Are Asphalt Pumptracks the Future? 8

Claudio Caluori sent over this quick write up, photos and even video from a public asphalt pumptrack project he'd been working on in Chur, Switzerland. Looks like a blast to ride!

The city of Chur, Switzerland now has our first tarmac pumptrack, and I can't even explain you how excited we are about it. Only just a few hours after finishing the tarmac coating, the kids took over the place, and it has been packed ever since. The kids just don't stop riding, no matter if it rains or if it's dark. Some just put 5 lights on their helmet and keep riding. 90% ride bikes, but there are skateboards, inline skates and even scooters on it.

We were extremely lucky to be able to work with the people of Chur, who pushed us to test-build a tarmac berm in summer. The possible lines and combinations are so much bigger than we could have expected because of the traction and the low rolling resistance.

While the kids kept riding, the city took care of the landscaping. We'll have to wait for spring to really see the greenery. The first snow fell last weekend, but the kids kept riding. The advanced riders actually need to plan their visit of the pumptrack at certain times when the kids are having lunch at home, or when all of them are in school, because otherwise, the's just too much traffic on the track. The 220m long track is right in the center of Chur, and is part of an actual kids playground.

The day after finishing the tarmac in Chur, we started building another one, only 10 minutes away, in Parpan, for the Hotel Bestzeit. It's located right at the finish line of the ski world cup finals of Lenzerheide. This one though is one for the clay lovers: We used the excavated material from the construction of the Hotel, which was almost pure clay. This clay pumptrack ended up being a bigger challenge than the tarmac one in Chur, as the clay was wet and sticky, and the ground was so soft that we had to be carefull not to sink in too deep with our machines.

Knowing the winter would arrive a the following weekend, we had to finish the pumptrack within 5 days, which meant flat-out, non-stop shifts from dusk till dawn. We made it just in time, and the following day, it was all covered in white.

Tired and happy, back on the computer, and the kids keep on riding in Chur! Thanks to Graubünden to make this all happen! And thanks my staff at Velosolutions for pinning it so hard to finish everything on time!