You never know when or where you will come across something amazing to ride. Something that you will think about for years to come. A riding chance that you know you have to take even if the risk is high.

Driving along a busy frontage road for I-15, I came over a hill and saw what appeared to be a series of full pipes lined up one by one. There is always a question in the back of your mind. Is it rideable? Are there obstacles in the bottom? Will it be big enough?

I couldn’t stop to look. As I drove past at 45 mph, I craned my neck in hopes of answering the elusive question. Can I ride my bike in those?? The answer would come a few days later.

As I pulled out of the house a few days later, I nervously began driving to the spot. I pulled up, parked around the corner, and pulled my bike out of the truck. Here we go.

Riding illegally in a construction site positioned directly on a busy road next to the Interstate is not my favorite place to ride. I rode across the back of the lot keeping an eye out for anyone and anything. The spot felt like a bust.

The first fullpipe I came to was just tall enough to carve. I set up my camera, took one last look over my shoulder, and started carving. The thing was off center, unlevel, and began shaking almost immediately. A few carves in, and it felt like it was going to start rolling away with me in it. I had to check out the rest of them.

I set up my camera, took one last look over my shoulder, and started carving.

I checked all of the largest pipes, and was disappointed to find that each had something that made them unable to ride. Obstacles in the bottom, pinned rivets in a one foot grid, and one was full of other full pipe parts. But then there was one. It only takes one, and there it was.

The last one I checked was 10 feet tall and had a clear 10 foot spot that was rideable. Again, I set up my camera, jumped in the pipe, and carved. Riding a fullpipe is surreal. They resonate, and the sound builds with every carve. They are unbelievably smooth, slick, and tight. Most of all they are rare and special. When you come across the chance to ride a fullpipe you take it. There are no second chances. By the time I see that construction lot again, those fullpipes will be complete and shipped to their end use. In-ground tanks, or part of an industrial machine…but for one brief moment on the side of a busy frontage road BMX was ridden in them.