They wanted a bike pump track closer to home. This is where the new one is in Whatcom
A bicycle pump track at Bender Fields officially opens on Tuesday, July 28, bringing recreation that Lynden riders have wanted closer to home.
A group of parents who took their kids to Bellingham or Canada — when recreational border crossings were allowed prior to the COVID-19 shutdown — pushed for the project. Those friends said the opening of the Lynden Pump Track was a big part of a year-long effort.
They wanted something in Lynden to save time and effort.
It takes up to 45 minutes to get to Bellingham, and requires loading bikes in a vehicle. Combined with having to do the same thing to return home, that makes for “a pretty time-consuming process,” Kevin Rus, a pump track committee member, said.
“We have a great trail system here in Lynden, and the majority of people in Lynden could leave their house with their kids on their bikes and ride to the pump track without having to get in the car and load bikes up,” Rus told The Bellingham Herald.
The pump track, off 8770 Bender Road, is for riders of all ages. It is made of dirt, for now. Fundraising to raise $50,000 to make it an asphalt track continues.
Covering it in asphalt would allow skateboards and scooters to use the track as well. It also would make the track usable year-round and require little maintenance, according to a news release from those behind the project.
A pump track is a looped circuit made up of berms, banked turns and rollers. The goal is to ride without pedaling but by pumping your body up and down to gain momentum.
A number of pump tracks have been built in Bellingham in recent years. There is a pump track on Port of Bellingham land near Waypoint Park as well as one at Whatcom Falls Park.
Donations from businesses, as well as assistance from the city of Lynden and the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition, helped make the project in north Whatcom County possible, despite the impact of the new coronavirus, according to those behind the project.
“This has truly been a partnership in every way,” Andy Koehn, a pump track committee member, said in a news release.
The one in Lynden is in the city’s Bender Fields, next to baseball diamonds and near the Mount Baker Rotary Sports Park, which includes a boulder-climbing area and various
The rotary club in Lynden raised money to build a 1-acre recreational space that’s been described as a park within a park.
The rotary build helped pump track efforts, because left-over dirt from that project was dumped onto the pump track site — and helped save money.
“If we didn’t have that dirt, it would have come close to doubling the budget for the project,” Koehn said.
Project backers have raised about $8,500 so far, with donations of $5,000 from BAI Environmental Services, $3,000 from the Lynden Regional Park and Recreation District and $500 from WECU.
Assistance also came from Washington Tractor in Lynden, which donated the use of a mini-excavator and skid steer; Western Refinery Service, which provided a plate compactor and water trailer; and Matrix Services, which provided erosion control material and fencing during construction.
The group effort was critical for the project because fundraising efforts were hurt by COVID-19.
“COVID-19 has hit our area hard. Businesses are struggling. Our sponsors felt the impacts in the same way as many other businesses. But because of their willingness to think of how they could help — providing materials or financial backing — we were able to get creative and figure out a way to get a track built,” committee member Rick Stumph said in the release.
Shire Built constructed the Lynden Pump Track. Locally, it has worked on well-known mountain bike projects on Galbraith, the dirt jumps at Civic Athletic Complex, as well as the Port of Bellingham land and Whatcom Falls Park pump tracks.
The Lynden track is open to riders of varying experience, from beginner riders to advanced mountain bikers, Rus added.
“I am clearly a little biased because it is our local track now,” Rus said, “but I think this is the best track Shire Built has made in our area.”
How to help
Lynden Pump Track supporters continue to attempt to raise $50,000 to cover its dirt track at Bender Fields with asphalt. Tax-deductible donations can be made through the nonprofit Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition at https://bit.ly/2WWuaIT.
More at Lynden Pump Track on Facebook or by emailing lyndenpumptrack@gmail.com.
