# Backyard Freeride



## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

My friend just got a freeride bike, so today i went to his house to see what we could do with his land. He already had a nice dirt jump into a ditch (sorta thing) that was pretty cool, but it wast enough. We started to build a small vert ramp (we werent very smart with how to do it) and the end product was a nice little jump that was very easy to pop off of. We took it to the old dirt jump (sorry no pictures of it) and tilted the jump up on some of the old dirt, the moved everything else so we had a nice, clean gap.

















After that we wanted to make a wooden ladder for something. after building a decent sized ladder we decided to put it over a natural drop that he already had there. It took a long time but we finally got it nice and sturdy. We looked at it a few time, and realized it was intimidating with the 5-6 foot drop on the end (niether of us are super great) so we put up and old grate to work as a easy landing

















Although they arent the best the are really fun.

My friend hitting the jump









Me hitting the jump









My friend is bad a picture taking, he cuts your head off =[









Another of me









Another bad picture... grrr









I was going to slow. still a good picture i guess









It was really fun. We will probably continue to build this most weekends (if we arent at northstar). should probably get more pics whenever we build.


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## blue109 (Jun 21, 2009)




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## V.P. (Aug 26, 2007)

Did you guys rob a bank prior to this?


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## darkzeon (Jun 15, 2006)

At least you're building...some may look down on this, but who knows 1...3 years from now, you'd be gapping 30 footers or end up xc ... The first pic is a good lip btw, keep it up.


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## backcountryislife (Jun 18, 2008)

That grate is SKETCHY as helll!!! Good to see you guys building though! It's something that a lot of lazy bastards take for granted, that someone will build stuff for them, but some folks get off their arses & get work done!!!


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## scottybinwv (Jun 29, 2010)

nice orbs in your pictures :thumbsup:


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## StinkyFTW (Jun 29, 2008)

What's with the masks? lol


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## climbingbubba (Jan 10, 2007)

Those may be the sketchiest ladders i have ever seen built. I would be afraid to ride them even with a helmet on.... You guys are crazy!!


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Actually we tested the ladder a lot, we jumped on it, added supports where it was needed. The supports are buried like three feet deep. We will probably move the grate soon and just take it as an all out drop soon, it was just a nice landing for the first few slow tries.

And the masks, my friend cut eye holes in a red bag and it looked funny, so we felt like wearing it.

We already have an extension to the ladder planned, and a few more jumps. Probably going to be at northstar the next two weeks and then will get back to building.

The landings on both the drop and jump are way to soft. Probably 6 inches of soft sand. Should we just add a lot of kitty litter to it and water it?


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## lanceamatic (Aug 6, 2009)

do you dumb-asses like your heads in 1 piece? wear a damn helmet on your janky-ass jumps


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## phxKokopelli (Aug 17, 2010)

lanceamatic said:


> do you dumb-asses like your heads in 1 piece? wear a damn helmet on your janky-ass jumps


lol


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

lanceamatic said:


> do you dumb-asses like your heads in 1 piece? wear a damn helmet on your janky-ass jumps


but a helmet would cover the bag/ mask!


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## m3t4w0rm (Aug 1, 2010)

At least you have some to build and ride with everyone I know is too lazy :/


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

lanceamatic said:


> do you dumb-asses like your heads in 1 piece? wear a damn helmet on your janky-ass jumps


We must not be as clumsy as you :0

Oh, and sorry our jumps are so Janky? U must be a master of jankieness (is that right?)


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## phxKokopelli (Aug 17, 2010)

Everybody start somewhere don't sweat the comments yo, this thread just started off a little janky, yadda mean?


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## ajd245246 (Sep 1, 2008)

What the heck did you use for planks?! 

I've built some shady stuff, but dang! Glad to see you out there building though, it truly is a great feeling to right something you built! :thumbsup:


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Umm we used my friends junk wood for planks. I honestly didn't think the jump would hold but it does. We filled it in with dirt to make it even better. It really does feel great to ride something you built, especially if it's fun. Now I look at the fun ladder after I nail it and think "dang, I built that." to me building is almost as fun as riding...


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## ajd245246 (Sep 1, 2008)

Moosey said:


> to me building is almost as fun as riding...


likewise


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

Well, I'm not sure where to start. 





