Last week, I got a chance to see Camp Woodward, one of the premier action sports destinations, up close and personal.
Nestled deep in the hills and valleys of Pennsylvania, it has long been a hot spot for beginners, amateurs and even professionals of both bike and skate, while hosting a number of events throughout the summer – the most recent of which was Mongoose Jam 2014.
The four day event, featuring some of the best BMX riders out there, offered campers a chance to see some of their favorite riders up close. From dirt, to vert, to street, the team-based competition had a mix of everything and after the three main events, one team was crowned champion.
The winning team was captained by Mongoose rider Kevin Peraza, but it was the second place finishers, led by Steve McCann, that I gained a rooting interest during my trip. McCann, a 31-year-old originally from Australia, has long left his imprint on the world of action sports, winning several X Games medals, including BMX Big Air gold at the 2012 games in Los Angeles, along with starring in a number of edits. There are not too many riders out there with the experience and talent level of McCann – which made him the perfect person to train me on the finer points of BMX.
After several hours of watching the street segments of Mongoose Jam, it was time for me to hop onto two wheels and learn for myself what the sport was all about. Armed with a tan Mongoose Legion L100, one of the company’s top of the line BMX bikes, it was time to see if I had what it took to make it to the X Games. It wasn’t going to be easy however, given my discomfort with heights and the fact that I haven’t been on any style of bicycle more than a handful of times in the last five years.
With my helmet properly secured and knee pads under my pants, just to be safe, we were off. McCann led the way, with some of the Mongoose crew and myself following close. As I soon discovered, Camp Woodward is massive and offers something for almost every discipline and level of difficulty.
Our first stop was a small set up near the back of camp, a short line that was donated after the Tampa Am competition several years ago. There, I attempted to get comfortable with the bike, riding up and down the small ramps, gaining speed and a little courage with each pedal. McCann was keeping a close eye and offered tips on how to better optimize my Mongoose ride. Foot position on the pedals was perhaps the most important lesson, explaining how it was essential for proper weight distribution and form. But as I continued to learn, there’s much more than that – like body positioning, angles and weight distribution. The athletes made it look so much easier during the competition.
From there it was time to up the ante. We made our way inside to a park appropriately nicknamed ‘Cloud Nine’, with a small ramp leading into a foam pit. Again, that slight bit of uncomfortably crept in, but after watching McCann and the Mongoose crew have a go, it was my turn.
As I looked down the ramp, into the pit of blue foam squares, I know there was no turning back – which, to be honest, was the push I needed. I lined up to the front of the ramp – a rookie mistake – and flew down the ramp, landing face first into the pit as the bike flopped over my helmet. McCann had offered one very solid piece of advice before my attempt: hold onto the bike at all times and don’t take your feet off the pedals. It was certainly something that proved very helpful. I flew down the ramp several more times and by that point, my relationship with the bike had grown significantly and I was definitely satisfied with the whole experience.
But once again, it was time to up the ante. I familiarized myself with street, I familiarized myself with vert – now it was time for dirt.
There was a novice dirt line across the park, an almost straight line complied of 10 or so little humps, just enough to get a feel for the discipline. On my first attempt, I gained a ton of speed and used the handbrake, hanging on for dear life in the process but after a couple of humps, I was fine. With each ride on the line, I used less handbrake and gained more speed – and a little bit of air. As I made my way back up for one final attempt, I noticed McCann on the intermediate line and he killed it.
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Jokingly, I called him a show-off before he and the others told me it was time for a bigger ramp into the foam pit. It was time to head back across camp. This quickly turned into a competition of who could get there first and with McCann filming, the five of us took off back to the pit. I didn’t come in last, which for me was a personal victory, while McCann rode with one hand and filmed with the other – and still blew us away.
This foam pit would be my final test. Go big or go home, right? I’m not going to lie, I was definitely nervous. The ramp was the smaller of the two leading into this pit but still plenty of a challenge for where I was at when it came to riding a BMX bike. Down I went, gaining speed but also gaining more nerves. It appeared as though I would barely clear the ramp, which proved to be the case.
I cleared it and flopped into the foam pit, relieved, yet still nervous – but full of adrenaline. Getting out of the foam pit was a workout. With nothing to grab onto, it is like swimming in Nerf equipment but thankfully there was a rope swing, otherwise I would’ve been like a fish out of water.
When I asked McCann how it went, he said to try the bigger ramp, in the hopes of getting more speed. I just turned to him, then to the ramp, and had a look that explained my doubt. He asked if I’d like to try it again and I looked at him and said no. It was something I enjoyed, but at the same time, I felt that I needed more time on the Mongoose to exorcise all of my nerves. He completely understood.
On our way back to the lodge, I explained that while I’ll stick to writing about the sport, I would absolutely ride BMX again – and after the taste, I wanted to ride again. The next day, I was back out on my Mongoose bike with the crew, putting all of my experience to good use.
Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
