DH lessons at Blue, and a coaching session by Peter Glassford of Smart Athlete at the Collingwood Skate Park, I thought it was time to take the leap and invest an entire day of feature only riding.

My date for the day was my 10 year old nephew, Cole, who’s been ripping religiously at his local skate park on his Sunday BMX he received from my Dad and I last Christmas. Man I love that kid.

Still somewhat wary of showing up and not knowing which way was up, I contacted old friend and local (in the Fall) Adam Morka of Wired For Performance and requested a morning tour and semi-private coaching session for my nephew and I.

Cole and I were there before the doors opened, and with Adam’s guidance, we cruised confidently around that joint for 6.5 hours, fuelling only off of Cliff Bar Shot Bloks, chips, and Gatorade. It was awesome. 

Take a Lesson! Check out:

• Joyride 150: http://www.joyride150.com/park-features/instruction-coaching
  (Keep in mind, due to weekend birthday parties, Joyride 150 does not offer lessons on the weekends)
• Peter Glassford of Smart Athlete: http://www.smartathlete.ca/
• Adam Morka of Wire For Performance:http://wfpcoaching.com/

Ladies!

Save the date for Joyride 150’s yearly Women’s Weekend, February 1st and 2nd 2014.

Learn new skills on Joyride 150’s variety of features for all levels:

• Skinnies
• Foam pit (beginner & expert ramps) with a matching resi jump and box jump
• Rhythms & jump lines (beg-exp)
• BMX-style street park with quarter pipes (MASSIVE!), spines, rails, drop-ins, bowls etc.
• Pump tracks (pump & dual race-style)
• Cross-country loop with elevation (climbs), log-overs and features

Check out incredibly talented Red Bull Rider Drew Bezanson ripping Joyride 150 in this short video:

http://www.redbull.com/en/bike/stories/1331596724680/drew-bezanson-shuts-down-joyride-150