KETCHUM - Look, Ma, no pedals!

That's the idea behind two new bicycle pump parks that have opened this month in Ketchum and Hailey.

Bikers are supposed to use their bodies to navigate the dirt-covered rollercoaster bumps, berms and banked turns, rather than pedal around them as they would on a BMX course.

"The idea is to use your body to pull up and press down. You work your body and bike together," said Eric Rector, trails coordinator for the Blaine County Recreation District. "It's an amazing workout. You can do two or three laps and be fully winded."

The Blaine County Recreation District opened an 11,800-square-foot course on what was formerly an empty lot next to the Blaine County Aquatic Center at 1020 Fox Acres Road.

And on Monday the city of Ketchum celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new quarter-acre park at Seventh Street and Second Avenue, across from Hemingway Elementary School.

Bicycle pump parks are the latest to-do among bicyclists who are looking for new ways to challenge themselves. They're so new that there are only a handful of them across the nation, said Randy Spangler, a designer with Alpine Bike Parks.

Alpine Bike Parks, which has offices in Boulder, Colo., and Whistler, British Columbia, designed both the Ketchum and Hailey parks.

Their work on the two parks attracted the attention of "Mountain Living" magazine. And it will be the subject of conversation at the upcoming National Parks and Recreation convention.

The smaller Hailey park features more technical, tighter lines. The larger Ketchum park is more aired out, permitting more speed.

Scott USA offered to pay for the design work for the Ketchum park and the city provided the labor, equipment and materials. Blaine County School District offered the use of the lot, which had been covered by rocks and knapweed, until the time it decides to build affordable housing for teachers on the site.

And a $15,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Lands covered irrigation and landscaping.

"These parks don't take a big footprint. You can build them in your backyard if you want," said Jen King, Ketchum Parks and Natural Resources specialist. "And they're relatively inexpensive to build. This cost $30,000 all told, whereas our skate park cost $180,000, the difference being dirt versus cement."

Pump parks offer racers a different way to cross-train, and offer beginning riders a chance to learn skills before going on tough single-track courses.

"The berms teach you to make your turns aggressively. You drop your shoulder and turn," said Spangler, a pro downhill and free rider.

Mountain bikes and BMX bikes can get the job done done. But Backwoods Mountain Sports and other Ketchum sports shops have stocked pump park-specific bikes. And Scott USA, which is headquartered in Ketchum, manufactures a pump park-specific bike.

The bikes, which cost between $800 and $1,200, are single-speed, since peddling is not an issue. And the frame is heavier because they're designed for jumping.

"It's a really fun deal, very aerobic. Everything flows so you feel like you're floating, like you're in a dream state. If it's abrupt, you're lacking the skills," said Ketchum bicyclist Brian Williams.

The parks are attracting both youngsters and adults who thread through the bumps, lifting their bodies up as they go uphill and compressing down as they go down the backside of a bump. They follow no set course, often picking a different path through the bumps each time.

"It's amazing," said Ian Sundby, catching his breath after taking a spin around the Hailey track. "It's another great attraction to the community."

"It's an awesome addition to the community," said Kevin Kruse, who took a spin in the Ketchum park last week during his lunch hour. "They're something the whole family can enjoy - from ages 8 to 60."

King said she expects the valley's two pump parks to attract riders from throughout the country as the word gets out, just as the valley's two skate parks attract skaters from all over.

"Recreational resources like this are crucial to our community's well-being," she said. "Everybody thinks that the fact that we're surrounded by beauty of the mountains takes care of our recreational needs. But in-city parks are just as crucial for recreating, for re-creating our being, our human spirit."

Karen Bossick may be reached at kbossick@cox-internet.com.