Where there was once a Sears, there are now shredders.
Bikes have been pumping on and jumping off the winding wooden features at North Shore Bike Park all weekend in North Vancouver鈥檚 Capilano Mall.
After a soft launch that started on Saturday, the park opened to the public on Tuesday. The massive 65,000-square-foot facility is housed in the former location of Sears, which .
After a , Phase One of construction is complete. Currently, rideable is a pump track for little shredders, a pump track for intermediates, three jump lines from beginner to advanced, and a half-pipe.
There鈥檚 a long list of things that will be added soon, says founder Mike Upton. That list includes a street zone set up like a skate park, an airbag zone and another area dubbed the North Shore zone, which are expected to be ready by the end of the year.
The park concept was developed by Darren Butler, co-owner of Endless Biking. Construction was overseen by two Red Seal carpenters, one with prior experience building bike parks, and the tracks have been tested for safety and performance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no small feat to build a bike park inside a shopping mall. Nobody鈥檚 done it before, and there鈥檚 a reason,鈥� Upton said.
Since the soft launch, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, he said.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 having a really good time 鈥� some of them out there today, that鈥檚 their fourth day in a row,鈥� Upton continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so happy to see that.鈥�
At the park Tuesday afternoon, Anthony Gregory was getting big airtime off the jump lines, and making attempts at rotation tricks in the half-pipe. The mountain biker saw that the bike park was opening on Instagram, and came down for his first day.
Riders impressed with quality of park features
鈥淗aving an indoor spot is awesome. You can ride all year round, when it gets dark,鈥� said the 19-year-old Kiwi, who recently moved to Canada to promote his sports apparel brand. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have this kind of stuff back in New Zealand.鈥�
The features are well-made, he said.
鈥淚f you go fast enough, you can pop them high 鈥� even though you鈥檙e so close to the roof, it feels safe. You know you鈥檙e not gonna go that high because they鈥檝e been built so well,鈥� Gregory said, adding that he鈥檚 looking forward to seeing bigger jumps and airbags when they鈥檙e ready.
Apart from the biking features, the park hosts a pro shop with apparel and safety gear, as well as a lounge area, which will be activated for birthdays and other events.
鈥淚f you were to come here today, it鈥檚 a really convenient nice place to sit and have some lunch 鈥� bring in food from the food court,鈥� Upton said, adding that bike park guests get a discount at food court vendors.
鈥淥therwise, the lounge is going to transform in the evenings. It鈥檚 all configurable 鈥� and we plan on having live bands, large workshops, seminars, dealer events, all kinds of things going on in there,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bike park is really meant to be so much more than a bike park.鈥�
In talks to bring bike parks to other underused retail locations
While the biking area takes up the main floor of the location, a space on the second floor has been given to Family Services of the North Shore, free of charge. The upper floor also hosts Bikes for Tykes, a charity run by Obsession: Bikes owner James Wilson, that refurbishes donated bikes.
鈥淚f you go upstairs where we鈥檙e storing them all, there鈥檚 about 100 bikes that have been donated already, and Obsession: Bikes will do all the maintenance on them. And then they鈥檒l be gifted to kids and families around Christmastime by Family Services in the North Shore,鈥� Upton explained.
The 10 partners who have privately funded North Shore Bike Park are in talks to expand the model of converting underused retail spaces into destinations for cycling and recreation.
Upton said they want to expand the community element as well.
鈥淓verything that we鈥檙e doing here in North Vancouver, at Capilano Mall, is what we鈥檙e going to be duplicating when we bring it to these other towns or cities.鈥�
