Pump track & Skill park

Italiano

In 2023, in the uncultivated meadow with at least three birches from Valle Fiumetta[^] strategically positioned between the Market Parking and the Parking at the tensile structure - with the expense of 135,000 euros, of which 85,000 financed by BIM (Bacino Imbrifero Montano)[^], an area equipped for having fun with bicycles and push vehicles, such as skates and scooters, was inaugurated.[^] There are two sections: the pump track and a space called the skill park. The two English names form the pair Pump track & Skill park,[^] track and park are written in lower or upper case.

What is a pump track?[^] A pump track[^] is a circuit made up of ups and downs (bumps) and parabolic curves (banked corners or turns) that allow you to do jumps and stunts, but also just experience the thrill of acceleration. The bottom can be of different materials, dirt, wood, concrete, asphalt, fiberglass. Here pump refers to momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing. The Barzio pump track is a layer of asphalt, smooth as a sheet of paper.
What is a skill park?[^] It´s a space where it´s possible to approach the sport of mountain biking safely on closed circuit paths specially designed for beginners, along with lines and features for experienced riders, to practice and improve their skill. The aim is to become familiar with the two wheels by working on balance, in a flat area or with a slight slope. They contain several permanent or temporary technical obstacles, built with natural materials combined with artificial elements.

A two-sided billboard is mounted on the edge of the track in Italian only. In the one that reads in the direction of the pump track the title is Pumptrack & Skill park Comune di Barzio[^] in which Pump track merges into Pumptrack; on the opposite side information concerning both the pump track and the skill park.

Google has already updated its map with Pump track and skill park Barzio (address Via Provinciale 1, 23816 Barzio LC).[^]

Pumptrack & Skill park Municipality of Barzio sign

A track full of curves, humps and steep bends, the goal is to turn only by moving your body without pedalling! Drawing of a cyclist with two movements: Extension (unloaded), Bend (loaded). Means permitted: bicycles, in various types, roller skates, skateboards, scooters. Below, Enjoy and Rules.

In Enjoy (Divertiti) educational panel, in Arms (Braccia) Did you know that it is possible to complete a complete lap of the track with only the strength of the arms? A combined action of flexion and push movements will suffice; lighten the bike by bending your arms and elbows, then extend your arms and bring them forward to accelerate as soon as you start going downhill. Then, Legs, Coordinating arms and legs, Bike - body, each with an explanation.

Between Divertiti and Regolamento, the free use of the track and equipment by minors is placed under the supervision and exclusive responsibility of the people who have it in custody, just as their improper use declines the manager from any responsibility.

I only partially copy the Regulations (Regolamento), which can be read upon entering the area, the most salient information is in bold and underlined. It starts with a premise: The Pumptrack is intended for pure user enjoyment. Created with a succession of parabolic curves, humps and possible jumps. The goal to be achieved is to travel the track without pedaling, i.e. using the push (pump) of the body, created by a continuous bending and extension movement on the bicycle, skateboard or scooter.
Parents are responsible for their children. Use at your own risk.

• The use of a helmet and impact protection for the limbs is compulsory.
• Up to a maximum of 4 vehicles can run on the track at the same time, maintaining a suitable safety distance.
• Do not brake suddenly, in order not to spoil the route.
• ...
• Minors must be accompanied by an adult. It is not allowed to be used by children under 6 years of age.
• ...
• Dogs are not allowed.
• Do not use the track under the influence of drugs and alcohol
• Keep clean and place waste in the appropriate bins.
• ...

At the bottom of the billboard, the three sponsors of the track, Comune di Barzio (Municipality of Barzio), Dolomeet outdoor and tourism lab www.dolomeet.com, BIM Consorzio del Bacino Imbrifero Montano del Lago di Como e Fiumi Brembo e Serio.

Signboard facade with skill park

On the other side of the sign, which has a wooden frame, two logos, Municipality of Barzio and BIM, and four sections.

The characteristics of the Pump Track of Barzio, located between two of the main car parks of Barzio, along the Fiumetta stream, in front of the tensile structure of the town, are:[^]

• Height difference humps 50 cm
• Meters traveled 120 m
• Sliding bed Bituminous conglomerate
• Average width of the route 2 m

The artificial obstacles of the Skill park in Barzio, with a clay surface, right next to the three-storey white house in Località Cesura 1 (who knows how the holidaymakers who live there have welcomed the new initiative by the mayor Giovanni Arrigoni Battaia) are:

• bow
• ramp 300
• jump 300
• roof
• seesaw
• double bump
• step

It is mandatory:

• Use the helmet
• Wear elbow pads
• Wear knee pads

It is forbidden:

• Walk or stop on foot
• Use overboards
• Approach with free animals

Result

The 120-metre asphalt ring made up of a series of rollers (bumps) and docks (corners, curves), located between two car parks, near the tensile structure and playground of Parco della Fiumetta, which in 2023 erased the natural stretch of the valley of the stream most loved by the inhabitants of Barzio and vacationers, has met with immediate success among children and young people who frequent the town and Valsassina. They run enthusiastically on the Barzio pump track, experiencing the thrill of accelerating, jumping, practicing to complete the route only by pumping without pedaling[^] under the watchful and amused gaze of parents and grandparents who can watch from one of the three benches in the sun. The valley of the stream, a few meters deep, is protected by a wooden fence and a thin net. The unlit track has no time limits, next to it there is a three-story house. Everyone is unaware that the BIM Consortium that financed it has among its objectives not to forget the defense of the soil, the protection of nature, the safeguarding of the mountain environment.[^] At the sports center of Conca Rossa an oval track ideal for two wheels has been abandoned for decades. The skill park is almost deserted.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (27 June 2012). "Third photo of Valle Fiumetta in Barzio taken at four in the afternoon of 27 June 2012. The pedestrian street for Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi from P3.". In Area Pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, Estate and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
2. "Consorzio del Bacino Imbrifero Montano del Lago di Como e Fiumi Brembo e Serio". bimbg.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 20 July 2023.
3. (4 luglio 2023). "Barzio, Inaugurata la prima pista di Pump Track [Barzio, Inaugurated the first Pump Track track]". (in Italian). Il Giorno. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (7 July 2023- ). "Pump track & Skill park di Barzio". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
5. "What is a pumptrack". Parkitect. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
6. "Pump track". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
7. "Skill park". Bike Service Massa Marittima. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (25 July 2023). "Pumptrack Sign Municipality of Barzio. Under the title a caption, the drawing of the two gestures to travel the track, extension (unloading) and bending (loading), Means allowed. In two columns, Enjoy and Rules. Below the sponsors, Municipality of Barzio, Dolomeet, BIM.". In Estate and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
9. "Pump track e skill park Barzio". Google Maps. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (18 July 2023). "The new area of the Municipality of Barzio for bicycles, roller skates and more inaugurated fifteen days ago in Valle Fiumetta obliges me to document it. Here, the sign in the direction of the free parking, with the tools of the skill park and the drawing of the pumptrack.". In Estate, P3 and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (20 July 2023). "The new pump track in Barzio is crowded with kids who ride and have fun on bikes and scooters.". In Estate, In giro per Barzio and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos video]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
12. "Chi siamo [Who we are]". bimbg.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 20 July 2023.