That said, looks like you are having fun and progressing. Everyone has to start somewhere, so have at it, boys!


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## singlesprocket (Jun 9, 2004)

get a chainsaw...


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

singlesprocket said:


> get a chainsaw...


That's not a bad idea. We could use some smooth dirt jumps. My friend actually has a chainsaw (his dads a power tool kinda guy) I just need to look into where I can cut down trees at. Ifwedid that I'd really want to get nice logs so the jumps are super smooth.

Once again the dirt by the landing for the drop is really soft (6inches of soft sand) so will a couple thing of kitty litter mixed in with it help it harden?


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## darkzeon (Jun 15, 2006)

Moosey said:


> so will a couple thing of kitty litter mixed in with it help it harden?


kitty pooh? I wouldn't want smelling like **** after each landing...And, no it won't harden...Water, pack, add more dirt, repeat.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

hmm. on the dirt jump forums they say they use kitty litter to harden jumps up.... and only my bike would smell like pooh, not me, unless i fell. Then i might eat it =D


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## 274898 (Nov 29, 2005)

I like your guys enthusiasm but you guys need some schooling on ramp building structure. Those 1x4's are way too weak to hold the force and weight of you guys jumping them. You should be using 2x4's and 4x4's for the structural framework of the ramps.

Here is some pictures for motivation.

http://bikemag.com/gallery/Rays-opening-photos-07/


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Lol rays.... we used what wood we had. We are going to buy some more better wood soon, i got some 2x8s and a few 4x4s we can use. we plan on hardening the landings, then making a large step up to the other side of the ditch thing, then we plan on dropping into the ditch (its way more ditch like and steeper) and building a wallride or a side jump thing, kinda like this...









Apparently its called a pocket air... we plan on making something like this, just much much smaller...


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## backcountryislife (Jun 18, 2008)

Kitty litter, CLAY essentially when UNUSED (as in, post bag, but pre-kitty)... will do what you want. Mix it in, don't just add a layer of firm soil on top of loose, and wet it down then tamp... repeat & add littler if needed. Clay is very adhesive so it will bond sandy soil together within reason. 

And oddly enough the kitty litter will smell... like clay, not cat poo (again, don't let the cat use it first) 

Btw, THAT think looks janky as hell to me, sketchy!


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## Haus Boss (Jun 4, 2010)

Speaking of backyard freeride... Here's a little ladder drop I'm working on at the moment. I'm hoping to get the posts in and all the supports nailed together later this week.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

that looks safe. saftey third, after danger, and risk. still looks nice. youd be suprised how solid our ladder is. My friends dad even stood on the very end of it and it didnt move at all. cant wait for the weekend to go build again. weekdays suck =[


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## lanceamatic (Aug 6, 2009)

regardless of the construction techniques, you should wear a damn helmet. it's better to wear a helmet and feel 'not as cool' than have a cracked skull.


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## backcountryislife (Jun 18, 2008)

lanceamatic said:


> regardless of the construction techniques, you should wear a damn helmet. it's better to wear a helmet and feel 'not as cool' than have a cracked skull.


Nah man, I always wanted to be a BADASS drooling vegetable, THAT'S COOL!!!!!


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Lol we were just planning on making his old dirt jump better, nothing that big. I'm definately taking a helmet next time so don't worry, my noggin will be fine


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

singlesprocket said:


> get a chainsaw...


If they prefer wearing a bag over their heads while dirtjumping instead of a proper helmet, a chainsaw is the last thing I would recommend to them.


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## Jim311 (Feb 7, 2006)

If you're going to rob the liquor store it would be wise not to hang out sessioning the local jumps afterward.


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## rep_1969 (Mar 25, 2004)

Very cool. Keep up the building, and the riding.


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## Jaydude (Apr 1, 2006)

How how random. I never go to the DH/FR forum and happened to check it out and see this thread. Now I know what you guys are all about.

Love the Mask BTW!!!!


