Ever wondered what it’s like to ride through a labyrinth of indoor bike trails? Ray’s Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland offers an experience that’s hard to forget.
Words and photos :: Colin Field.
Dropping into the green line is thrilling; you ride a narrow wooden trail from up in the rafters down to the floor, hitting a massive, downhill, left-hand berm on the way. Then there’s a jump. Then another berm, another jump and on it goes. This labyrinth of indoor bike trails is a rider’s Valhalla—AKA, Ray’s Mountain Bike Park. It’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen.
On a last-minute March break whim, I wrangled up a crew of like-minded bike riders, aged seven to 55, found an Airbnb that slept 16 (which was crazy cheap) and hit the road to Cleveland. The snow wasn’t good enough to warrant a ski trip so we did a bike trip instead. And the weather cooperated completely.
After a six-hour drive (the seven-year-old started asking, “when are we there?” 15 minutes into the drive) we got to Ray’s. According to one of the guys who worked there, the Ray’s building was a rayon factory built in the 1920s. Then it was a parachute factory. Now it’s four acres of rideable indoor terrain, with no inch of space wasted. Four acres! And it is an absolute blast.
When a friend asked for a wide-angle photo of Ray’s to see what it looks like, I realized that you can’t get that shot: the space is too complex, with multiple rooms, hallways and dividers. Put it this way: Anything you could want to ride is here. There’s a skatepark, a pump track, skinnies, big jumps, small jumps, a foam pit, an XC loop, a cafe. And so much more that you’ve never even thought of. It takes a good hour to figure out how to get around the place. It has expanded over the years, taking over multiple buildings, all tied together by an undulating wooden track that is more rollercoaster than bike trail.
Ray’s is also the king of patina: There isn’t a clean surface in the place, but that’s part of the charm. Buckets throughout the building catch water as it drips through the ancient ceiling, filthy pipes pop through the walls and the rafters are coated with a grimy layer of dust. But you’re not here to eat off the floor, you’re here to rip bikes. And for that, there’s no better place.
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Our group fell in love with the Profile World section pretty early on; it’s a rad space set up like a wooden BMX track; jump, jump, berm, jump, jump berm, on repeat with multiple line choices, all the way up to some serious big-boy jumps. In other words, it’s a blast. Our crew measured our progression in this room and everyone made progress over the two days we were here. It’s so cool watching kids slowly learning to jump over tabletops with confidence.
Our trip coincided with some seriously summer-like weather so we got to ride outside on one of the days.
The nearby Cleveland-Cliffs Bike Park was only 15 minutes from Ray’s and thankfully driving in Cleveland seems stress-free; in four days of driving all around we never once hit traffic. This bike park is something every town should have; built by Velosolutions, it is a seriously great use of municipal funds. Our crew of various ages rode here happily for five hours. We met other families, local kids and cheered on the kids on run bikes. Everyone got along, chatted amicably and progression was visible for everyone. Watching a well-built pumptrack in action, it’s clear that pumptracks build community like nothing else.
We ate a couple of meals out; one at Nano Brew and one meal at Beerheads and both were good-value, delicious experiences that the kids enjoyed as much as the dads did.
Of course I suppose you can’t be riding for every minute of a holiday, so we checked out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on our final day. This place is so cool and well worth the admission. Whether you’re into hip hop, country, punk, or good old-fashioned rock & roll, there’s an exhibit here to suck you in.
Our Cleveland March break trip was one of those absolutely perfect trips. Everyone had fun, only one bone got broken (what’s a pinky finger useful for anyway?) and the vibe from start to finish was fun, fun, fun. It’s a trip that will forever be remembered with fondness, joy and straight-up stoke. There’s already talk of repeating the trip next March. Wanna come?
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