Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeFriday, Nov. 27, 2009
Pasco teens get hands dirty by making own bike park
By Bethany Woo, Herald staff writer
PASCO -- When life gives you dirt, break out your shovel and build some jumps.
When 13-year-old Terrian Brown of Pasco got banned from skating behind the Fairchild Theater on Convention Drive, he and his friends decided to build their own bike park.
"We all live in this area and just started on it," said Ryan Johnson, 17. "We started close to a year and a half ago."
The makeshift park is across the street from TRAC and next to the Liberty Car Wash off Burden Boulevard and Convention Drive in Pasco.
"All the kids have worked on it for some time, building little jumps for their bikes, and it's really kind of a cool thing," said Rhonda Knowles of Pasco, the mother of Kyle Knowles, 11.
Workers at Liberty Car Wash said the children are generally well behaved.
"They've been real good and they pick up the trash at the end of the night," Knowles said.
The children, who range in age from 8 to 18, take pride in their park, calling it The Bike Track.
"It's not just us wasting our lives," said Josh DeLeon, 13. "We get exercise. It's like a band of brothers; we work well together."
It took the group about seven months to complete several dirt jumps. Johnson said on any given day about 15 to 20 kids ride their bikes there. On a good day, there are up to 30.
"Hopefully we can get it way bigger," Johnson said. "It'd be cool if it was. We started with one little jump and now it's a lot."
The kids look after one another and invite anyone who loves to ride to come check out their track.
"Lots of shovels have been lost out here," Rhonda Knowles said. "It helps keeps kids entertained and out of trouble. I have one son who's diabetic and he's not playing video games on the computer. They've been more active and energetic, so it's a positive thing."
On the weekends, the kids hold competitions against each other, splitting into two teams: The Orphans and The Dirt Devils.
"We get to learn and give ourselves a challenge," said Kyle Knowles.
Cristian Palacio, 12, rode with his brother Alex, 11, on a recent Friday evening in the rain as his father watched from his truck.
"I saw where they had motorcycles on the dirt course and I asked my dad if we could build ramps in our backyard and he said it would look ugly and then I saw this place," said Alex Palacio.
The two helped build some of the earlier ramps but it was only their second time at the park.
Whether it's racing, freestyle or just for fun, the kids say they're enjoying the bike park they built with their own hands.
"We all grew up riding bikes," Rhonda Knowles said. "They play well together and they work well together. You always worry, but they're kids. ... But they're all good kids."
-- Bethany Woo: 509-582-1465; blee@tricityherald.com
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