From a story on mbaction.com:
"WTB's Mark Weir, the seven-time champion of the Downieville Downhill and the godfather of the pump track, reports that the miniature mountain park courses that he helped popularize are going mainstream, with at least three municipalities taking steps to add them to their public park systems.
"Pump tracks are tiny mountain bike trail systems that are commonly built in mountain biker's backyards. They can be built in an area as small as 10 feet by 30 feet, on level ground, using nothing more than shovels. The pump tracks offer steeply banked turns and small roller jumps that riders can use to generate speed by "pumping" their bikes with their arms and legs, alternately pulling up and pushing down on the handlebars (as dictated by the terrain), rather than pedaling. Top riders, such as Brian Lopes, the reigning world 4X mountain bike champion, can reportedly accelerate to speeds in excess of 25 mph by doing repeated laps on a pump track, without any pedaling. Riders like Weir, Lopes and others have found that riding pump tracks helps them to improve their bike-handling skills, get a good full-body workout and have fun all at the same time."
Read the rest of John Ker's story on mbaction.com.
A note from the web editor: Mark Weir is meeting with the Novato City Council / Parks and Recreation tonight (November 1, 2007) to discuss three potential sites for public pump tracks in Novato, California.