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## SoulSwirl (Mar 6, 2006)

You need a flaming pit.
(insert movie quoteable: "bring wood and oil")


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## PapaSmurf99 (Sep 13, 2010)

Im his friend...
Haus Boss, no offence, but that ladder is a bunch of ***** ****.
The kid that called our stuff janky, it is ****ing janky, nice work sherlock. But I would like to see you get off your lazy ass and make something better. AND I dont wear a helmet because I dont own one... Anyone else that didnt troll the **** out of the page, Thank you for being decent human beings.
Nuff Said.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

SoulSwirl said:


> You need a flaming pit.
> (insert movie quoteable: "bring wood and oil")


hahaha we had actually talked about that.

My shock is being worked on so this Saturday I'm taking my other friends bike over there and we want to build something "bigger" than all our other stuff. I'm taking a helmet for sure and maybe pads or something. We are goingtco check out the local wood drop off pile. My friends getting some 2x4s and plywood to build a large vert ramp for a pocket air style thing and a wallride. Saturday should be very interesting as car as building goes.

Then... Hopefully my shock will be fixed and I'll be at northstar the 25th!!! Can anyone say Santa Cruz Demo Day!??!?

On that note can u just take one of the demo bikes out for one run or something for free? Never had a demo day...


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## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

Haus Boss said:


> Speaking of backyard freeride... Here's a little ladder drop I'm working on at the moment. I'm hoping to get the posts in and all the supports nailed together later this week.


Nice work. That's how stuff should be built.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Jaydude said:


> How how random. I never go to the DH/FR forum and happened to check it out and see this thread. Now I know what you guys are all about.
> 
> Love the Mask BTW!!!!


what forum do you usually hang out in?
Thanks for loving the mask. We should make more and sell them... Now we just need a catchy title for out bag/mask..


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## Iceman2058 (Mar 1, 2007)

Yo Smurf,

this was your first ever post here, from 3 days ago:



PapaSmurf99 said:


> So I just got my first bike (Specialized Big Hit Spec 05). Bought it from some guy for $250 Everything on it is stock, and I was looking to buy a new fork and a rear shock. I want to max out the travel that I could possibly get on this bike so I dont get eaten alive on downhill trails. Any help/suggestions would be great.
> 
> Thank You,
> PapaSmurf
> ...


Now, here's your SECOND EVER post on MTBR:



PapaSmurf99 said:


> Im his friend...
> Haus Boss, no offence, but that ladder is a bunch of ***** ****.
> The kid that called our stuff janky, it is ****ing janky, nice work sherlock. But I would like to see you get off your lazy ass and make something better. AND I dont wear a helmet because I dont own one... Anyone else that didnt troll the **** out of the page, Thank you for being decent human beings.
> Nuff Said.


So, in a short 2 days time, you've gone from "not knowing much about stuff" to calling people out to "make something better"??? 

Now seriously, its nice to see you taking your destiny in your own hands and all that, not being an average lazy kid, more power to you - but those two jumps sure are janky-a$$ jumps if ever I saw any. So yeah, it could be a good idea to get around to owning a helmet, if you are going to continue launching yourself off stuff like that. And I don't think anybody "trolled the $hit" out of the page - what did you expect people to say? "Nice jumps, are you going to try qualifying for Rampage this year"???


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## blades-noob (Oct 12, 2009)

PapaSmurf99 said:


> Im his friend...
> Haus Boss, no offence, but that ladder is a bunch of ***** ****.
> The kid that called our stuff janky, it is ****ing janky, nice work sherlock. But I would like to see you get off your lazy ass and make something better. AND I dont wear a helmet because I dont own one... Anyone else that didnt troll the **** out of the page, Thank you for being decent human beings.
> Nuff Said.


man you gotta get that sand out of your vagina
haus bosses ladder was 1000x better than you janky a$$ crap
how do yon kno he is lazy and doenst build his own stuff?!?!
if you don't own a helmet buy one instead of wearing bags over you head, btw why did you wear bags over your head???


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## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

Iceman2058 said:


> Yo Smurf,
> 
> this was your first ever post here, from 3 days ago:
> 
> ...


