The Specialized Foundation and Bath Middle School Build a Pump Track

What do you get when you cross 170 cubic yards of dirt, over 100 total volunteer hours, and a great partnership between Bath Middle School, Maine Regional School District One, and The Specialized Foundation? A rad pump track!

So what's a pump track?

A pump track is a safe environment for kids to ride and develop bike handling skills. It’s a perfect compliment for any school in the Riding for Focus program. One of our school champions, Lawrence Kovacs from Bath Middle School, wanted to build one for his students. Through a grant from Maine Bicycle Coalition and approval from the school district and City of Bath, Lawrence was moving in the right direction; however he lacked the expertise to actually build a pump track. He reached out for our help. David Wood and Seth Rand assisted with his planning and flew out for the installation. Our goal was to help Lawrence and his Riding For Focus program, but more significantly, use this as the model for other schools to implement their own pump track. 

We would be remiss without mentioning the outstanding support from the City of Bath Parks department, specifically Steve and Darren who proved that public and private sector can make magic, one dump truck of fill at a time.

Bath Middle School Riding for Focus students volunteer after school. 

"What would have taken me a year to build, Seth and David accomplished in 36 hours." - Lawrence Kovacs

After a rainy week of construction, the pump track saw immediate usage. Lawrence reported back to The Specialized Foundation that he saw 15 kids riding loops at 9AM on Sunday. “There is so much positive buzz in the community.”

Check out this time lapse video that Lawrence produced for the nitty gritty construction details.