This past Saturday May 10th, Philly Pumptrack at Parkside Evans Rec Center held its first Pump Jam, marking the grand opening of the track to the public. The day started off with volunteers busily completing the finishing touches as part of Love Your Park Service Day. The Service day and first ever Pump Jam were organized by Heidi Grunwald, Kenn Rymdeko, and Harlan Price, the three local residents who worked tirelessly over the past four years with track designer Jim Dellavalle and City of Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation to make this project a reality.
As the opening grew closer you could see excitement growing on the faces of children and adults alike, who wanted to take a spin and test their skills on either the beginner or advanced course. Photographer Thom Carroll captured the action after the ribbon cutting. As you can see, plenty of fun was to be had before the rainstorm cut things short and the track had to be covered up.
Philly Pumptrack at Parkside Evans Rec Center is now open to the public every day from 10am 7pm, if you don’t have a bicycle or helmet you can borrow one, free of charge, at the track, which is located at 53rd and Parkside Avenue. For more information about the pumptrack, and how to ride it, take a look at this video from Newsworks.
