Turlock teen's effort to get bike park in Turlock still up in the air

By Merrill Balassone
mbalassone@modbee.com

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TURLOCK -- It's rare if Dominick Rufo misses the chance to jump something on his bike -- curbs, drainage ditches -- even people, if they're gutsy enough to lie down in front of him. A creek bed once dealt him a concussion.

But Rufo, 16, is at heart a dirt-jumper, hopping piles at construction sites and on canal banks since he was 11.

Rufo approached city maintenance worker and 2008 City Council candidate David "DJ" Fransen about creating a BMX-style bike park in Turlock, where kids could get airborne on their bikes over dirt hills.

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While council members gave Rufo kudos for the idea, the city still has not given the park the go-ahead, two years after Rufo proposed it.

Neighbors surrounding the proposed site, near West Christoffersen Parkway and North Walnut Road, and the school district have complained about dust, noise and vandalism they think will come along with a park.

Rufo is a teenager with a one-track mind: All he wants is some dirt to call his own. The project will be back in front of a new City Council in January. It would be the first new recreational area built from the ground up since a skate park four years ago.

Q: How did you get interested in dirt jumping?

A: My friend took me to (the dirt-jumping park) in Pleasanton when I was in seventh grade. I've wanted to do it ever since. It's just fun -- getting in the air and doing tricks.

Q: Tell me about your bike.

A: I just traded some kid for this bike. Something different. There are pegs on there so I can grind ... at the skate park.

Q: What else does Turlock need to appeal to teenagers?

A: We all just want a bike park, and that's all we think about.

Q: What if it's raining?

A: An indoor bike park, with a nice foam pit.

Q: How many times have you been in front of the City Council?

A: I've been to City Council meetings four times. They try to make it more complicated than it is. So many meetings! Geez, it's dirt and it's land you're not using.

Q: How do you feel about the adults who complained to the City Council that a bike park next door would mean teenagers would vandalize their cars and houses?

A: They're just grumpy. If they were a kid, they'd want (a bike park), too. ... The kids that ride bikes aren't into vandalism. They're into riding bikes.

Q: What have you learned about city government?

A: (It's) extremely slow. The wheels of government are flat.

Q: What do you do when you're not riding?

A: Grounded.

Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.