This Might Be the Most Impressive Pop-Up Park We've Ever Seen

When I meet up with Jim Dellavalle so he can show me around the new bike park that he’s helped to build on a vacant industrial lot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the city is locked in a weeklong heat wave. Even though the sun is blazing down on the site, all I can think about is how much I want to try riding the track he’s designed.

He has other ideas. Dellavalle is a cool cat, a former pro-cyclist on the downhill, dual slalom, and freestyle circuit who has been designing bike tracks for 20 years. But when he shows off his latest creation, he doesn’t go straight to the two pump tracks, one for beginners and one for experts, where BMX and mountain bike riders can work up a sweat. He doesn’t begin by talking about the logs you can ride over, or the rock trail features where you can sharpen your off-road bike skills.