There are discussions almost constantly (in my head) about where it would be awesome for a mountain bike (MTB) course would go. You can't just say, "The whole world should be a MTB course" because we all know that would just be too awesome and can't be your answer. But when I'm going places I look around and say to myself, "Self. That would be a great spot for a drop in." Or, "Self. There is nothing under that elevated freeway there needs to be a park there like the one in Seattle." So here is a list of a couple places that I thought we great places. They may not be feasible, safe, or easily accessible but I think it would be cool if they were there. (No particular order, but craziest one first)
1) Airport MTB Park
Like I said, crazy comes first. I've put 4 markers on the map above (A,B,C&D) for possible locations. I live in Mustang and used to drive by the airport all the time on my way to OKCCC taking either Airport Rd or SW 89th St. NONE of these spots are probably considerable due to airport security. They would hate for a bunch of cyclists to be lounging around outside the airport. Also, it would give planespotters a parking lot to fill, which airport security would hate even more.
A) Inside Airport Fence - completely undo-able. But there are some great natural hills in that spot. If you are ever driving by make sure you take a look.
B) On the south side of 89th St would be awesome. There is NOTHING THERE!!! No one would complain about a MTB course because there is nothing there to start with. There is probably some sort of ordinance keeping a building from going in due to air traffic control, but a MTB course wouldn't be permanent or high enough to tick on an airplane pilot. Just watch out for pilots with an unusually low glide slope.
C) More hills and trees. I think it is a piece of government land. It is across the street from the federal transfer center. So... yeah.
D) Everything from just south of 59th St to 89th St has virtually nothing. There is a post office facility up by 59th st but that is it. Imagine the course that you could put in with that much area.
2) Old Paintball field site
Someone on the OEF Forum mentioned the old paintball field off of 10th st. I think that would be an awesome idea! I've never played or walked around the area, but I've past it a ton of times when I ride around Overholser on my road bike.
3) Interstate 44
Whenever my wife needs to go to the Mall I cringe and die a little inside. It is painful to walk around for 2 hours while she looks at all kinds of things that cost WAY more than they should and at any moment she could want to buy one of them. But, I always look under I-44 and picture a MTB course. There are two man reasons why one should be put there:
a) no parking
b) falling cement from our fine roads
Either way I still see it in my head each time I drive by.
4) Mustang
The Mustang Park is a 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile of mixed use community stuff. I've drawn the Multi-Use Paved Trail in orange. Also, I drew some blue lines to show were the existing creek is also located. Softball fields and soccer fields take up a great deal of the plot but for good reason, they get used. I've put two markers on the map to illustrate where I think a park could go. I know that it would get highly used by the BMX crowd.
An empty lot across from my neighborhood recently had several dump truck loads of dirt deposited for temporary storage. The local kids took this opportunity to takes shovels and build a really great 8 foot jumps out of three enormous piles. I'm afraid to jump them. There was a small army of kids out there. At one time probably 20+ kids building and working. I know that BMX is big in the area because there is a park up in Yukon. But Yukon is a little far away when you can't get proper transportation. So if there were a park in Mustang it would get heavy use regardless of its size.
A) This area is along a creek that runs N/S. You would have to have some sort of bridge to go over the multipurpose trail that is parallel to the creek. Some sort of very tall bridge would be required (Cost is immediately going up). This spot is not going to be seen by drivers on Mustang Rd and would not be an eye-sore.
B) This spot is at the top of a very long hill that drops to the West. There are a couple groups of trees and you could REALLY do a lot of good between the "B" and the loop to the direct West. This spot is easily seen from 59th St and some citizens would consider it an eye-sore.
All of this of this course would only be a 2 minute bike ride from my house.
Cheers,




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