Public bike parks can save your soul. This weekend in Santa Fe, Rocket Ramps is proud to unveil its latest project: a revamping of the fabled Trash Pit intermediate jump line within the Frijoles Skills Park at the La Tierra Trails. To commemorate its opening this weekend on June 13th, John spent an afternoon with the crew documenting their hard work. Let’s check it out…
Trash Pit History
For Santa Fe locals Ted Jaramillo and Henry Lanman, the team behind Rocket Ramps, taking on the redesign of the Trash Pit felt like adding to a long legacy of mountain biking in Northern New Mexico. Rich Strang was one of the first builders to break ground on the public jumps inside the La Tierra city trails in 2008. Back then, big names like Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Inductee Josh Bender were coming out to build their skills for events like Red Bull Rampage.
“You know the Yippee Ki Yay line out there? Yeah, well, Rich used to call it Benderama because it was Josh Bender’s idea.” Henry exclaimed, “Rich was the dude who lit the fire for the Trash Pit.”
To build dirt jumps, you need lots of dirt. Some of that comes from the grade excavation, but in the Trash Pit’s case, its proximity to a large construction project proved fortuitous. “The dirt that was used in the original Trash Pit came from the construction of the 599 bypass. The city just dumped all that dirt there, and that’s when Rich got the idea to build the Trash Pit.”
Rocket Ramps travels throughout the West, building mountain bike trails. They recently completed work in the Sandia Mountains above Albuquerque and on Mount Baker in Oregon, and are currently in Salida working on the town’s bike park. Last year, the two earth movers and shapers also worked with the Picuris Pueblo to open one of the most expansive bike parks in the state.
The Rocket Ramps crew also opened a flow trail, Chips and Salsa, in the Glorieta Adventure Camps, just south of Santa Fe, in 2022
Revamping the OG Line
From a noisy excavator working in Salida for the week, Henry Lanman recalls his motivation for the Trash Pit intermediate line revamp, “The intermediate line we rebuilt was called OG because it was the first line out there. The biggest thing was that the beginner lines work without maintenance. They get ridden in every year after the snow melts… and we work on all the expert stuff all the time because we want it to run well.”
He continued explaining why the intermediate line, or the OG line, needed a complete overhaul, stating, “The intermediate gets overlooked because it’s a massive amount of surface area that needs maintenance all the time. Intermediate riders aren’t the ones digging. And it’s the most used. That’s why we put ramps in there. They help maintain a solid surface, and then we don’t have to rebuild the jumps every year.”
The ramps were only part of the refurb. Rocket Ramps also made the grade less steep, reducing it from about 8º to 6º. “The speed works better with the new grade, so people aren’t having to brake as much, so there are fewer brake bumps hopefully. It’ll all be more plug and play.”
Henry then added that the OG himself was stoked to see the revamp. “Rich was pretty psyched to see it.”
“Trash Pit” refers to the fact that the land on which La Tierra sits used to be the city dump, which has now been moved a bit further out. It’s part of the greater Frijoles Skills Park, which includes an adjacent beginner jump line, Red Dog, as well as other technical skills-building features.
Frijoles Skills Park
The two locals went into the redesign with the utmost respect for its legacy while also acknowledging the growing popularity of park and jump-line riding. “We wanted to make something accessible for all riders,” Ted Jaramillo commented as we rolled into the dusty worksite. Perched amid our high-altitude juniper and piñon forest, the Trash Pit offers a stunning view of the Sangres to the east and the Jemez Mountains to the north.
Santa Fe is the highest capital city in the USA, perched at 7,200′ at the base of the Southern Rockies. Our summer skies are filled with monsoons each day, and even on the warmer afternoons, cloud cover provides respite from the intense UV. That afternoon, virga danced along the horizon as monsoon clouds built up, awaiting a crescendo of rainfall in the mountains. It was a beautiful evening.
From Beginner Through Advanced Riders
Slowly, a crew of riders rolled into the park, dogs and kids in tow. Every Thursday night, there’s a trail jam session where riders show up and work on the lines. Using their prefab jump structures, Ted and Henry built eight ramps of various sizes while extending the jump line and repairing drainage issues. It was long, hard work, taking the duo five weeks to complete.
For new riders, Red Dog, a short pedal from the Trash Pit, teaches the foundations of jumping and bike park riding in a low-consequence environment. Once riders feel comfortable on the last few jumps, they can migrate over to the Trash Pit and pick up where they left off. There’s a bigger, pro-level line in the Trash Pit as well, that includes a mulch-bed landing to cushion any bail-outs for more advanced and expert-level riders.
With something for everyone, La Tierra is becoming a hot spot for Santa Fe’s growing and evolving mountain bike scene.
Frijoles Skills Park Opening
The New Frijoles Skills Park opens on June 13th in La Tierra at the Frijoles Trailhead
Santa Fe Fat Tire Society, in partnership with the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division, and Rocket Ramps, invites you to the Grand Opening of the upgraded Frijoles Skills Park at La Tierra. Please come out on June 13 for the grand opening and experience the new jumps at the Frijoles Skills Park, aka the Trash Pit, and explore all the other trails at La Tierra.
🚲 Swing through the Broken Spoke to add $5 for a raffle on a dirt jumper bike, to be given away at noon on June 13th at the ribbon-cutting event. All funds raised will go to the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society for more trail building.
🎉 Ribbon Cutting 10 a.m. | La Tierra Trails — Frioles Trailhead
We are so lucky to have such immense talent in this town. Thanks to Ted and Henry for all you do!