Video: The bike parks of Jay Hoots change the game for Canadian riders
When it comes to freeriding, Vancouver, B.C.'s Jay Hoots is the original article. Which is another way of referring to him as "the legend," really—as many do.
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When it comes to freeriding, Vancouver, B.C.’s Jay Hoots is the original article. Which is another way of referring to him as “the legend,” really—as many do.
For nearly two decades, the British Columbia dirt specialist has been riding as a Norco Bicycles athlete, translating his skills and his passion for gravity-defying riding into a spectacular, high-flying career. In recent years, his focus has expanded somewhat. Having tasted the thrill of a good free ride many times over for himself, his ongoing project—Hoots Bike Parks—seeks to bring that flavour to the rest of us.
Several bike parks, especially in western Canada, already attest to this. Skills parks have been constructed in place as far afield as Tofino, B.C., as in the Tuff City Bike Park, and Dirt n’ Soul Bike Park in Whitehorse, Yukon. Far from being obstructed by the Rocky Mountains, Hoots’s signature park designs have also been seen in Toronto, where he was commissioned by the city to build a new park on the western lakeshore: the Sunnyside Bike Park.
As in the case of Devon, Alberta, where Hoots developed a course called “Biketown,” community leaders have seen the benefit of the B.C. freerider’s work in unmistakable ways.
“Working with Jay Hoots and his crew over the last few years has been a great experience. Jay basically created the international standards and best practices for bike park development and is working with [the International Mountain Bike Association] to literally write the book about them,” said Janet Guthrie, community projects coordinator for the town of Devon. “We checked in with the cycling community to see who they recommended build the park; unanimously they said Jay Hoots.”
“We are very pleased with the park,” Guthrie added, reflecting on what Biketown has meant to her community. “The cycling world loves it and, thanks to Jay’s efforts, we now feel that we can own our brand.”
See what Hoots has brought to the cycling world with this video, showing what three of his parks are all about.
