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A commentary from the land owner
freeriding
IMBA has defined freeriding as "a style of mountain biking that celebrates
the challenges and spirit of technical riding and downhilling." Anytime
you are on a trail trying to push your riding limits, you are freeriding. Years
of freeriding exposure and gaining momentum have spawned small freeride trails
and parks everywhere. Freeriders around the world have rushed to create micro
oasises
of freeriding nirvana wherever they could. There was no money. There was no
fame. Riders did what they did out of a pure love for the emerging sport of
freeriding and they were making it their own... literally shaping the sport
with their unique individual efforts. The Land is one of those great experiments
and expressions of freeriding. The goal was to transform 80 wooded hillside
acres into one of the most advanced and challenging freeride courses in the
USA. Situated in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, The Land continues
to evolve into a tight network of singletrack freeride trails, designed to
flow and blend into the environment with natural stunts, providing an amazing
riding experience.
inspiration
I progressively dreamt about the trails featured in magazines
and admired the pros doing seemingly impossible stunts on
DVDs. I traveled as often as I could to ride as many places
as possible. Locally the freeride scene was passionate but
unfocused. On a long road
trip home from Boston in February 2005, the entire business
gelled
into a coherent project and I frantically scribbled down notes
on a pad of paper beside me. I saw an
opportunity to promote the sport and harness the collective
energy and talents of the area's freeriders. I mapped out the
plan to construct a freeride park using Land I jointly owned.
Later that April an informational meeting was held
with nearly 45 people in attendance and the project was
officially under way. The dream was collective and grassroots
volunteers showed up to help build the most challenging freeride
trails on the East Coast.
concept
There were several core philosophies. Bring the emerging sport
and soul of freeriding to the Western New York area. To
use the top riding locations in the world as inspiration and
make this one even better. To create a world-class biking destination,
worthy of travel to the area. To develop and foster a local
freeride culture. To make trails and stunts built of natural
materials, using sound methods, designed to last for years.
To have a low environmental impact and be very environmentally
conscious, utilizing natural materials on-site, all blended
into the landscape.
To provide a safe riding environment, reducing injuries, allowing
riders to advance in the sport faster. To have a place to ride
that pushes your comfort zone, improves your skills, and allows
you to grow as a rider. To represent all skill levels and challenge
riders of all abilities. This was a collaborative effort representing
the ideas of many people.
history
Despite some fantastic memories and significant triumphs, building
great trails and stunts has not been easy. The Land's
early history reads like the lawless days of the Wild West.
Scarce financial resources, hard work in harsh conditions,
lots of drama, big egos, and inevitable personality clashes.
Eventually a few specific yet critically important issues
were threatened forcing the park direction to change.
The membership based park concept had to be set aside. Unfortunately,
for now, The Land is not
open
to new
volunteers,
nor is it open to the public for riding. After the dust
had settled, the passion for the sport continued to thrive
at The Land.
Now things
are simpler and scaled back with just a few loyal and dedicated
core volunteers... the only ones who have permission to ride
on the property.
future
Efforts have never stopped to explore creative ways to open
the park, even if only in a limited capacity. While there
are no guarantees
that The Land will ever
be open to the general public, I hope it's existence
inspires
others
to
develop
similar
freeride
parks across the country. From the current Land crew, we highly
encourage others to make intelligent and respectful advances
in freeriding
within
their own communities. Freeriding comes in many flavors and
styles. The Land represents only one aspect of the sport although
every discipline of biking has our respect. We admire any rider
that
takes biking farther, faster, or higher. After all, we're
all bikers... and it's about riding in whatever form that motivates
you, pure and simple.
Sincerely,
David R. Royka
Havoc Adventure Sports |
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