Full Throttle MX Park

Ninety acres on Morris Road near Loranger, a good half hour north of Hammond: Full Throttle MX Park runs a main track of about a mile plus a separate peewee course and a few woods trails. The ground is loose dirt almost throughout, and the layout brings many small jumps, some large ones, a whoop section and berms; there are no steep hills, water crossings or rocky passages. It opens weekends 9:00 to 16:00, weather permitting, riding costs 25 dollars, and entry and parking are free. Motorcycles only - quads, UTVs and side-by-sides stay out - and an MX helmet is required. Races are held occasionally. A course with no terrain obstacles forcing you to brake is an invitation to hold it wide open. That is exactly why a deliberately slow lap pays here, one where you only read the jump faces: where the face is steep, where it is already worn, where it comes right after the whoop section. Because the faces are where the thing that catches nearly everyone happens: the bike bucks and kicks instead of leaving cleanly. Top of our cause list is rear rebound - it returns too fast and launches the rear; slow it down, fewer clicks out.