Sketchiest track you’ve ever ridden?

PNWRider
Profile picture for user PNWRider
Posts
474
Joined
1/31/2021
Location
Stanwood, WA US
PNWRider 11/28/2021 6:34am
11/28/2021 6:34am
McGinnis_339 wrote:
I never rode it, but years ago Toes Mx in Washington built a Seattle replica practice track that looked pretty sketchy. The whoops looked like concrete...
I never rode it, but years ago Toes Mx in Washington built a Seattle replica practice track that looked pretty sketchy. The whoops looked like concrete jersey barriers.




I miss that place. Great winter riding when the tracks are under water on the west side.
PNWRider
Profile picture for user PNWRider
Posts
474
Joined
1/31/2021
Location
Stanwood, WA US
PNWRider 11/28/2021 6:38am
11/28/2021 6:38am
Oakwood AX, Spanaway, WA. Early 90s. Old barn/open ended livestock arena type building, minimal lighting. Insulation falling from the ceiling. Adding to the fun was having to stay in the crime-ridden cesspool of the greater Spanaway area. Thank goodness for ground-floor rooms to hide the bikes and gear…
1
Falcon
Profile picture for user Falcon
Posts
12229
Joined
11/16/2011
Location
Menifee, CA US
Falcon 11/29/2021 11:52am
11/29/2021 11:52am
Regis wrote:
Palm Ave - near the California / Mexico border.

Turned boys into men.
hubbardmx50 wrote:
Dumb question but where exactly was Palm Ave? Is any of it still there? I see some trails behind San Ysidro high school, is that it?
Sully wrote:
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805)...
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805) where we used to park and head off to the hills.
The community of Ocean View Hills in San Diego encompasses most of what I would call "Palm Ave," the riding area. There was a semi-wicked hillclimb just south of the parking lot for the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, where I would park (this was before there was an amphitheater or a water park there).

You could conceivably still ride some of the spots there, but I'd suggest doing it on an electric bike:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ocean+View+Hills,+San+Diego,+CA+92154…
1
motox505
Profile picture for user motox505
Posts
52
Joined
3/16/2007
Location
Swarthmore, PA US
motox505 11/29/2021 2:19pm
11/29/2021 2:19pm
Thunder Ridge, New York for the NE youth regional 1995. The track wasn't far from Unadilla if I remember correctly. I ran two 80cc 14/15 classes and schoolboy stock. I remember they had no water at all because the system depended on a big well that broke right before. They tried to bring in fire trucks or something and the owners kid got into a fist fight with a parent. Cops came, it was a big mess. Holeshots were terrible, pile ups and nobody could see anything. Absolute sh!t show.
1

The Shop

See All »
Prntscrn
Profile picture for user Prntscrn
Posts
1420
Joined
7/16/2015
Location
SE
Prntscrn 11/29/2021 3:28pm
11/29/2021 3:28pm Edited Date/Time 11/29/2021 3:29pm
Probably Dunkirk back in the day. It was so long that I never really learnt it. The type of track that caught me by surprise because I couldn't figure out where on the track I was. Expecting a slight left turn but then it just kept turning Laughing
Flipsid33
Profile picture for user Flipsid33
Posts
167
Joined
11/24/2011
Location
Canyon Country, CA US
Flipsid33 11/29/2021 4:14pm
11/29/2021 4:14pm
GH.

Day in the Dirt

Coup De Grace

Mid pack start
1
Sully
Profile picture for user Sully
Posts
9195
Joined
8/24/2006
Location
JP
Sully 11/29/2021 5:30pm
11/29/2021 5:30pm
hubbardmx50 wrote:
Dumb question but where exactly was Palm Ave? Is any of it still there? I see some trails behind San Ysidro high school, is that it?
Sully wrote:
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805)...
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805) where we used to park and head off to the hills.
Falcon wrote:
The community of Ocean View Hills in San Diego encompasses most of what I would call "Palm Ave," the riding area. There was a semi-wicked hillclimb...
The community of Ocean View Hills in San Diego encompasses most of what I would call "Palm Ave," the riding area. There was a semi-wicked hillclimb just south of the parking lot for the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, where I would park (this was before there was an amphitheater or a water park there).

You could conceivably still ride some of the spots there, but I'd suggest doing it on an electric bike:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ocean+View+Hills,+San+Diego,+CA+92154…
Yup, that looks like the place to me. We would either park by the Vons I mentioned, or in a big open space where Cesar Solis Park is. I remember riding in the northern part of the area, but I don't remember ever parking there.
IWreckALot
Profile picture for user IWreckALot
Posts
8677
Joined
3/12/2011
Location
Fort Worth, TX US
IWreckALot 11/29/2021 9:53pm
11/29/2021 9:53pm
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360. It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s...
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360.
It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s. A good free place to practice woods.

