Sm. backyard fun

[Jman]

This is sort of in conjuction with my previous thread about my daughters. I have now been fully convinced that I need to upgrade their rides (nothing crazy just yet) but I do not have any kind of place for them to really ride. I live on a street just past a blind curve where the speed limit is 30 and the actual speed limit of some a-holes can be like 50. So riding in front of the house is out.
However I do have a backyard that is a decent size and all dirt and has a slight decline to it. I have never built a jump in my adult life (the jumps I made as a kid barely qualify as a jump and landed one kid in the hospital...we told him ten bricks was to high!) So how does one go about building even just a berm. I am not going to go crazy and was thinking just a small table top or two that the girls could roll up, across and then down but that daddy could have a little fun on. Is the center of the table top packed dirt or do you use something to support it like say....a milk crate (those plastic ones)?

I know this is a total newb question and I feel ridiculous at 34 asking it but I think it'd be great to get the girls out there in a safe environment rolling around on bikes.

[foofighter]

did u see destroyer's post of his handy work? hit him up because he's got some dirt ramp skills

Did some trail work after the rain

[jfromlv]

Another suggestion, check out leelikesbikes.com for some pretty amazing backyard pump tracks. Pump tracks are fun for everyone.

[jamesdc]

For berms just draw out a nice smooth arc on the ground then start to pile dirt along the arc while packing the top so it is thick, you decide how tall it should be but always pack all sides and square off the top. If your not good at building then it may take a few tries to get one with a nice arc.

If you want to built tabletops your probably going to want to get a wheelbarrow. You want the whole thing to probably be 3 feet wide if its used by begginer so they dont ride off the sides. Make the gap something short, like 3 or 4 feet and not more than about a foot or foot and a half high, dont make the launch very steep and the landing even less.

[Jman]

So on the berm you just pack the dirt? That sounds fairly simple. I'm going to start working on it in the middle of next week. Thanks.

[jamesdc]

This is what i mean . . . .

[Jman]

Sweet, that helps cement the picture in my mind now.

[DirtRider]

I'm sure you could Google your idea and some good pictures would pop up to use as a reference. The best thing about working with dirt is that you can always start over and never notice a bad design was there before. I hear its better than working with clay!!! lol Also i'm sure you will change things as you ride what you build to make it better. Dirt tracks are always changing!!!

[Bryguy17]

+1 for the pump track. They are loads of fun, and can help you out with your bike handling skills once you get good at riding them (every downhill becomes a pump track so you go faster )

leelikesbikes.com is a good place to check out for that

[Rob]

If you got an old steel car wheel or other big solid objects you can use that to take up room in the tabletop so you don't have to dig up as much dirt.

[Kiehacker]

Originally Posted by Rob

If you got an old steel car wheel or other big solid objects you can use that to take up room in the tabletop so you don't have to dig up as much dirt.

Now I know what to do with the old cars in my backyard.