Wednesday, February 11, 2015

An abandoned limestone mine in Kentucky transformed into underground bike park... coolest thing you'll see all day




The complex includes about 12 miles of 45 trails marked by different technical skills and riding styles — and by features such as jumps and a cargo container that been integrated into a bike overpass.

 According to Louisville's Courier-Journal, the course was designed and built in about 10 weeks with a skid steer, a mini excavator, and a 950 loader by Joe Prisel and Jeff Perkins who have worked on more than 20 indoor and outdoor courses. The cavern was bought from a limestone mining company back in 1989, with the idea of opening a "high-security business park."

In 2004, driven by the desire to ride year-round, a carpenter named Ray Petro spent four months converting a 130,000-square-foot former rayon factory in Cleveland into the first indoor park in the country. The result, Ray’s MTB, was a vast playground filled with ramps, jumps, and roller-coaster-like pump tracks. “I wanted to make guys who are 30 feel like they’re 15 for a few hours a week,” says Petro.

 It worked. Ray’s was so successful that Petro opened a second location in Milwaukee in 2010, with its own street park, pump track, foam pit, and VIP lounge. Soon other frigid locales like Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, New York, had indoor parks, too.

Louisville's Mega Cavern is a massive entertainment complex where you can ride zip lines, swing from aerial ropes, and take historic tram rides, in addition to partaking in other activities.

It's 60 degrees year-round. There are 12 miles of trails, and a four-hour pass is $24, an all day pass is $40. Bring your own bike, helmets are required.



Under the Louisville zoo in Louisville Kentucky,The Mega Underground Bike Park is the worlds largest indoor bike park

http://digg.com/video/mega-cavern-bike-park
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/10/385195282/upcycling-underground-huge-bike-park-opens-in-former-limestone-mine
http://www.businessinsider.com/mega-underground-bike-park-in-louisville-cavern-opens-2015-2
http://gearjunkie.com/underground-bike-park-louisville-mega-cavern
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/mountain-biking/Urban-Bike-Parks-Go-Underground.html

Other indoor bike tracks:

Burlington Bike Park (Burlington, Washington) Racetrack-quality dirt, 40,000 square feet.

CranX (Syracuse, New York) Supersize jumps, vert walls, outdoor jump line.

Joyride 150 (Toronto) Kids' programs, concessions, progressively harder rooms.

The Lumberyard (Portland, Oregon) Jump line, on-site pub, 40,000 square feet.

Mega Cavern (Louisville, Kentucky) More than 40 trails, 320,000 square feet, dirt jump room.

Ray's MTB (Cleveland) The original, and still one of the best, with 130,000 square feet of space to play in.

Ray's MTB (Milwaukee) Supertight wooden pump track, foam pit for inverts.

The Wheel Mill (Pittsburgh) Two stories, 80,000 square feet, built with reclaimed lumber.

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