IT’S been a dream a decade in the making, but no sooner has the dust settled on the official opening of Builth Wells’ new pump track, now organisers are ramping up plans for the future.

The idea for the pump track was formulated by Builth Bike Bash – a charity whose aim is to encourage more people to ride their bikes. They first set the wheels of the project in motion 10 years ago, with work starting at the beginning of the year and completed a few months later; the track officially opened amid much fanfare on Sunday, April 24.

Organisers were blown away by the crowd that came out to celebrate the opening. “It was a brilliant day, there were probably 150 people there over the course of the afternoon, with 70-80 people riding round too,” said Bonna Williams, who has worked tirelessly to make the pump track dream a reality.

“It was a nice accumulation of all the hard work that’s been put in. It’s been hard work and taken a long time but suddenly it all makes sense and it’s been worthwhile. There have been doubts over the years but to see all the kids riding round, that was what it was all for, it’s just amazing.

“It’s been much better received than even we expected. Hopefully it is a facility the town and people will enjoy for many years to come.”

County Times: Builth's new pump track has proved a real hit since opening, with the venue officially opened at the end of April

The track is located at the top end of the Groe, adjacent to the football club’s Lant Field home, and is proving to be a hive of activity since opening. “I went by one day in the week and thought it might be quiet, but there was a mum and her little tot there,” added Bonna.

“It’s surpassed all expectations and been so well received, it’s being so well used already. The kids are brilliant too, they’re managing it themselves and the bigger ones are looking after the little ones.

“Kids are learning to take turns and sharing, as well as communication and consideration for others – it’s about so much more than cycling.”

The pump track dream spiralled into more of a nightmare in February when Wales was hit by furious storms that saw Powys suffer some of its worst flooding on record.

On Saturday, February 19, organisers had hoped to kick-start the weekend by inviting volunteers to come and help build a fence around the new track, which had been newly finished that week. However, by the following Monday morning, a huge clean-up operation was underway in the aftermath of Storms Eunice and Franklin.

The gale-force winds of Eunice caused a beach tree near to the track to fall on it on Friday, February 18, crashing through security fencing and damaging some of the turf and track. Then, as Franklin brought a deluge of rain that saw the River Wye burst its banks and climb towards record levels, the track was engulfed by water, damaging the turf further and leaving the track covered in silt and debris by the time the water had subsided.

READ MORE

Following their ability to ride that disastrous wave of bad luck, you might think the work of the Builth Bike Bash is finally done. But Bonna insists it’s now “on to the next project”.

“We have plans to join forces with Rhayader Riders, where we can go there and they can come here,” she said.

“The two tracks are very different so it’s a nice progression. We are also busy creating the Builth Bike Bash BMX Club which will lead to coaching and ladies only and social sessions. We thought it would stop here but it won’t.”

The local gardening club disbanded recently and had some spare cash left in their account, so they have donated £1,000 to the club which officials will use to buy pots and plants and spend on more landscaping at the site.