whoop

n. (also whoop-de-do) a bump or undulation in a trail used for riding or racing motorcyles, bicycles, or motorbikes. Subjects: English, Automobiles & Transportation, Sports & Recreation, Slang

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Citations: 1972 Shav Glick Los Angeles Times (July 7) “45,000 To Watch Motocross In Coliseum Tonight” p. III-3: They will race about 100 yards before funneling into a tight turn, followed by five jumps, a water hazard, mud pit, several sand traps and dozens of “whoop-de-do” cross-grain ruts. 1974 Robert J. Allan Los Angeles Times (Jan. 13) “City’s Bike Motocross Course a Hit” p. XI-19: It has a whoop-dee-doo…much to the delight of the city’s young bicycle riders. 1977 John Thomas Wark New York Times (May 15) “A Boom Grows in the Dust” p. 21-26: Another rider racing down the straight called the “L.I.E.” (after the Long Island Expressway) fails to negotiate the washboard bumps, or “whoop-do-dos,” as he should have and very nearly falls. 1983 Philip Senon @ North Bergen, New Jersey New York Times (July 4) “Young Daredevils Flocking To Bicycle Tracks” p. 1: The track, part of the North Hudson County Park, snakes downhill along 800 feet of brown dirt. It has, to use BMX jargon, three ‘‘berms’’ (banked curves) and five ‘‘whoops’’ (bumps). One of the whoops is a ‘‘table top,’’ a bumb that is a bit flat on top. 1983 Elizabeth Griffiths Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) (Sept. 22) “Bicycle racing sweeps Canada” p. CL8: Like all BMX tracks, it’s designed with a series of wave-like bumps (whoops), banked corners (burms), bumps and jumps to challenge the skills of a biker. Bill Gilles, acting president of the Newmarket BMX Club, calls one “whoop,” Spumoni Junction. “The name just popped out of my mouth one day,” he says. “I don’t think I can even spell it.” 1996 David Booth Toronto Star (Canada) (June 1) “A dirt biker’s dream 200 km of scrub, rocks and whoop-de-doos can hardly be called a ‘tour’ but Baja was a blast” p. SA2: On the second day, we encountered 29 km of whoop-de-doos. For those unfamiliar with dirt bike vernacular, picture the harshest mogul run you’ve ever seen, lay it out horizontally, throw in some sand and you have whoops. It was amazingly invigorating. Whoops are best approached standing up, with you legs pumping like shock absorbers. Normally after a few hundred metres of this pounding, your legs turn to Jell-O. 2007 [ Cecilie Hoffman] Cecilie’s Motorcycle Journal (Mountain View, California) (May 28): Two weeks ago I listened while Karolyn and Julia talked about the steep downhill and the series of “whoops” at the beginning of the trail. “Whoops” are like moguls in downhill skiing, they are mounds that you ride over—don’t forget you are standing up, not sitting down, absorbing the undulation with your knees. 2007 Chris Leman SunValleyOnline.com (June 19) “Volunteers Work Howard’s Trail”: Much of the trail has developed a “cupped” condition, with a large berm of soil having built up on the outside edge of the trail. In places, the cupping is quite deep, and the undulations in the trail (known as “whoops” in motorcycle parlance) are growing.

Posted 20 Jun 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend