Brian BarnhartJay Crosson, Catty Woods local and PA Woods blogger.Catty Woods is seen by many as the Mecca of trails riders worldwide, the holy land of dirt, the epicenter of the known trails universe. This place really is that good, so when a jam goes down there, if you have any dirt under your fingernails, then you should really try and make the trip there and support the cause, ride epic lines, and enjoy. Labor Day 2010 is the date for the next Catty Jam, so we caught up with Jay Crosson of PA Woods, a Catty local through-and-through, for a quick Q&A and Top 5s of the place.
ESPN.com: Catty Woods has been going since? When did you guys break ground on it?
Jay: This is the seventh summer in those woods. They started as a result of NAM getting plowed. Abe happened to have built some jumps at the other end of the same woods, but got plowed because they were on school property, and Eric Bugbee had built jumps where Catty is now like 15 years before that. So there is some history in those woods.
Who were the first builders? And how many guys dig there now?
I believe that Abe and Treeball were the first and then Ekim, Janis, Chickenrap, myself, Marky-T, Barnheart, Dave King, Murph. Right now the main people digging are Abe, Treebal, Janis, Marky-T, Ekim, myself, Dave King is coming around again, Keck, Sam, Fro, Schwartz. It changes every year; we always have some people come and go.
How hard has it been making the spot legit?
It was a nightmare for two years solid. Some of the people on the board for the town were clueless while others were the most supportive people ever. We put a lot of time in at town meetings and researching on the Internet to figure out what they were talking about with some of the legal concerns. I think the hardest thing was finding the insurance company to help us. I remember me and Abe walking into all these local insurance companies trying to find someone to insure us. In the end it all came together. You just have to keep pushing and not give up.
How many different lines exist right now -- got any names for 'em?
Roller, Fonzy, Chicken, Boomer, Drunk, Sweet Tea, Hook, Dip Buzzzzzz, Bam-bam-Dini -- is Ekim and Dave King's dad. He was telling a story about some Lamborghini flying down the high. But he had a couple beers and that's how it was coming out. Abe heard it and it stuck. Also, we have West Side, and lastly 79. Then there are some filler jumps that connect one line to another.
How many jams have you guys had there?
It seems like we have two random jams and a Halloween jam every year. They're fun 'cause you get to see people that you don't get to see during regular sessions. Everyone is always in a good mood so lots of good talking is going on. We've started doing raffles now and people seem to be psyched on those. Thanks to the bike companies that support us on that. Wildest Catty Jam ever was one that I guess you can say Janis put on; it was during the end of the year when the airport shut down the trails. We had to have it at the woods behind Walmart, The Bin. We scrambled for like two weeks building random stuff. We have a quad jump, an invisible halfpipe, and a pit jump to hay bales. If you were at this thing then you will agree it was the craziest jam ever.
When's this year's jam? And what's going down?
This year we are have a Labor Day jam. We are going to try some small contest this year like fastest person through a line and slowest through a line. We might do a box out thing where you call someone out that you can box them out on a certain jump. Fun little stuff and win some prizes. The date of the jam is September 4, with rain dates for September 5 or 6 just in case. Jam sponsors include Mutiny, S&M, Fit, Duo, Verde, Cinema, Deluxe, Proper, Dig, Sunday, Bicycle Union, Greenhouse Distribution and Forty Distribution. Come out to Catty and support the woods.
Top 5 Riding Moments at Catty
1. Every day that we are riding and not digging.
2. Every day after it rains and we are stacking and claying.
3. All the jams
4. Fall
5. Trains though the 360 berm (R.I.P.)
Top 5 (+2) Riders to Ever Visit Catty
1. Protoz and Glen
2. Punjab and Bonner
3. The Wilkes Barre crew
4. The Long Island crew
5. Adam Aloise
6. English crew
7. Quaggy and crew
Brian BarnhartLee Gums Schirmacher, berm shot at Catty. Top 5 Local Riders at Catty Woods
1 to 5: All of them. Without them there would be no Catty trails.
Top 5 Diggers at Catty Woods
1 to 5: Anyone who picks up a shovel or pushes a wheel barrow
Top 5 Non-Riding Moments at Catty Woods
1. Claying berms
2. Watching Abe's friend do cannonballs into our filthy mesquite-infested waterhole during a rain storm.
3. All the crazy stories
4. Scrapping
5. Watching Treeball move all the dirt from one side of the trails to the other side of the trails and back like five times. The man is a machine.
Top 5 Riders Who Have Not Yet Ridden Catty, But You Want Them To:
1. Nyquist
2 to 5: I think everyone else came through already
Top 5 Video Parts Filmed at Catty
1. All the PAwoods videos
2. The Ride video with Hucker
3. Robbo's Mutiny part. BEST EVER!!!
4 to 5: I can't remember any more
Top 5 Lines at Catty Woods
1. Hook
2. Dipbuzz
3. Wam Bam
4. Fonzy
5. West Side
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