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great north road grading
does anyone have any idea as to whats happening to the great north road? I rode there yesterday and found the top of shepards gully smoothed out as well as the first 4 kms of the old great north road totaly flattend and sandy firetrail!! A couple of the nice rocky climbs and roll downs have gone. i thought this was a historic area and would be left as is with ses and fire access via western comission track.Enjoy this years dirtworks because next year it could well be 100k of fire trail cruising!!
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I noticed the same. However at the end of the grading there's a water catcher so maybe they are only going that far (hopefully). Yet another track in the Sydney area that decreases in fun factor. It seems growth in MTB population is inversly related to the choice of good track.
Can someone take an action to call NPWS and get them to give a list of works they have done in the past year, and those they are planning in the years to come? Surely this is available under the freedom of information act?
That way we can form some sort of lobby if we don't like it.
This is bad news BTW. They graded top of Shepherds just before DW last year. And this year they've done another 4Km (East I presume)? So there's only 6Km of fun between there and Western Commission left?
Yeah I was there yesterday and can confirm that the grading has certainly made the top section of Shepherds and GNR considerably easier.
Thankfully it is only those 2 sections. I rode the full length of the trail up to the junction of Mogo Creek Rd and the rest of the trail has been left untouched.
I say keep closing off singletrack access AND grade all of the fire trails so that we can all have a nice, safe, comfortable bike ride. After all, isn't that what buying $5,000 bikes with 5 inches of suspension is all about?
Is this part of the plan to get MTB'ers off the dirt completely and onto the roads, where we can be at the mercy of the all park entry fee paying car drivers there? Much nicer.
It would make a person so desperate as to want to move to the ACT for some decent riding.
Canberra is where it's at. I'm taking my shovel and level so I can make me some niiiiiiiiice flat firetrail!
Wonder if it was done for Dirtworks, make it faster, safer?? Better access for emergency vehicles?
Im sure the last thing that anyone(well event organiser anyway) wants is potential for injury.
Perhaps a call to the organisers might throw some light, they would surely know what was happening on the trails where their event is being run.
I understand the roadies all complained last year that they were been overtaken on the downhill and rocky bits by smiling riders who said hello as they passed.
Does this mean that the most technical bit is that sharp left hander up to the finish line.
Would it not be fair to assume that if it as a designated fire-trail (a thoroughfare specifically for fire trucks etc), then access needs to be kept clear and simple? An eroded track would not only be slower, but would also make access more dangerous.
I have seen many fire trails which I used in 4wding turn from “fun” to boring in the space of a weekend, and as annoying as it is, they are there for one main purpose which is the easy access of fire fighters. Whether our fun is affected is surely academic. I’m sure there are many Victorians who would agree. Maybe this is the catalyst for the grading.