We decided to try it near the end of it's existence in the 90s, and in one day I hit a dune buggy head on, and nearly killed my self avoiding a family pushing strollers through the woods.
SMH... Really motherf%&*er? You couldn't hear 3 old 500s coming towards you?
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track on the school's property. He claimed he had the school's permission to do it but I had also heard the dude was possibly peddling meth or some other drug out of his property. It was definitely sketchy parking on his property but never really had any issues. You'd see bikers pull up for a few minutes and leave a few min after. I never really knew if he did get the school's permission or if he just did it and it was barely out of their view. I'm guessing it was the latter. It was about 10 miles away from River Valley down on 730.

The track eventually got shut down because some of his "clients" were caught burning a couch on the track and they were littering it up back there.

It was a pretty cool track layout and a few pros like Wharton and Hahn I believe were known to go out there on a few occasions. It had good sand, some hard pack, had some big banked turns, off camber corners and flowed really well. It had a very steep and deep double. I had heard of 2 or 3 care flights out of that place due to that jump alone. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone and I swore I'd never even consider it but one time I had a buddy who was clearly faster than I was. Somehow I got in front of him and I was trying to hang on as long as I could and decided at the last minute to go for it. I damn near cleared it but alas, I didn't clear it. Ended up just casing the jump pretty good. Tried it a couple more times and never went for it again.
WCRider
Profile picture for user WCRider
Posts
3129
Joined
8/19/2017
Location
BE
WCRider 11/30/2021 2:32am
11/30/2021 2:32am
Namur
Rupert X
Profile picture for user Rupert X
Posts
10875
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Newark, OH US
Rupert X 11/30/2021 5:06am
11/30/2021 5:06am
motox505 wrote:
Thunder Ridge, New York for the NE youth regional 1995. The track wasn't far from Unadilla if I remember correctly. I ran two 80cc 14/15 classes...
Thunder Ridge, New York for the NE youth regional 1995. The track wasn't far from Unadilla if I remember correctly. I ran two 80cc 14/15 classes and schoolboy stock. I remember they had no water at all because the system depended on a big well that broke right before. They tried to bring in fire trucks or something and the owners kid got into a fist fight with a parent. Cops came, it was a big mess. Holeshots were terrible, pile ups and nobody could see anything. Absolute sh!t show.
Me was there. Turned into kind of a riot. Pastrana on 80’s, my son against Millsaps on 50’s, State Police called in, many moms crying, drunken announcer got jumped by old man , many fire trucks arrived…. Absolutely the nuttiest race I ever attended. Complete with 70 mph downhill start !
vtec_
Profile picture for user vtec_
Posts
68
Joined
9/16/2021
Location
Columbia, SC US
vtec_ 11/30/2021 5:08am
11/30/2021 5:08am
del valle mx in austin tx - lame track design, small jumps at the end of straight aways and kickers on the lips

NJORVP in chatsorth, nj - kickers on the lips of jumps and would only be good after a rain or if they groomed it. the track was made out of clay and the layout wwasnt that bad but the jumps were dangerous once they got rutted out

in all honesty though, any track that isnt groomed properly and isnt watered can turn into a sketch show real quick. when i talk about grooming, i mostly mean making sure the faces of the jumps have little to no ruts in them. the rest of the track can be rutted/bombed out for all i care but keep the lips safe!
MX114
Profile picture for user MX114
Posts
742
Joined
12/30/2013
Location
NY US
MX114 11/30/2021 6:48am
11/30/2021 6:48am
motox505 wrote:
Thunder Ridge, New York for the NE youth regional 1995. The track wasn't far from Unadilla if I remember correctly. I ran two 80cc 14/15 classes...
Thunder Ridge, New York for the NE youth regional 1995. The track wasn't far from Unadilla if I remember correctly. I ran two 80cc 14/15 classes and schoolboy stock. I remember they had no water at all because the system depended on a big well that broke right before. They tried to bring in fire trucks or something and the owners kid got into a fist fight with a parent. Cops came, it was a big mess. Holeshots were terrible, pile ups and nobody could see anything. Absolute sh!t show.
Rupert X wrote:
Me was there. Turned into kind of a riot. Pastrana on 80’s, my son against Millsaps on 50’s, State Police called in, many moms crying, drunken...
Me was there. Turned into kind of a riot. Pastrana on 80’s, my son against Millsaps on 50’s, State Police called in, many moms crying, drunken announcer got jumped by old man , many fire trucks arrived…. Absolutely the nuttiest race I ever attended. Complete with 70 mph downhill start !
Forgot about that one! I was there as well. It was a total shit show. Parents were losing there minds. I missed qualifying in 80 7-11 by a few spots but my buddy jack carpenter made it in so I ended up going to LL that year to watch him and his cousin Paul Carpenter. Jack didn’t do all that well but Paul ended up with a 3rd and a 5th at the ranch. He smoked all of the actual Honda factory supported riders with none of the support they had. At the end of the week all the Honda brass was stopping by Paul’s box van though
1
zookrider62!
Profile picture for user zookrider62!
Posts
6825
Joined
12/22/2008
Location
Plano, TX US
zookrider62! 11/30/2021 7:04am
11/30/2021 7:04am
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360. It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s...
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360.
It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s. A good free place to practice woods.

