One of the handymen, Darsyn Harris, said he and three of his mates bought a few fold-out shovels that would fit in their backpacks halfway through last year, and in lieu of heavy machinery, the boys did the earthworks by hand.
“It was pretty annoying, ‘cos your backs would get sore from always leaning down,” he said.
At first they "didn't know where to get the dirt from", Darsyn said, until they discovered "someone dumped sand a few hundred metres away".
Now the group has formed a community which operates physically, at their hidden track, and online - to attract fellow riders.
Darsyn said most of his friends were from Shepparton North and there were no suitable spots for mountain bikers nearby.
Now the teenage boys run an Instagram account called Boulevard Jumps, and mountain bikers who want to join them for rides may inquire within to learn more about its location.
“I was really determined because I wanted to start up a social media platform about the jumps and make them popular so other people would want to come and build stuff,” Darsyn said.
“We’ve got a group chat and we can invite people to the group chat, we only send the location out to specific people we know.
“Now heaps of people ride there.”
Darsyn said the bike jumps had attracted adult riders and other teenagers, including his friend Charlie Gauci, who started riding late last year.
Both boys said their parents were happy for them to be out mountain biking, although they often warned them to be careful not to get hurt.Prior to last year’s election Greater Shepparton City Council was criticised for removing bike jumps in a popular location along the Broken River, which council defended as a decision made for safety and environmental reasons.In November 2020 council committed to establishing a reference group to explore the possibility of developing a bike jump facility.
Both Darsyn and Charlie agreed a purpose-built mountain bike facility would be less dangerous than their DIY project.
“It’s safer, and if we stack there’d be an ambulance there or something,” Charlie said.
“We have the skate park but it’s pretty outdated and it’s not good for mountain bikes either.”
Darsyn said professionally built jumps would be better quality, and a public venue would be more accessible to people of different ages and abilities.
"It could be for little kids as well and anyone could go there,” he said.
A purpose-built mountain bike park at Mt Major near Dookie provides downhill and cross country circuits for Goulburn Valley mountain bike riders.
Charlie said he and the group behind Boulevard Jumps were keen to visit the mountain bike park, they just needed someone to drive them.
As word travelled about The Boulevard bush bike jumps, Darsyn said he and its fellow creators were worried about it being destroyed.
Darsyn said the benefits of mountain bike riding extended past physical wellbeing to include mental health.
“It can improve mental health because you’re out in nature, instead of being glued to social platforms,” Darsyn said.
Charlie agreed his new favourite pastime was better than playing video games.
“I reckon it’s a good hobby because you get outdoors and you’re not stuck on a screen playing Fortnite,” he said.
