Rudolph Bike Park is alongside the Slippery Elm Trail. This trail is full of greenery, and you can enjoy not only the greenery but also the beautiful scenery of corn or soybean fields. Since Japan is surrounded by mountains, it was refreshing to see a view that seemed to go on forever. I can stand, leaning against my bike, and take in the scenery for a while. It is very peaceful, and I can be very calm. I cannot forget how moved I was by the beauty when I first came here. This is my favorite view, and I miss it a lot when I am not there. I recommend accessing the Rudolph Bike Park via the trail to enjoy the views and nature, but you can also drive and park there. On a side note, while I was riding this trail one day, I saw a woman roller-skating using ski poles. I’m not sure what exactly she was doing, but probably inline poles? It looked pretty fun, so I wanna try sometime.

The good part of this bike park is that both advanced and beginner riders can enjoy it. It was my first time biking at a bike park, but I wasn’t scared at all, even though I didn’t bike fast. This bike park isn’t very big, so there aren’t many courses. However, you can adjust the level to yourself. For example, if you want to make it more difficult, you can try biking only on the narrow, steeper paths, or ride faster so you need more control.

One day, when I was there, a group of experienced bikers also came to the bike park. They came from the trail, so I guess they stopped by the bike park while they were enjoying cycling. All of them were biking on very cool mountain bikes, and their attire also looked professional. At that time, I was resting on a bench, so I was watching them bike in the park. They were doing several laps around the bike park course. It was obvious that they and I were enjoying totally different levels of the same course. Moreover, the other day, kids came and enjoyed biking there. It was nice to see various people enjoying riding a bike there.

I became curious about how the bike park was made. I wonder why the community wanted a bike park instead of a playground or a small resting space with flowers and benches. I haven’t seen any bike park in any of the cities in Japan where I have lived, so I searched for information about the bike park. I found a newspaper article about the bike park when it was built. It’s linked below, if you’re interested.

• Article about Rudolph Bike Park: Bikers flock to opening of new pump track park in Rudolph

Also, not just Rudolph Bike Park, but there are also tons of bike parks in America, so if you’re interested, you can check one close to your house.

• Bike parks map in America: Find a Kid-Friendly Bike Park or Pump Track.

• Rudolph Bike Park on Google Maps: Rudolph Bike Park

beautiful greenery along the Slippery Elm Trail read less