A steady drum and bass beat thumps through the evening air as a long string of bright yellow lanterns illuminates the carefully manicured dirt jumps. A smattering of helmet-clad guys watch closely as a small train of riders swoop and sail through the jump line, hubs buzzing like angry bees as they pitch and dive through the transfers.
The gathering breaks out a unanimous bellow as one of the riders floats a clean, dumped 360. It's like any other regular Saturday evening at the Bowenvale jumps, but this one's hitting a little different. The riders are pushing that little bit harder, going that little bit bigger, as if they're trying to make the most the session, and there's good reason for that: this is possibly the last decent jam the riders will have on this property before it's sold and access to this iconic line is lost.
Yep, after almost 20 years as a mainstay of Christchurch's mountain bike scene the Bowenvale jumps seem destined for demolition after the property's owners decided to sell up.
In the Beginning
If you've dropped into the pitchy, loose and rooty trail network of Victoria Park, you've probably rolled past the meticulously curated dirt jumps at the end of Bowenvale Ave. They're impossible to miss: The hulking mounds of lovingly moulded, slapped and shaved earth naturally
