The best career move Gavin Conner ever made was digging an illegal hole on municipal land.
Last October, off-duty Town of Canmore Parks Leader Dave Kin saw Conner shovelling dirt in the dusty cemetery jump park. Kin and Conner had known each other for years as a fellow cyclist, but the Town employee still had a duty to report the incident to his boss. But instead of giving Conner a ticket for damaging public lands, the Town gave him a job.
“I used to build in the woods and do my own thing, but it never really led to anything,” Conner said. “But last October, I decided I was just going to dig in the park. I just didn’t feel it was up to standard for the location we live. That’s when I got busted.”
Conner was asked to meet with Town of Canmore supervisor of parks Lisa Guest, where the two discussed the park’s potential. She knew the park wasn’t up to snuff and was beginning to present maintenance issues, but Conner appeared to have a solution. Guest said she knew she was taking a risk, but the two were able to come to an agreement to revamp the park.
“We had a conversation with Gavin. He said he builds jumps and wanted to see this park great. He wanted to help out,” said Guest. “Rather than tell him ‘you’re a liability, you can’t do this,’ we thought ‘here’s a guy who knows something. We don’t know everything. How can we work together?’ ”
Nine months later, the cemetery jump park was completely revitalized, and is now the buzz of Alberta’s bike jump community.
“Our original thought was this couldn’t happen, because it could cause a liability. We met with Gavin and he came prepared. We discussed what is the intent of the park, we were struggling with maintenance. Gavin came up with a vision and we worked together to come up with a great park,” Guest said.
The Town also helped Conner get insured, and after agreeing on a plan, was able to contract the design work to him. Drawing on years of experience building jumps, Conner provided the brains behind the operation, while the Town provided the equipment and labour. Using 30 truckloads of reclaimed fill from the cemetery, crews spent two weeks revamping the park, adding an extra jump, berms and changing the flow of the expert, intermediate and beginner lines. It now begins with a drop, and is designed to keep riders on the right terrain.
Conner added safety features that prevent weak riders from hitting the biggest jump with speed, which makes the redesigned course safer. Water and a tool shed will be added to the park.
“The whole park needed improvement. It was an old park, with an old school approach to biking. Biking has changed a lot. People see now the freestyle side can be a profession. We’re in an Olympic training ground. We’re losing these people to B.C., and I wanted to improve the park so we have something for all cyclists,” Conner said.
He also separated the beginner lines from the intermediate and advanced lines, which will help with skill progression. Poor grade dirt was topped with clay, and is firming up nicely.
Guest wanted a park with skill progression, and agreed to sole-source the work to Conner. A brand new capital project could have cost upwards of $100,000, but Guest said they were able to do the work for about $20,000. A new jump park in Chestermere cost taxpayers $180,000.
“(Conner) was the right guy for the job and he came forth with a vision,” Guest said. “We went the contract repair and maintenance route.”
Cyclists from Calgary, Chestermere, Edmonton and beyond are flocking to the park, and bike shops are already beginning to sell more jump bikes. Conner believes there is a tradition of jumping in the valley, however most of Canmore’s freestyle riders have simply quit or moved away.
“I’ve been riding for a long time and jumping has always been my favourite thing to do. I always went to British Columbia where there were facilities, but here, not so much,” Conner said. “I had a discussion with the Town and it was more about how we can work together. I thought I was going to get a ticket. Instead, they helped me start a company for jumping and that led to me getting insured. I now have another potential project. I’m glad it worked out.”
Kin, who had a background as a downhill cyclist, was also put on the job. The Town provided several pieces of heavy equipment, and Conner and Kin proved to work well together.
“We wanted something progressive, for all people. Just like the skate park, there are years of progression, and you can take those skills to the mountains and conquer the trails near Canmore,” Kin said.
“We had a lot of trust right off the block. It was a great first project to work together,” Conner said.
The skeleton of the original course is still visible, and there are plans to continue to expand the park. The original “cheese wedge” jumps, which Kin said were too close together and dangerous, are replaced with four well-built, eight-foot table-top jumps. Conner said the formation is hard to find, and will attract more riders, who in turn will help maintain the course, similar to situations in Whistler.
“It wasn’t a complete redesign. We went off our site location and park, modified to make it better. We wanted to see how many people we could attract and so far, it’s been a hit,” Conner said.
After seeing the park in action, Guest also believes the partnership has been a success, and a good learning experience for both sides.
“It’s more than I expected. The first time I visited for a walk-through, I was a little apprehensive. I went out on a limb here. I really went on a big branch. But I’m happy. Now we’ve got run bikes all the way to the big guys. It’s been extremely successful and absolutely I’d do it again,” Guest said.