Excellent post.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

Moosey said:


> Lol we were just planning on making his old dirt jump better, nothing that big. I'm definately taking a helmet next time so don't worry, my noggin will be fine


please always wear it.....I bugged wch at the dirt jumps one day (well always) the next day he had his helmet on and the fork broke away from his crown....the day before probably weakened it bad....anyway he was lucky.....then about a month later at the jumps he missed a jump and broke the helmet in the back of his head. He was airlifted out. If he wore no helmet he would be dead and he is a talented rider.....please wear it always


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

PapaSmurf99 said:


> Im his friend...
> Haus Boss, no offence, but that ladder is a bunch of ***** ****.
> The kid that called our stuff janky, it is ****ing janky, nice work sherlock. But I would like to see you get off your lazy ass and make something better. AND I dont wear a helmet because I dont own one... Anyone else that didnt troll the **** out of the page, Thank you for being decent human beings.
> Nuff Said.


it looks pretty nice to me. maybe the end supports are a bit sketchy but overall i think it looks good.


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## Haus Boss (Jun 4, 2010)

Geez, I didn't realize posting some work of my own "backyard freeride" was going to get me flamed- especially since I didn't say anything negative about Moosey anywhere in this thread! And yah, I built that ladder and it was pretty damn easy too. My pops is a fence and deck contractor, so I grew up around this kind of stuff. Also, I hadn't put in the posts and additional support beams in that picture, which I did earlier this week. I still gotta go back to the spot and cure the dirt leading to the ramp and the landing area as well.

Can someone confiscate this kid's bike?! I can only imagine the rude run-ins with other trail users occurring in the near future, courtesy of his awesome demeanor!


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## Haus Boss (Jun 4, 2010)

b-kul said:


> it looks pretty nice to me. maybe the end supports are a bit sketchy but overall i think it looks good.


I only propped it up with some downed wood after I dug the holes for picture taking. I put some pressure treated 4x4's in on Wednesday and added some 2x4' for additional bracing.  
I'll try and get pix within the next week. I have another ladder at the site and I need to figure out where I'm going to put it now.

Given that mountain biking evolved in Northern California, it's almost pathetic how little wood-freeriding we have!


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## PapaSmurf99 (Sep 13, 2010)

Look Haus, I meant to say that your ladder drop didn't look too intimidating, I was rude because I was pissed of because of everyone calling our stuff janky.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

haus ur drop is very nice. we just have limited resources. it is kid of irritating when we spend all day building something, show it to people, and all they say is "thats janky" (btw when i read janky, at first i was like =\, but then i was like xD) . we worked hard and its alway cool to have people like darkzeon say stuff like that. 

Long story short:
We have limited wood so it is sketchy and not attractive, but it holds. at least we're building
Haus, your drop is very nice, well constructed, all around fun little drop.
Our original intentions were of making a small dirt jump slightly bigger, nothing dangerous, so i didnt bring my helmet. Smurf dosent own a helmet, but hes looking into one. i appreciate everyones concern but please dont call us dumbasses because we arent wearing helmets. we realized the danger before we hit our features (if we had helmest, the grate wouldnt be on the drop...)

FINALLY, Blades noob. whats your problem, do your parents not love you enough? yes smurf was mad but theres no need to say something like that (although now in real life i can tell him to get the sand out of his vagina) but really dude. please post some of your own work before you rage that like. Take a chill pill and then please repost. im sure when u arent raging (or in heat) u are a nice person.

Thanks for all the great comments. we'll be back building on sat so ill get more pictures 
=]


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## DWDW (Oct 7, 2005)

Moosey and Smurf. I love what you are doing with the backyard. I remember trying to get wood to make skate ramps when I was younger, which was pretty tough and required us to improvise. I imagine you guys will be doing some big stuff in the future. Best of luck.

I would feel better if you were wearing helmets, and I would say that regardless of what you were riding. Just the parent in me.


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## Haus Boss (Jun 4, 2010)

Save some money and invest in some 2x4s or 2x2s!!! None of us wanna hear about some freeriders having to spend their bank heist loot on medical bills because their ramp or ladder collapsed! I build that 8' ladder for about $20 from wood from home depot.  On a side note, we can use all the wood we can get on the west coast outside of BC. Keep on building- I hope that's just the beginning of a lot more to come!

