En route to Fort William World Cup, the SCOTT-Velosolutions team – Brendog, Neethling, Wilkins and co – put the new Skelf pump track through its paces.

“There are loads of lines and they all roll mega fast, its getting your head around the fact that  you’re not going to fly out the top of the berm or off the side of the track. It’s perfectly grippy with loads of flow” – Olly Wilkins

“We found a few little challenges but we needed a little bit more time to see what was really possible. We had a great few hours, Claudio and the Velosolutions team have done a great job” – Brendan Fairclough

Skelf?

The Skelf Pump Track is Scotland’s 3rd Velosolutions pump track build and it sits in the city centre at the base of Arthur’s Seat. Transforming the area, the track has proved hugely popular with the locals who got the chance to rip around the track with an all star crew.

Skelf Bike Park opened on March 31st with a pump track designed by Claudio Caluori alongside some red and blue trails.

Never heard of Skelf? Skelf is the name for a new mountain bike min trail centre and pump track area that’s being built in the heart of Edinburgh.

Website: http://theskelf.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/skelfedinburgh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SKELFBikePark

Where is it exactly?

St Leonards/Pleasance/Dumbiedykes/Southside area of the city, adjacent to Holyrood Park. Street Address: Bowmont Pl, EH8 9RY.

Adjacent to the Crags Sports Centre, 8 Bowmont Pl, EH8 9RY. Number 14 bus takes you right opposite. 10 minutes from Waverley. Limited parking is available, so best leave the car a distance away and enjoy a ride in on your bike.

Didn’t know that Claudio made pump tracks?

Claudio has a trail building company called Velo Solutions. You should check out these other amazing works of art from the Pump Track Prince.

The red and blue bike trails are being designed and built by renowned trail centre bods Architrail.

The trails and pump track are being built in a modest bit of woodland that had been mismanaged and “plagued by anti-social behaviour” according to the Skelf Bike Park team.

Pic: Skelf Bike Park Team / Facebook

Reminiscent of other urban trail centres such as Sheffield’s Parkwood Springs or Manchester’s Clayton Vale, the new stuff at Skelf is intended to suit all levels of rider from kids and newbies up to seasoned mountain bikers looking for a convenient blast.

The park will be free to use and open access. At certain times it will be used by local schools and youth clubs etc mainly during the day in the school term.

The Skelf team say…

To celebrate this momentous event and thank all of you, we’ve invited Lee Craigie, (Commonwealth Games MTB athlete & Co founder of The Adventure Syndicate) to kick off proceedings, show us how it’s done and take the first run. We sincerely hope that she’ll inspire more gals (and guys) in the locality to follow in her tracks.

This project has been driven entirely by volunteers and is a testament to the strength of members from both the Edinburgh cycling and local communities.

Further, the fact that it is smack bang in the centre of Edinburgh  shows what can be done with careful planning and sensitivity to environmental concerns whilst reflecting  a desire to have top-class facilities that reflect modern cyclists’ & outdoor enthusiasts’ needs.

With 900 sq m of world-class pump track (designed and built by maestro Claudio Calluori of VeloSolutions & Red Bull fame) plus Architrails’ blue grade MTB trail there is literally something for everyone to be found here – from beginners to experienced mountain bikers of any age.

And it’s not just about cycling either; along this journey we uncovered the location of the long forgotten Hercules Street, discovered the site of the nation’s first deaf school in the Braidwood, found some volcanic intrusions and connected people from across the local area – adding to the social capital of the area.

Aileen Campbell MSP for Children & Young People will also be present to address some of the challenges faced both on and off the trails.

An unveiling of creative contributions from the local community including an exhibition of the heritage researched by local school groups and a new heritage trail from Global Treasure Apps will ensure there’s something for everyone on the day.

Many of our sponsors & stakeholders will be on hand to answer questions about why it’s so important to them (and to us) to continue supporting inspiring community initiatives like the Skelf.

There will be live music from local bands Ali and the Ferraris, Kerr Sproule, the JD Tryste Session Band and the BrzlBrnch. The most important piece of information though is that the famous Skelf catering team will be on hand, serving up their customary smorgasbord of pizzas, hot dogs, burgers and vegetarian delights and refreshments along with Suzie’s legendary chocolate brownies and flapjacks.

And the opening day is not the end of this project. We’ve had amazing support from volunteers in the local area, many of whom have got their hands dirty and dug in with the construction. We plan to keep this neighbourhood spirit alive working with local people to build a community garden and growing project, bird and bat boxes and landscaping the area to make it a woodland retreat for everyone.