The long-anticipated bike pump track park in Redmond, which will be constructed north of town this summer, is a testament to teamwork, good organization, and perhaps a bit of chutzpah.

What started more than a year ago as a bunch of young, frustrated Redmond bicycle riders has grown into a new, exciting bike park for the city. For years bike riders were driven away from the skate park and other public areas, and in some cases given citations.

“These riders got creative and approached the City of Redmond. Young bikers led by Trevor Elsor persuasively made their case to Redmond City Council early last year, and good things started to happen,” said Annie McVay, City of Redmond parks division manager.

Elsor, a 2013 graduate of Sisters High School and Redmond resident, was the driving force behind the case presented to the city.

“I got a lot of middle school kids involved. Some of the kids told their teacher about wanting a bike park and that teacher arranged for the kids to come to a City Hall meeting,” said Elsor.

According to Elsor, about 30 youths rode their bikes to City Hall and said, simply, “We want a bike park.”

For Elsor’s part, he created a PowerPoint presentation showing various bike parks throughout Oregon and explained to the Parks Committee that Redmond was one of the few cities in Central Oregon lacking a suitable park for riders to take their bikes. The presentation also explained the different styles of riding that kids today want to do.

“I think they were impressed that a young person was willing to jump in and get involved,” said Elsor.

Things started heating up from there and Elsor continued to attend public works and city council meetings and to talk to local businesses. McVay set up community meetings with parents, teachers, and kids to rally community support.

Elsor was inspired to get involved by students who teamed up and worked toward creating a bike park in Sisters during his time at Sisters High School. Over $200,000 was raised for the dirt bike park there.

“We wanted to do something different in Redmond,” he said. “We didn’t want it to be dirt, we wanted it to be asphalt.”

Redmond Parks has been working with Velosolutions/American Ramp Company to design the pump track.

By combining rolling jumps with turns, pump tracks are accessible for all ages and skill levels. Groundbreaking is set for early summer and construction is expected to be complete sometime in July.

Elsor’s love for cycling started about 10 years ago and at one point he aspired to be a professional rider. He eventually got into bike mechanics, attending the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, and now works as a bike technician at Trinity Bikes in Redmond.

Elsor’s passion for inspiring change will continue after this project as he plans to join the Redmond Parks Committee.

“I hope to make a bigger change.” •