About 25 years in the past, within the hours between their salvage enterprise on the plains east of Colorado Springs, the Mandels would admire the wide-open, neighboring property.
What the clean canvas may very well be, they weren’t certain. It was 86 acres proper off Colorado 94, a desert mosaic that morphed between brush and scenic bluffs.
“We simply thought it was a extremely neat piece of property, so we obtained a mortgage and acquired it,” Katrina Mandel mentioned. “After which Ray simply began fiddling round.”
Her husband fiddled round as a motorsport fanatic does. He carved paths and jumps for his dust bikes and side-by-sides.
“It was simply imagined to be a private observe, a personal observe,” Katrina recalled. “He would make a path, after which folks would ask, ‘Hey, can we come journey?’ And it simply sort of advanced.”
It advanced into RAM Off-Highway Park, the enterprise bearing Ray’s initials and representing his life’s ardour.
It’s a heart-pounding, bone-rattling, adrenaline-pumping, playground of velocity, huge air and rock crawls for all the motorsport world. Souped-up vans and Jeeps maneuver via pure obstacles, whereas ATVs and side-by-sides additionally try sections of terrain with names like Mini Moab and Loss of life Bounce, and motocross sorts select their winding, rolling circuits. There’s even a mud plot put aside for RC vehicles.
“It’s laborious to seek out this many various kinds of terrain in such a small space,” mentioned Ray Mandel, a former professional UTV rider. “I’ve been to numerous totally different locations, however I don’t suppose I’ve seen something this dimension with these many issues on it.”
Within the Nineties, the Mandels bonded by driving across the mountains past their native Colorado Springs. Now, they’re sharing that love with clients out on the alternative panorama.
On the freeway towards Ellicott, drivers have had their heads turned by the dust bikes lapping and leaping the observe by a car parking zone that takes on a tailgating scene on summer season weekends. Not all pull off to seek out the paths sprawling outward, via a rugged tract of gullies and rock guts perched excessive sufficient for sweeping views of Pikes Peak and the Sangre de Cristo mountains far south.
“Individuals have come out right here and been like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know this was right here,’” mentioned Ray Mandel.
The folks have been extra lately, since he’s been grooming that head-turning observe and phrase of RAM has unfold. The Mandels have recurrently counted 150 guests on Saturdays and Sundays. Lots of extra are frequent on race weekends.
Brian Barsh has been an everyday, alongside along with his 10-year-old son. They’re among the many park’s pros-in-training and kids-in-training.
His championship success? “Having this in my yard,” Barsh mentioned.
He’s traveled to parks across the nation racing his ATV, “however there’s one thing about this place,” Barsh mentioned. “There’s one thing for everyone, that’s the No. 1 factor.”
RAM is totally different from neighboring tracks and others elsewhere that orient towards dust bikes and are unique to members. RAM, in the meantime, expenses automobiles that drive via the gate, the place waivers are additionally signed. The varieties lay out the chance of damage or loss of life from collisions or any variety of surprising components on the path.
For the dangers, the park breeds a sort of camaraderie, mentioned one other common, Shaun Beauchamp. “Everyone’s pleasant,” he mentioned, “since you by no means know once you may want a pal.”
Pals have been made in an surprising place. They’ve been made on Tuesdays referred to as Ladies Experience Toosdays. One of many 5 Mandel children who grew up on the park, Shawna Mandel, has hosted dozens of fellow girls on these days devoted to skill-building.
“Once I was youthful, it was laborious for me to fulfill different ladies. All my associates had been guys,” she mentioned. “I simply needed to dust bike with different ladies.”
She’s made RAM her personal, like her father earlier than her. The park has demanded numerous work — “the one downfall from all of this,” Ray Mandel mentioned. “I work extra hours now than I ever would’ve labored in my life.”
He doesn’t get to journey as a lot anymore. However he doesn’t remorse his creation.
“It’s simply seeing different folks get pleasure from it,” he mentioned. “That’s what makes it worthwhile.”