A couple of days ago I made the announcement that I have been working on bringing an indoor ramp park to Southwest Missouri. First off, thank you to all of you who responded on social media and through messages. The outpouring of support and excitement for this project was overwhelming. I'm also thankful for all of you who shared the posts and videos on social media, thank you! Don't stop. Keep sharing these blog posts, videos and social media posts, keep inviting your friends and family to "Like", "Follow" and "Subscribe" to our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The more people who hear about this project the better!
As I have been having more and more conversations a few questions keep coming up, so I'd like to use this blog post to answer some of those questions.
Question #1
When you say indoor ramp park, what exactly does that mean?
I'm glad you asked. My vision for this facility is a place that is open to "all wheels", bikes, boards, blades, scooters, etc. to have a space to ride when the Southwest Missouri weather doesn't want to cooperate, which we all know is way too often. The facility will also feature other activities like climbing walls, laser tag, concessions, etc.
My background runs deep in the BMX community and that is what I know best. Over the past few years there has become increasing crossover between BMX and Mountain Biking and the space I envision would provide ramps and obstacles that would be attractive to both genres of biking. The space will accomadate all skill levels. I want this space to include a beginner track with small rollers, tabletops and other obstacles that a kid just learning to ride a bike could enjoy as they develop the necessary skills to someday take on much larger and challenging obstacles. The space would also include ramps and obstacles that would challenge skilled riders. Of course the space would include an area with foam, air bags and/or resi-ramps, to provide opportunities for progression.
Essentially, I'm looking at taking an empty warehouse like pictured below and filling it with ramps like in the sketches below. I am currently working on the proposed layout for the space we are looking at and hope to be able to share that very soon.
Another thing that comes to mind when I am thinking about my vision for this facility is "community". As I have been working on this venture I was reminded of the first ramp I ever built. It was in 1994, I had just graduated High School and I was living in Elmore, MN. That summer I took all the money that people had given me in cards for my graduation reception and went to the lumberyard and spent it all on 2x4's, 2x6's and plywood. It was my plan to build a quarter-pipe in my parents backyard. I can still remember coming home with all that wood and starting on the project, pretty soon my friends started gathering and we built that ramp together. (It was actually a terrible ramp, because none of us knew what we were doing).

But, through the summer that ramp became a gathering place. By the next summer that ramp had grown into a full half-pipe and before long I ended up with an entire ramp park in that backyard complete with spines, hips and banks. That backyard changed from just a place where a few small town friends gathered into a place where BMX riders, skateboarders and roller-bladers from all over Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa would gather. On top of those ramps many relationships began and many of those relationships are still going today almost 30 years later. Those relationships started off as a few guys pushing each other to be better riders, but in the end we ended up being friends who supported each other in life. I'm grateful for those relationships and the space that made them possible.
I saw the same thing happen at Autumn Ramp Park when I was the director from 2006-2012. Kids came to ride bikes, but ended up finding life long friendships that would last beyond the sessions on the ramps. This is why I believe an indoor ramp facility is so important for this area. I get really excited thinking about the possibility of providing a space where these kinds of relationships can began and grow. Which brings me to the next question everyone has been asking.

Question #2
How are you going to fund this project?
That is an excellent question and I think the best way to answer it is by telling you a story. About 2 years ago I started encountering people who had grown up at Autumn Ramp Park and they would ask me, "When are you going to open another skatepark?" And my answer was always, "Never." I had no desire to enter it that world again. It's hard work, it's expensive and it can be exhausting. But then recently God started doing something in me and over the past 6 months or so he has changed my attitude toward opening a ramp park. I believe that just like in 2001 when he told me to quit my job and start doing shows full time, or in 2006 when he told me to pack up my whole family and move from Northern Iowa to Joplin, MO to run Autumn, or when he told me in 2012 to quit Autumn, today he is telling me to do this new thing. So, I don't know how we are going to fund this project, just like I didn't know how I was going to support my wife and first son in 2001 or how I would support my family in 2012. Here is what I do know. God provided in those circumstances and he will come through this time also.
Maybe the funding for this venture will come from you?
I don't know where the money will come from, but I am going to keep moving forward believing that it will be there when we need it. (As I typed that last parpgraph I was reminded of George Mueller's life, if you haven't heard about that guy you should definitely check out the story of his life.)
To close this blog post, I do want to thank all of you who have been supportive in this venture so far. I hope that this brings some clarity to my vision and I hope you are as excited about it as I am. I will be sharing more details in the coming days, so check back soon. You can also "Like", "Follow" and "Subscribe" to all our social media so you can get all the updates.
If you would like to donate to this project you can use this button to contribute through PayPal.
Thank you for your support!
Jeremiah Anderson
Chaos on Wheels Founder
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