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Sports

Plainfield Bike Park Dirt Jam

Plainfield Bike Park to host 5th annual Dirt Jam on Oct. 7


The Plainfield Park District and CAMBr West, the west chapter of Chicago Area Mountain Bikers, will host their 5th annual Dirt Jam on Sunday, Oct. 7 from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Plainfield Bike Park. The bike park is located on the eastern edge of Van Horn Woods, along the I-55 Frontage Road between Route 30 and Caton Farm Road in Plainfield.


During the Dirt Jam, MTB and BMX riders of all ages are welcome to ride the park for FREE in celebration of the park’s 5th anniversary. Open riding will take place from 12-2 p.m. and 3-3:30 p.m. A pumptrack race will take place from 2-3 p.m. Signed waivers and helmets are required for the pumptrack race. The event will culminate with a parts raffle and give-aways from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The event will take place rain or shine.

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Similar to a skate park but made of dirt, the free public bike park features dirt jumps of various sizes, a rhythm section of rolling berms, a pump track, and a skills area with obstacles such as logs and rocks. The unique venue was the first of its kind in Illinois and is one of the few in the Midwest. The park is a safe environment designed for riders of all ages and skill levels with sections ranging from beginner to expert for riders to evolve in their sport. The bike park provides a location for competitions, exhibition riding, and instructional classes, as well as provides a training ground for the Olympic sports of BMX racing, mountain bike racing, and freestyle competitions like the X-Games.


The bike park is funded mostly by grants, donations and the fundraising efforts of CAMBr West. In addition, the bike park was constructed by CAMBr members and volunteers. Nearly 314 people volunteered more than 1,100 hours to design the bike park; remove trees and brush; install fencing, signs, a kiosk, rocks, logs and a storage building; and shape dirt to create the jumps, pump track and skills area.

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CAMBr is a non-profit volunteer organization of hundreds of riders with a mission to promote responsible trail use, prevent trail closings, maintain unpaved trails and create new legal off-road opportunities for cycling in the Chicago area. CAMBr West and its volunteers are responsible for inspection and maintenance of the bike park to ensure its safety for riders.


For more information about the bike park, Dirt Jam, volunteer opportunities, or to make a donation to CAMBr West, visit www.cambrwest.org or e-mail west@cambr.org. For more information about the Plainfield Park District, visit www.plainfieldparkdistrict.com.

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