Building a Kicker/Catcher

Building the Manual Machine gave me the bug to build more things I could use at home with my bike, so I decided to build a ramp. I started searching YouTube for videos of people building ramps so I could get an idea of the size, shape, and functionality I would want my ramp to have. After I found a video that I wanted to copy I only ended up needing three 2x4s and only one 2×6 which made this project relatively cheap. The ramp I decided to build would be classified as a kicker/ catcher, meaning it is not big at all it is built for small jumps and then catching you off of a bigger jump. I decided to go with this style ramp because it would be easy to move, it would be easy to practice my jumping without being big enough where I could get hurt, and I wanted the catching aspect in case I decide to build a bigger ramp in the future. I start the build by cutting the 2x4s into two foot wide slats which would be the part of the ramp that I actually ride on. Then I too the 2×6 and cut two pieces that are a foot and a half tall for the legs and used the remaining part of the 2×6 to brace the legs together, finally I took the left over 2x4s to tie the ramp together a  create the angle that the jump would be, this was the only tricky part because I used the last of the would for this part and if I messed up id have to go back to the store so I just played around with different lengths for the ramp and started long and made little cuts until I found the length that gave me the right angle to use. I think the ramp turned out better than I originally thought it would, it sturdy and I think it looks nice and it a good height and angle to be a kicker/ catcher ramp. When I got to test it out, I had a blast I was in my backyard just jumping off then riding back around to do it again. I really felt myself getting better control of the bike in the air just by repeatedly jumping off of it. I am really happy with how this turned out and I am excited to figure out what my next project is going to be.

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