SPOTS: Chenga World

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• July 08 2005
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The town of North Ridgeville, Ohio, may not sound very special, but if BMX is in your blood, it means one thing: Chenga World skatepark. Scott Powell and Dave Schaefer opened Chenga at the end of 1995, mainly as a place to ride flatland for the winter. Scott said that he actually expected the place to fold in the spring, but luckily, Chenga blossomed into one of the most amazing parks BMX has ever seen.

“I watched Chenga grow for a long time, and all it ever did was get better and better. The lines are endless, fast, and never get boring. I’m pretty sure the rhythm section was one of the best things that ever happened to me. There is something for everyone at Chenga, whether you want to be a tech master or maniac who just wants to go big all the time.” -Shawn Dorton

“Chenga is a landmark in BMX as much as Posh, Sheep Hills, Woodward, or Baldy pipe. Everyone knows about it, and I imagine it’s on every ramp rider’s list of parks to ride in their lifetime. I’d say for a bunch of flatlanders, the Chenga parks put many other parks owned by ramp riders to shame! Nate Wessel is to be commended for most of the park’s ramp layout and progression.” -Colin Winkelmann

“I had to explain to two flatlanders that I was going to put this crazy rhythm section around the building that would be out of the way, and have all this other shit for skateboarding… I actually couldn’t explain it because they had been to all the best skateparks in the country (going to contests), and none of the parks or contests had that. I was fighting a losing battle, so I decided to start building the first part of the rhythm section when Scott and Dave were out of town… It was a constant battle for a while, but one day it hit a point where they started to trust me and just let me do more of what I wanted… For me, Chenga created so much more than just a spot to ride or new styles of ramps. It brought me a lot closer to some of the friends that I have now.” -Nate Wessel

“Chenga’s initial appeal to me was the box jump rhythm; we trail kids were psyched to ride a simulated version of our precious dirt jumps. What started as a quick break from winter ended up opening a whole new world of riding for us racer kids turned trail riders.” -Kris Bennett

“The first time I rode Chenga 1 I was confused. It was like going to a massive set of trails and not really knowing where to begin. To be honest, I think I just rode the box rhythm and the mini ramp. I was scared to try anything else because there was some seriously weird stuff there that I had no idea how to ride. But the box rhythm was enough for me to keep occupied and busy for days on end.” -Ryan Nyquist

“I think the thing that gave Chenga its big draw was the atmosphere. It was rider-owned, and Steve Crandall and everyone always put on fun contests there; that’s what gave the place its appeal to me.” -Brian Wizmerski

“Chenga is definitely a staple in the BMX world, right up there with Rampage as far as fame, popularity, and overall fun. It was also pretty cool that it had all those ramps, yet room for flatlanders, spectators, and groupies… It’s just a dirty building overall, but some amazing ramps and people make it one of the best and fun skateparks in the country.” -Dan Sieg

“I always liked Chenga World for the fact that the park was the total package: run by BMXers, enough ramps to cover every type of riding imaginable, and a great BMX shop in the foyer that was always fully stocked.” -Jamie Bestwick

“Being one of the lucky few to have actually lived in the back room at Chenga made for endless good times. Like when ‘Afro’ Pat Schrader and I woke up in the morning (actually 2PM Chenga Time) and heard the Fire Marshal out back with a couple of fire trucks for a friendly ‘code violation’ visit. We didn’t make a sound, hid in our sleeping bags, and waited until they drove off. It’s illegal to live in a warehouse, which wwe never did. We just had a sleepover from time to time and time.” -Adam Banton