We decided to try it near the end of it's existence in the 90s, and in one day I hit a dune buggy head on, and nearly killed my self avoiding a family pushing strollers through the woods.
SMH... Really motherf%&*er? You couldn't hear 3 old 500s coming towards you?
IWreckALot wrote:
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track...
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track on the school's property. He claimed he had the school's permission to do it but I had also heard the dude was possibly peddling meth or some other drug out of his property. It was definitely sketchy parking on his property but never really had any issues. You'd see bikers pull up for a few minutes and leave a few min after. I never really knew if he did get the school's permission or if he just did it and it was barely out of their view. I'm guessing it was the latter. It was about 10 miles away from River Valley down on 730.

The track eventually got shut down because some of his "clients" were caught burning a couch on the track and they were littering it up back there.

It was a pretty cool track layout and a few pros like Wharton and Hahn I believe were known to go out there on a few occasions. It had good sand, some hard pack, had some big banked turns, off camber corners and flowed really well. It had a very steep and deep double. I had heard of 2 or 3 care flights out of that place due to that jump alone. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone and I swore I'd never even consider it but one time I had a buddy who was clearly faster than I was. Somehow I got in front of him and I was trying to hang on as long as I could and decided at the last minute to go for it. I damn near cleared it but alas, I didn't clear it. Ended up just casing the jump pretty good. Tried it a couple more times and never went for it again.
Was it called Hardcore MX or something like that?
Freddyfred
Profile picture for user Freddyfred
Posts
129
Joined
3/23/2017
Location
North Chicago, IL US
Freddyfred 11/30/2021 8:05am
11/30/2021 8:05am
I brought my bike but never took it out of the van.
Sandy patch next doors to Miami Dade police station, wheelie boys up and down the street and sketchy looking dudes everywhere.
I watched my buddy ride for 20 minutes and headed home.




Skerby
Profile picture for user Skerby
Posts
1282
Joined
4/9/2013
Location
Mayes County, OK US
Skerby 11/30/2021 8:05am
11/30/2021 8:05am
PNWRider wrote:
I miss that place. Great winter riding when the tracks are under water on the west side.
I think my top 5 sketchiest days all took place at Toe's. Either because the track was really soft, it was super windy, or it was frozen solid.

Still my favorite place to ride of all time.
1
pacman00
Profile picture for user pacman00
Posts
202
Joined
11/22/2011
Location
Corona, CA US
pacman00 11/30/2021 9:42am
11/30/2021 9:42am
hubbardmx50 wrote:
Dumb question but where exactly was Palm Ave? Is any of it still there? I see some trails behind San Ysidro high school, is that it?
Sully wrote:
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805)...
I haven’t been there in over 30 years, but I just looked on Google Maps, and it looks like there’s a Vons (right off the 805) where we used to park and head off to the hills.
Falcon wrote:
The community of Ocean View Hills in San Diego encompasses most of what I would call "Palm Ave," the riding area. There was a semi-wicked hillclimb...
The community of Ocean View Hills in San Diego encompasses most of what I would call "Palm Ave," the riding area. There was a semi-wicked hillclimb just south of the parking lot for the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, where I would park (this was before there was an amphitheater or a water park there).

