Quarantine Parks. Private places to ride during Covid-19 times. Part 13: Mike Varga (CAN)

May 06, 2020

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 2928 times

Name Park: The backyard ramp
Operator: Mike Varga
Location: Ontario, Canada

What are the Covid-19 restrictions where you live at the moment?
Mike Varga: The Covid-19 has definitely got crazy with restrictions. Haven’t tried going to any parks but I know a few buddy's who got tickets for being at outdoor parks. Basically I can only travel around Ontario and even with that they have checkpoints to make sure your travel is necessary. All indoor and outdoor parks are closed. Basically just at home.

How does it feel having a ramp available whenever you feel like riding?
Mike Varga: Man it's absolutely amazing to have my own ramp! Keeping riding is key for keeping me in

shape. Never actually thought I would only be able to ride at my house but It’s actually giving me time to fix and work on everything at home. So glad I have this ramp to keep me on my bike! Super blessed!

Has it snowed much over winter?
Mike Varga: Basically where I live it's super on and off. If you drive an hour north there’s tons of snow but in my area it doesn’t hold on the ground much. Basically just super cold and nasty. We have had 3-4 sprinkles of snow throughout April. Nicer weather is on our way!

What kind of wood did you use for the ramp?
Mike Varga: Entire ramp was just normal 1/2” ply with pressure treated flat bottom ribs. I just refinished all the flat bottoms with pressure treated ply because of all the rain. It lasted about 5 years with normal ply. We will see how long the treated does over the next years.

Who helped with the design?
Mike Varga: The design was all me with the help of friends and my builder Jordan Bonifacio.

How long did it take to build the ramps and who offered help to put it together?
Mike Varga: Ramp took about 3 weeks to fully build. Step up was added on later. The builder was Jordan Bonifacio, he was the builder of everything. In my opinion the best ramp builder out there. Had lots of help from Jordan’s buddys and my good friends.

Who comes over on the regular to ride the ramp with you?
Mike Varga: Honestly not many at all. Lots of my friends have converted to dirt bikes or other sports. Basically the locals here would be Andrew Coulas, Jason Kearnan and Tyler Rizzi.

If you need something re-built or moved, who are you gonna call?
Mike Varga: I got machines to move stuff around but if I need any crazy wood work done I call Jordan Bonifacio. Always comes through with the best builds and vibes!

What was the sickest session on the ramp so far?
Mike Varga: Had some crazy sessions during filming for all of my Monster edits. Level on riding gets pushed to an extreme when the cam comes out. So lots of good sessions happen when we're filming.

Thanks to?
Mike Varga: Thanks to Monster Energy for the help with the build and support during my BMX career. Thanks to all my friends and family who have helped make this ramp and life happen. Thanks to Jordan for creating such a masterpiece. Finally thank you BMX!