Progression sessions at Joyride 150

While there is a definite regression of riding skills over winter for most Canadians, there is one place that helps you do the exact opposite. And that’s Joyride 150 Bike Park. With over 100,000 square feet of bike park challenges, this is the place you come when you want to get better at biking. Everyone improves while they’re there. Everyone. And it’s a truly welcoming scene; people of all ages and skill levels are riding. There’s no reason to be intimidated; it’s a friendly, welcoming and bully-free zone.

Progression weekend

For the last few years, my son and I have grabbed a friend of his and headed down to the town of Markham for a vacation. A winter weekend focused on riding bikes, hanging with friends and having fun. And every year we have an absolute blast. We also progress just a little bit more than we did the year before. With pumptracks, skinnies, jump lines, a skatepark, a street plaza, a halfpipe and a foam pit, this place has it all. There’s even a multi-level cross country course that wraps around the building if you want to get some kilometers in. We generally end up focusing on the jump lines, but this year we spent a bunch of time in the street plaza too.

What do you want to learn?

If you’re looking to grow new skills, or simply keep your current skills fresh, there’s not only an obstacle for you here, there’s also a program. Adult jump and flow clinics are offered every Friday. Or you can take one-on-one lessons. You can book a coach with some buddies to work on whatever it is you’re looking to improve on.

The who’s who

Of course, being such a hotspot for riding, there’s always someone incredible riding here. The manager of the Joyride 150 is Dave Thomas. He’s the coach for the Canadian Olympic BMX freestyle team. He’s no slouch on a BMX. Brett Rheeder developed a lot of his skills here and is known to drop by at random times. X Games medalist Mike Varga is a regular. Drew Bezanson was a regular and we hope to see him back there ASAP. Of course, all these guys are friendly and approachable. If you’re hucking yourself into the foam pit with them, why not ask them for tips on backflipping or spinning 360s?

How long?

Like all things bike skill related, the more time you spend actually riding, the better you’ll get. For us it’s a 2.5 hour drive, so we like to spend a couple nights and get the…