You could conceivably still ride some of the spots there, but I'd suggest doing it on an electric bike:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ocean+View+Hills,+San+Diego,+CA+92154…
Same area where the 2 CORR tracks were in the mid 2000s
Hammer 663s
Profile picture for user Hammer 663s
Posts
3075
Joined
6/2/2016
Location
Forest Grove, OR US
Hammer 663s 11/30/2021 10:10am
11/30/2021 10:10am
I'd forgotten - someone tried to open a track on Indian Land in Shingle Springs CA a few years back. They didn't have water on the site, and only had one water truck that had to drive to the reservation to refill. Every backwoods goon from miles around showed up. No flaggers, no splits, not enough water (which in NorCal in July is a real issue!). In 15 minutes it was just silt dust a foot deep. The dust cloud drifted over nearby Hwy 50 and visibility went to zero. Traffic stopped and the State Police showed up and shut everything down. I never unloaded my bike cause I could see right away where it was going to end up. That was it, and it never ran again.

Hammer 663s
1
TeamGreen
Profile picture for user TeamGreen
Posts
36661
Joined
11/25/2008
Location
Thru-out, CA US
TeamGreen 11/30/2021 10:30am
11/30/2021 10:30am
Flipsid33 wrote:
GH.

Day in the Dirt

Coup De Grace

Mid pack start
The 1st lap of this years Coup…muddy…bikes all over the ground in every turn…1 hour and 20 minutes of that…damn…I was TRASHED!
Grinning
2

Pit Row

See All »
Roudy33
Profile picture for user Roudy33
Posts
36
Joined
7/5/2021
Location
Augusta, GA US
Roudy33 11/30/2021 12:51pm
11/30/2021 12:51pm
Kawboy14! wrote:
Ungroomed dry Durhamtown mx tracks……whew Sketcheeeee
you could not be any more right, fuck those tracks are dangerous man
Rabbit Run 41 11/30/2021 1:06pm
11/30/2021 1:06pm
hubbardmx50 wrote:
Dumb question but where exactly was Palm Ave? Is any of it still there? I see some trails behind San Ysidro high school, is that it?
Palm Ave. was on the east side of Otay Mesa right where the 805 drops into Mexico. Lots of cliff jumps between the bluffs. Tommy Clowers and Co. kinda innovated the art of the step up jump there at Palm.
Its mostly developed now with an industrial park. This is where the cartels tunnel into the U.S.
The track on the back of the mesa was a regular practice spot for the top riders out of El Cajon and surrounding area.
chump6784
Profile picture for user chump6784
Posts
1770
Joined
5/9/2011
Location
AU
chump6784 11/30/2021 1:34pm
11/30/2021 1:34pm
A track called Nudgee just near Brisbane airport in Australia. It was built on an old rubbish dump. For club days it was ok because the 100 odd bikes wouldn't dig too far down but they held an event there with 400 bikes one day. By the third moto's broken glass, lumps of concrete and old fridges and ovens were starting to be uncovered. Massive shit fight between the riders and organisers. Also the weekend before that they had a practice day there, my brother was riding past a clump of grass on the side of the track and a red bellied black snake struck at him
1
Shawn142
Profile picture for user Shawn142
Posts
2602
Joined
10/27/2008
Location
Burleson, TX US
Shawn142 11/30/2021 7:00pm
11/30/2021 7:00pm
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360. It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s...
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360.
It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s. A good free place to practice woods.

We decided to try it near the end of it's existence in the 90s, and in one day I hit a dune buggy head on, and nearly killed my self avoiding a family pushing strollers through the woods.
SMH... Really motherf%&*er? You couldn't hear 3 old 500s coming towards you?
IWreckALot wrote:
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track...
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track on the school's property. He claimed he had the school's permission to do it but I had also heard the dude was possibly peddling meth or some other drug out of his property. It was definitely sketchy parking on his property but never really had any issues. You'd see bikers pull up for a few minutes and leave a few min after. I never really knew if he did get the school's permission or if he just did it and it was barely out of their view. I'm guessing it was the latter. It was about 10 miles away from River Valley down on 730.

The track eventually got shut down because some of his "clients" were caught burning a couch on the track and they were littering it up back there.

It was a pretty cool track layout and a few pros like Wharton and Hahn I believe were known to go out there on a few occasions. It had good sand, some hard pack, had some big banked turns, off camber corners and flowed really well. It had a very steep and deep double. I had heard of 2 or 3 care flights out of that place due to that jump alone. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone and I swore I'd never even consider it but one time I had a buddy who was clearly faster than I was. Somehow I got in front of him and I was trying to hang on as long as I could and decided at the last minute to go for it. I damn near cleared it but alas, I didn't clear it. Ended up just casing the jump pretty good. Tried it a couple more times and never went for it again.
I rode there a few times. It was also one of Demuth's favorite spots. I just remember the double beings sketch at first but not terrible.
SEEMEFIRST
Profile picture for user SEEMEFIRST
Posts
13556
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Arlington, TX US
SEEMEFIRST 11/30/2021 7:13pm
11/30/2021 7:13pm
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360. It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s...
The one that stands out for me wasn't really a track, but an outlaw riding place called 360.
It was pretty good in the 70's, 80s. A good free place to practice woods.

