The 2019 Park PRO Series - Go Prove Yourself!
28 Jun 2019
A radical and cool new concept for interactive riding, the Park PRO regional Series provide that extra element of fun competition to your bike park laps this summer, revealing the fastest and most committed riders across some of the best bike parks in each region. Think of it like a real race series, only without any of the logistical hassle that can be associated with regular race events!
All you need is the BikeParkPRO app, available for FREE from the App Store or Google Play store. There are no race numbers and timing chips to worry about. There are no fixed weekend event dates to schedule - ride the bike park on any day you like throughout the summer (so long as it’s open!). It’s not a 1-shot deal for your timed-run on the Series Trails (more on that later), when bad weather, a crash, or mechanical can ruin your race. You can ride the Series Trails as often as you like to improve on your fastest time over and over again. And best of all… there’s no expensive entry fee required as it’s completely FREE!
For 2019, check out the following Series in the BikeParkPRO app to see who are the most committed park riders in each region…
The 2019 Park PRO Series
HOW IT WORKS
Each Series involves a selection of different bike parks, with a specific trail at each bike park designated as the Series Trail. Simply record your riding sessions using the BikeParkPRO app at any or all of the bike parks in a Series and you will accumulate points with each session. Points earned at each different location are added together to give a total that defines your position on the overall Series leaderboard. The positions at the end of the season represent the final standings so until then, remember you can keep going back and logging sessions all summer long, to increase your points total and climb the Series leaderboard.
EARNING POINTS
Points can be earned in a few different ways. First of all, you earn points simply by riding at a bike park — 30 Points per ride session recorded.
Next, the more vertical descent you ride, the more points you will earn — 5 Points per 1,000 ft of vert. So for example, let’s say you visit Highland Mountain and ride 10 laps, that’s a total of 5,710 ft of descending (it’s 571 ft from the top to the bottom of Highland). So in this case, you would earn a total of 55 Points: 30 for the session and 25 for the vertical descent (5 points for each of the 5 times 1,000 ft was accumulated). Clearly the more you ride, the more points you earn, and the higher up the leaderboard you will climb.
And finally, there’s a big one-time bonus of 250 Points awarded to any rider that logs a session at all the bike parks in any Series during the course of the summer, opening things up to more than just the fastest riders and giving any rider willing to put in the effort (and miles) for the chance to get to the top.
So, as a reminder…
Ride more, and earn more points - for sessions, vertical descent, and bike parks.
Then there are the Series Trails, where things start to get a little more serious…!
At each bike park, one regular bike park trail is designated as the Series Trail. Just ride the trail to record a time, and you’ll earn points based on your position on that specific trail leaderboard. Unlike a normal ‘race’ event, you can attempt the trail as many times as you like, and your best time at the Series end-date will count for your final position and points total. So if you have a bad lap, conditions are wet, or there’s a lot of traffic on the trails, don’t despair. Suck it up and have another run.
The points allocated for each leaderboard position are in the table below. You’ll see that points are awarded for a spread of positions, rather than incrementally for each individual position. We do this due to the inherent errors associated with GPS timing (see IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE section below) as it helps to balance out any GPS errors and make things as fair as possible for everyone.
Points earned for your position on each Series Trail leaderboard
THE SERIES, BIKE PARKS, AND SERIES TRAILS
So now you know how it all works, these are the specific bike parks and Series Trails at each bike park, associated with each of the 2019 Series...
THE EAST COAST SERIES
1. Highland Mountain - Hellion Trail
2. Mount Snow - Swamp Donkey Trail
3. Thunder Mountain - Trillium Trail
4. Burke - Black Forest
5. Killington - Black Magic
6. Mountain Creek - Crap Chute
7. Windham Mountain - Batavia Skill
CALIFORNIA SERIES
1. China Peak - Gnarly
2. Mammoth Mountain - Lower Skid Marks
3. Snow Summit - Westridge
4. Northstar Tahoe - Livewire
COLORADO SERIES
1. Snowmass - Valhalla
2. Crested Butte - Timeline
3. Keystone - Mosquito Coast
4. Trestle - Shy Ann
5. Steamboat - Gunsmoke
QUEBEC SERIES
1. Mont Sainte Anne - La Tordue
2. Bromont - La Huntington
3. MSS - Bacon Strip
FRANCE SERIES
1. Serre Chevalier - Ricelle
2. Alpe d'Huez - Les Vaches
3. Les Deux Alpes - Venosc
4. Les Gets - L'Encape
5. Chatel - Chatelanne
6. Les Orres - Le Vallon
ITALY SERIES
1. Paganella - Arancia Meccanica
2. San Martino - Tognola DH1
3. Lavarone - Pina Colada
4. Mottolino - EAS 23 (upper)
BRITISH COLUMBIA SERIES
1. Panorama - Stiffy
2. Silver Star - Superstar
3. Whistler Mountain - Heart of Darkness
4. Kicking Horse - Upper Kranky Pants
5. Sun Peaks - Route 66
So that’s all you need to know. Hit the COMPETITIONS menu option within the App to see a list of all these comps and more, which will take you to the respective leaderboards anytime you need to check in and see where you stand. And then get riding… and go prove yourself!
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
The Park PRO Series are intended to add an extra element of fun and interaction to your normal bike park riding sessions. You ride anyway, so why not get involved to see how you rank against other riders, and give yourself that extra incentive to go ride a bike park that you’ve not been to before. But remember, this is not the same as a normal race event. You do not need a timing chip, or a race number, and when and where you ride is up to you — just make sure you record your session! So given the differences, there are a few things that you need to know (and accept) about how this works…
1. UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF GPS
There is always a degree of error involved. All GPS receivers are subject to error for a number of reasons, but this is especially challenging to account for across the hundreds of different brand smartphones, the quality of their GPS receiver chips, and the nature of GPS reception in mountainous areas. So there will be errors associated with your position, elevation, speed, and therefore time for a given trail. (For more detailed information read our blog post here). Whilst this is not ideal, especially if you were on a flying lap, it is the same for everyone involved. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and simply have another go at the trail. Remember this is not a one-shot deal like normal DH racing. You can ride the trail as often as you like, and your best time at the end of the season will be the one that counts.
2. RECOGNISE THAT YOU ARE AT A BIKE PARK WITH OTHER RIDERS
The bike parks involved are obviously open to riders other than yourself! The Series Trails will not be taped off as per a normal race event — they are regular trails at the park and therefore open to everyone else to ride. When you purchase your pass for a bike park, you agree to ride in accordance with the terms and conditions of that bike park, and respect the rider etiquette that applies. RIDING THE PARK PRO SERIES MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. You must respect other riders, and their use of the trails. Your participation in the Series does NOT give you priority access to the trails!
3. ACCEPT THE RISKS INVOLVED
We all know the risks involved in mountain biking, and they remain the same regardless of whether or not you enter a Series. The only difference is that you are recording your activities for eventual comparison with other riders. So by entering a Series, you acknowledge and accept ALL risks, dangers, and hazards, and injuries that may result. If an accident were to happen, it is not the fault of BikeParkPRO or any of the owners / operators of the bike parks in a Series. Re-read item 2 above and check out the full BPRO Terms & Conditions here.
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