Marina: May 13, 2023, Grand Opening of the Glorya Jean Tate Park Pump Track at Glorya Jean Tate Park, 3254 Abdy Way, Marina. The nearly 30,000 sq ft paved pump track will feature two separate wall rides—one 40 ft and one 20 ft. https://cityofmarina.org/25/Recreation-Cultural-Services / https://www.cityofmarina.org/1140/Glorya-Jean-Tate-Park

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This post was first published September 1, 2014, with numerous subsequent updates.

Yearning for a Pump Track, Monterey County

• Marina: “Marina will become the first city in Monterey County to build a pump track.” By David Schmalz, 11/11/21, Monterey County Weekly.

• Salinas: BMX Pump Track and Skate Park on East Laurel in Salinas? Monterey County Board of Supervisors agenda, 9/14/21

• Marina: As reported in 3/25/21 Monterey County Weekly, “City of Marina has approved concept plans to install a pump track bike park, with turns built to maximize speed, at Glorya Jean Tate Park….The bike park will have three different areas for novice, intermediate and advanced bikers.”  Learn more in Monterey County Weekly—”Good Week / Great Week” section of “The Buzz”: https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/the_buzz/the-buzz-03-25-21/article_f69712c0-8cf2-11eb-bff9-e7d9c5e06f14.html

• Marina: “Two Marina residents spearhead a proposal to bring a bicycling pump track to the region” by David Schmalz, a 7/9/15 story in the Monterey County Weekly, tells what Joey Silva and Darius Rike of Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA) proposed to the City of Marina, and what biking Mayor Bruce Delgado of Marina thinks about the idea.

• Salinas: On a related note, a January 14, 2020 update by Jim Johnson in the Monterey Herald, “New Salinas skate, BMX park discussed, report delayed.” https://www.montereyherald.com/2020/01/14/new-salinas-skate-bmx-park-discussed-report-delayed/

https://twitter.com/BikeMonterey/status/1375307853838249984?s=20

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The post below was published September 1, 2014.

Toro Park, Salinas: BMX, MTB, Road Bikes, and others—Would you like a pump track here?

Did you know? There are local youth  eager for the experience of bike parks, including pump tracks, who do not currently have access to such places.  Some of these, like the boy below, find their only option is to bike at a park actually designated as a skate park, as is this one across from Virginia Rocca Barton elementary school in East Salinas.

Located nine miles from that skate park at Virginia Rocca Barton School, and thirteen miles from the Monterey Peninsula, Toro Park is under the stewardship of the Monterey County Parks Department. [Update: Via Blanco Road, Locke-Paddon Community Park in Marina is about 14 miles from Virginia Rocca Barton School. Note the idea below of a possible shuttle.]

Toro has long been popular for mountain biking. Recently, Toro was the site of a Little Bellas program for girls ages 7-13. Toro is also the site of the annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day hosted by Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA). Besides being a fun, healthy activity, another goal of TAKMBD is to foster a connection between youth and the natural world around them. Themselves intimately connected to nature, MORCA members’ stewardship of the land is evidenced by trail work at Toro Park, at Fort Ord, and elsewhere. MORCA was also among the diverse coalition who worked for the creation of Fort Ord National Monument.

Some Monterey Off Road Cycling Association members want to increase special biking opportunities for youth and adults here in Monterey County–specifically, at Toro Park.

MORCA wants to provide a pump track that can be enjoyed year-round by locals and visitors to Salinas and the surrounding area. Check out MORCA’s guest post below to learn more.

[Update 10/14/14: See item #7 “Bike Park at Toro” on MORCA’s minutes for both Sept 8 (click here)8 and Oct 6, 2014 regarding the County’s management plans and Master Use Permit.]

IDEA: Bicycling Monterey encourages those who support the idea of a pump track at Toro Park to also think about the possibility of making a shuttle service available, so youth such as those pictured could more easily reach the track. (There is a BMX park–Manzanita Park BMX–11 miles from the skate park pictured, and it’s clear that many youth are unable to make that trip.) You may have heard of Shuttle Smith Adventures in our neighboring Santa Cruz County. Imagine the possibility of a Monterey County shuttle that could transport youth and others, and their bicycles, for a very low cost  from several neighborhood pick-up spots. Investing in supporting youth in the healthy activity of biking could appeal to business sponsors, nonprofits, and others who could make a low-cost shuttle possible.

But first: What is a pump track? Here’s a summary from a New Jersey community that was likewise proposing a pump track for their locale.

As that summary points out, you don’t need a special kind of bike to ride on a pump track.

Would you like a pump track at Toro Park, Salinas?

Guest post provided by MORCA member K.C.

As fall approaches and the land here gets ready to accept our blood and sweat, MORCA has a new project for which we would like your input. MORCA is proposing to the Monterey County Parks Department that they allow us (MORCA) to build a pump track at Toro Park.

We’ve been discussing this with the county staff for some time and have submitted a formal proposal for the building of a pump track.

What we would like now is input from the larger community about your interest in this project, and if would you be able to volunteer in some fashion. We ask your help in encouraging the parks department’s approval. Our proposal is for a broad-based volunteer group to construct and maintain a pump track inside Toro Park, toward the west end of the lower grassy section. If the proposal is approved, we’ll be scheduling planning meetings to organize the volunteers and get this project built. We’d like to include you!

Thanks for your input.

Please take the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/58S3ZR2

For more information, or if you have questions, go to http://www.morcamtb.org

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Also note, if you mountain bike Toro Park’s trails: (1) Ride only on designated, marked trails where mountain biking is approved. Do not ride or brake on open terrain, and do not cut across switchbacks. (2) Where biking trails are shared by hikers or equestrians, be respectful and bike polite. Scroll down National Interscholastic Cycling Association’s “SlowmoBro” page and review the bullet points of all four sections. (3) Carefully follow best practices to protect the land, which you can learn more about from Monterey Off Road Cycling Association, NICA, and other responsible mountain biking organizations. (4) Specific to rain: To preserve these trails for future users, do not use trails when they are wet or muddy. Be kind to the land; ride dirt, not mud! Stay off trails until they’ve had a chance to dry up a bit. Contact leadership of Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCAmtb.org) for specific local guidelines about rainy season riding. Read MORCA’s “Why we don’t night ride after rain,” and Rules for Rainy Season Riding  from our Monterey Bay neighbors at Hilltromper Santa Cruz.