Whitefish, Montana may be the first city in the nation to build a city-sponsored bike jumping facility.


About 850 cubic yards of dirt — 70-plus dump truck loads — was brought to the site of the new park. Dirt from the Old Towne subdivision with more clay and rock was used to build a 25-foot high running-ramp, complete with a pathway that spirals up the hill.

I’ve been noodling for a while on this idea that courage is all about context. If the biggest drop you ever huck is the curb, and even that makes your collar bone throb… well, you– like me– are a puss. But if you’re running ladders on the North Coast, and the dude in front of you wheelie drops that 8-footer onto loam, what’re ya gonna do, walk it down? It’s all about the peer pressure, and when peer pressure launches off a ramp of cowardice and incompetence — well, that pretty much explains the existence of YouTube.

Anyway, I assume this new facility is either built in the backyard of the Whitefish Orthopedic Clinic & Ambulance Chaser Legal offices, or the place will have more foam rubber than a Mattress King factory outlet.