You like to MTB?
So do we!
Local Trail Report
Updated rarely
Today’s conditions:
Welcome to Calgary! The local trails are likely to be too wet, or too dusty, or too snowy, or not snowy enough, or flaming hot in the sun, or blistery cold in the shade, with a chance of wildlife encounters of animals like moose, bears and mosquitos. Why risk it when you can just hit B-LINE?
*mosquitos are the deadliest animal on the planet
You can click here too:
Live Web Cam at West Bragg Parking
First Time to B-LINE? Things To Know:
- Do your waiver online before you get here. It speeds up your check-in.
- We have changerooms, cubbies and lockers; bring your own lock, or loonies for the pay lockers in front.
- We sell drinks and some snacks, and you can bring your own food and drink too.
- You can make your mountain bike work, but consider renting a DJ.
- Be prepared to sweat and have fun.
- Read the rules and etiquette, and then away you go!
Practice makes perfect and if you want to get better at Mountain Biking, riding inside will accelerate your progress and give you more confidence on the trails outside. One of the reasons that B-LINE came into existence is ‘Race of Spades’ at Moose Mountain, or more specifically the Features on Race of Spades (full story below).
Many mountain bikers resist coming to B-LINE to ride, because they don’t think it’s for them. This page is dedicated to changing the minds of those people.
Start by checking out these 2 Instagram Reels (with sound):
(‘Selling’ the features at B-LINE for MTB)
(A crotch view of an ‘MTB Lap’ through B-LINE)
Bring Your MTB, but…
Ok. Maybe your downhill bike wouldn’t be great here but most other mountain bikes can do just fine. Lock out your suspension and pump up your tires for optimal performance. You’ll want to drop your seat too. Keep in mind that your MTB was designed for rugged trails and longer distances outdoors. You can make them work at B-LINE, but they are not the best bike for our terrain (see ‘DJ’ section below).
Where do I start?
Did you watch the videos at the top of this page? Start by doing some laps and checking out the different areas of B-LINE. You can do this in one go when we’re not busy, but might have to dodge some other riders when we are busy.
What’s a DJ?
DJ is short for Dirt Jumper, aka a Pump Track Bike. The first Dirt Jumper was born when a Mountain Bike and a BMX Bike got together and had a baby bike. That baby took the best from both worlds: DJs have 26″ wheels and suspension forks, along with only one brake, one gear, smoother tires, and a seat that is just for show. These features make DJs ideal for our terrain.
(The reason we have N + 1)
The B-LINE ‘MTB Story’ goes like this…
In 2009 I had a good month while working on commission and decided to buy a MTB (2009 Kona Dawg) as my all purpose bike for around town. It sucked for around town as it was way to squishy and I was too stubborn to raise the seat to an appropriate height. The bike sat in my garage until 2015 when we got a Family Pass to Winsport, which has chairlift access MTB runs, and was a 2-minute bike ride from my house. That pass included the mountain biking and I decided to give it a try with my Kona. I had a blast. I could leave my house at 5pm, do 2-3 laps, and be home for dinner at 5:30. I rode the trails all summer (except the trails with GAP jumps), and I liked them all, especially ‘Safari Planet’. I also wanted to do those gap jumps, but didn’t want to practice on them.
Near the end of Summer 2015, my buddies, Ross and Jeff, took me to Moose Mountain for a couple of shuttle laps. I forget the first run we did, but the 2nd run was ‘Race of Spades’. It had a step-up to triple-drop feature that I wanted to try so bad, but the consequences seemed severe, and it was my first time MTBing. I only did 2 runs that day because my bike lost a bolt that looked important.
I had already Googled ‘Indoor Bike Parks’ because of some ramps I had built outside my house, and how much the neighborhood kids loved those ramps. After riding RoS, I really thought that Calgary needed a facility where people could practice jumps and drops in a safer environment. Trips to Ray’s Indoor Bike Park in Milwaukee (now closed), and Joyride150 in Markham, ON, pretty much sealed the deal, and we started our search for an appropriate space.
And here we are. Thanks for reading. – RYE
Top of Race of Spades.
Ray’s Milwaukee 2015. R.I.P.
Ray’s Foam Pit.
Joyride150 in Markham, ON. So rad.