Update on my BFR (backyard freeride), I put in the posts and drilled the screws in to secure the ladder drop. But ****, the approach is not so good at this time as it comes right off the spine of the ridge and drops abruptly before it hits the ladder. I'm going to have to clean it up and probably clear a small trail along the ridge before it drops onto the ladder.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Wow. That looks really good. You should get some action shots.

How tall is the drop? Even if it's not that big o think small smooth drops every here in there is way more fun than one huge jump.

Nice work, keep building


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## Haus Boss (Jun 4, 2010)

Just got back from home depot. I have 144' of 2x4s right now.  Moosey, if you ever make it down to the Bay Area (North Bay to be exact), hit me up so you can check this little FR spot I'm working on. Keep up the good work.


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## Punkeyboozter (Mar 31, 2009)

View attachment 568203


NVM the ramp dont snap those legs while landing

...on a side note wish i had people willing to build around these parts.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Yay!!! Just got done with about a half day of building and riding. I'm busy at the moment but will get pics up in about 30-40 mins...

And haus, if you ever find yourself in Fallon Nevada, I'm very sorry (this place sucks) but hit me up and you can come see what we got. Thanks for your offer btw.

Pics up soon. Maybe videos too if I'm not feeling lazy.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Alrighty, so i showed up at his house about 1, just goofed around a bit. One of smurfs cranks fell off, so we hit up my house to see if a crank bolt from one of my bikes would fit, but no dice, so i let him ride my old Cannondale super v FR edition. After some more boring stuff we finally checked out the ramps. apparently over the week the landing grate on our ladder collapsed. No biggy, we went for it.

Me








Smurf








we did the old jump a few more times, then Smurf wanted to build a bermed sidways jump thing. We began filling boxes with dirt, and the rounded it and piled tons more dirt on top. I had an old plastic vert ramp, so we filled the with dirt and put it on top... Looks pretty un-janky to me =]









I didn't really like it, but smurf did =O

















It took a few tries to get it down (we ate it a lot on that side jump thing) but it actually is really fun. Now we can look forward to northstar next week.

How do u get videos on here? do u have to put them on another website first?

Oh and smurf found a snake... kinda cool.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

*Videos!*

Me dropping






Now a bunch of Smurf


























And now, my favorite, Smurfs 360 attempt =]


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## PapaSmurf99 (Sep 13, 2010)

Everything looks so much smaller on camera...


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Like all the videos of you falling?


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## sambs827 (Dec 8, 2008)

dude, wear a damn helmet. even if it's a cheap Bell from Wally world. You really don't need a $200 TLD carbon full-face for what you're doing there. At least get something.

Also, try to get out and see how other people build stuff. Check out Home Depot, Lowe's lumber yard, etc for scrap lumber. My buddies and i just built two 30-ft ladders for under $40. Most of the lumber is pressure treated. So even if it means giving up other certain indulgences for a day or two, it's totally worth it.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Lol i wore a helmet... Talk to smurf about that. Hopefully im getting a job soon and then im going to buy some good lumber =]


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## wizzer16 (Sep 9, 2010)

looks good guys! looks soft in the landing. anything you gan do to tamp that down?


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

Actually while we were building that side jump we made a bunch of ditches to carry water to all the soft spots. later we went and mixed the soft spots up, patted them down, and now all the landings are pretty nice. not completely hard, but not soft either.


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## Monk_Knight (Aug 1, 2008)

Thoughts...

1. Sweet stuff! Who cares how it looks if it holds up and is fun?
2. Helmets are good. Glad to see you have one for the drop.
3. Think about trying to build a landing for that drop. 5-6ft to flat is pretty rough (as it looks like you found out  )
You could build it 3-4 ft higher but make a 4-5 ft long landing at the bottom of it and hit it with a bit less speed... you'd have a bigger drop, but it would be smoother, safer, and more fun.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

We are actually planning on building a not very steep, but still angled landing a little far out there so you can fly off the drop, land with some speed, and then hopefully if we get some wood (lol) we we build the wallride thingey. The drop does have a rough landing (its almost slanted up when u land) but its good practice for the boondocks drop and stuff which we both plan on hitting for the first time at n* this saturday.

On a crazy thought, what would you say about putting the wooden vert ramp at the end of the ladder, and building up a very nice and steep landing? sounds dangerous, but very fun too. (probs wont do it) lol.


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