Hey!

I just returned from northern Wisconsin and had an absolute blast on the Raven Trail near Minacqua.

Obviously the singletrack trails were a lot of fun and challenging...but to be honest no more fun and challenging than the trails at Palos and Rock Cut State Park (I haven't tried Saw Wee Kee yet but plan to very soon).

However, what inspired this Chainlink post was the "Mountain Bike Skills Course" they also had there. It was about a 1/2 mile loop filled with man-made "north shore" style bridges, logs, teeter-totters, a couple jumps, rock gardens and so forth.

Having also visited Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland (also an absolute blast), I'm wondering what it would take to get a bike park in the city. By "in the city," I mean accessible without having to drive to it.

Some of you are familiar with "The Garden" (a small but really impressive home grown dirt jump course near Lane Tech). I think the success of The Garden proves the great things a bunch of ambitious bicyclists can accomplish when they organize themselves.

And for that matter, Chicago's handful of skate parks demonstrate what can happen when the city and park district get behind something.

So why not a full-blown "bicycle park" that offers something for everyone from BMXers to dirt jumpers to mountain bikers? Hell...why not a velodrome too?

Surely there is a vacant lot or wooded area somewhere within the city limits.

Obviously dreaming about something is a far cry from making it happen...but I figured it couldn't hurt to post this and hopefully get a conversation started.

So, what do you think? Ideas? Opinions?

Thanks!!!