A commentary from David Royka
The developer of The Land and one of the three land
owners
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 Western 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 that drived The Land's
development. 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 make trails and stunts built
of natural materials, using sound methods and made to last
for years, all blended
into the landscape .
To have a low environmental impact and be very environmentally
conscious, utilizing natural on-site materials and limiting
the use of heavy equipment. To provide a safe riding environment
designed to reduce 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 intermediate and advanced
skill levels and challenge riders of all abilities. At the
end of the day, 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, and inevitable personality clashes.
Eventually a few specific yet critically important issues
were threatened and the membership based park concept had to
be set aside temporarily while legal and insurance issued could
be resolved. The Land continues to be developed but the process
is simpler and scaled back with just a few loyal and dedicated
core volunteers...
the
only
people
for now who
have permission to ride
on the property.
Future
We're working extremely hard to open
The Land as soon as possible. While the opening
date is still in question, I hope The Land'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 Royka
Havoc Adventure
Sports :: FreerideArmy.com :: royka.com |