We decided to try it near the end of it's existence in the 90s, and in one day I hit a dune buggy head on, and nearly killed my self avoiding a family pushing strollers through the woods.
SMH... Really motherf%&*er? You couldn't hear 3 old 500s coming towards you?
IWreckALot wrote:
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track...
Did you ever know about the Azle School Track? Some dude in a mobile home that bordered the school's land went out and cut a track on the school's property. He claimed he had the school's permission to do it but I had also heard the dude was possibly peddling meth or some other drug out of his property. It was definitely sketchy parking on his property but never really had any issues. You'd see bikers pull up for a few minutes and leave a few min after. I never really knew if he did get the school's permission or if he just did it and it was barely out of their view. I'm guessing it was the latter. It was about 10 miles away from River Valley down on 730.

The track eventually got shut down because some of his "clients" were caught burning a couch on the track and they were littering it up back there.

It was a pretty cool track layout and a few pros like Wharton and Hahn I believe were known to go out there on a few occasions. It had good sand, some hard pack, had some big banked turns, off camber corners and flowed really well. It had a very steep and deep double. I had heard of 2 or 3 care flights out of that place due to that jump alone. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone and I swore I'd never even consider it but one time I had a buddy who was clearly faster than I was. Somehow I got in front of him and I was trying to hang on as long as I could and decided at the last minute to go for it. I damn near cleared it but alas, I didn't clear it. Ended up just casing the jump pretty good. Tried it a couple more times and never went for it again.
Yeah, went out there with Josh, Kemp, and a few others for photoshoots with Remkus, I think.

I didn't ride, just there for the show.
IWreckALot
Profile picture for user IWreckALot
Posts
8677
Joined
3/12/2011
Location
Fort Worth, TX US
IWreckALot 12/1/2021 7:25am
12/1/2021 7:25am
Shawn142 wrote:
I rode there a few times. It was also one of Demuth's favorite spots. I just remember the double beings sketch at first but not terrible.
After I got the balls to hit it, basically the corner just before it and went for it, I realized it wasn't terrible. It sucked if you came up short for sure. But I could see how it could create a problem if you didn't get enough of the jump.
JustMX
Profile picture for user JustMX
Posts
5240
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
TN US
JustMX 12/3/2021 4:55am
12/3/2021 4:55am
Sully wrote:
Marty Smith's practice track off the 5 in Sorrento Valley. Thing was built on a hill with no flat land that I can remember, all off-camber...
Marty Smith's practice track off the 5 in Sorrento Valley. Thing was built on a hill with no flat land that I can remember, all off-camber turns and rock hard dirt. Getting to it was sketchy, too; you had to ride through a slightly less than head-height drainage tunnel under the freeway.
Crossup wrote:
A million years ago I remember reading an article in MXA about Marty Smith and they followed him through the tunnel to his secret track.
I remember the same article about smith and croft having to ride through a drainage tunnel under a highway, except it was in "Cycle" magazine back when they covered off road, including the "duct tapes" column by Ed hertfelter (sp?)
Gravel
Profile picture for user Gravel
Posts
1788
Joined
2/22/2014
Location
Ridgecrest, CA US
Gravel 12/3/2021 6:23am
12/3/2021 6:23am
Carlsbad GPs in the 80s and 90s. All the fun of blue groove moto, plus a couple miles of various trails, road course, parking lots and a run down the drag strip. Some of the transitions between sections were nuts, I remember the turn onto the drag strip staging area as a 3rd gear 90 deg right turn, off dirt onto pavement, with steel traffic barriers as the outside “limits” of the track.
Giraffe579
Profile picture for user Giraffe579
Posts
96
Joined
6/7/2019
Location
Los Altos, CA US
Giraffe579 12/3/2021 7:09am
12/3/2021 7:09am
Surprised no one has mentioned Sunnyvale PAL (California Southbay) from the early to mid 70s. It was built on top of the dump, and weird household debris would float up to the surface during race day. I had to change my line on the front straight to avoid a mattress box spring that was sticking out of the whoops in 1973.

Post a reply to: Sketchiest track you’ve ever ridden?