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Rob's picture

West Head Closed due to hazard reduction burn

Just in case anyone is lucky enough to be considering riding in the next two days please be advised that the whole of West Head is now closed until further notice. This obviously includes Elvina, Salvation, Towlers Bay, etc, etc. I would imagine Duck Holes & Centre might also be worth avoiding depending on the amount of smoke.

I have been advised that this should only last for a couple of days but please take note and check the NSW NPWS Fires, floods and park closures page for more details.

Currently it states,

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service wish to notify that as of 12:00 midday on Monday 14th November 2011 the West Head / Lambert Peninsula area of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park will be closed to all traffic and pedestrians due to a hazard reduction burn. The area closed includes West Head Road and all West Head walking tracks. It will remain closed until further notice.

Rob's picture

Be at Ararat Reserve (Bantry Bay Road) between 10-2 today (Sat 29th)!

Apologies for the late notice, but a very keen reader has spotted the NPWS run Garigal National Park Information Day has changed venue to Ararat Reserve, Bantry Bay Road, Frenchs Forest.

Please come along and see what NPWS are planning in the local parks and show your support.

Official notice from NPWS:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/parkmanagement...

Our calendar entry:

http://nobmob.com/node/31601

Rob's picture

NPWS MTB Policy and Trails for the Northern Beaches

Get on your bike in NSW National Parks!

In case you missed it over the weekend there was some great news coming out of NSW NPWS.

Firstly, the release of their long awaited Sustainable MTB Policy (discussion in NSW NPWS Sustainable Mountain Biking Strategy) which should benefit riders state-wide.

Then there was news of the equally long awaited Northern Sydney MTB Pilot Program (discussion in Get on your bike in NSW National Parks!). This included maps of proposed trails in Bantry Bay, Berowra Valley and Oxford Falls . There are information days on the first two of these where the public can learn more and show their support (see link for dates). If you care about this initiative and getting some authorised trails it would probably pay to show up and thank the authorities.

Coverage in the press:

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/o...
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...

Not time to celebrate yet, but it's certainly looking promising! Smiling

Rob's picture

Don't forget - submissions for Hornsby MTB Trail close tomorrow!

Hornsby Mountain Bike Park (submit a short letter)

Greetings all. In case you forgot, submissions for Hornsby MTB park close tomorrow.

See the thread here: Hornsby Mountain Bike Park (submit a short letter).

HSMBA sent out a short update this morning and it seems that local NIMBYs are again trying to stir things up so it's vitally important to balance this out with messages of support from the MTB community.

Please send your positive submissions to [email protected] before close of business tomorrow.

Thank you Smiling

Rob's picture

Garigal National Park is about to get an official mountain bike track!

For those that don't know, there was a meeting near Bantry Bay this morning between the Environment Minister, Treasurer, NSW NPWS Director and other such folk... oh - and a couple of local MTB riders Eye-wink

An announcement coming from the press (I'm yet to see the official NPWS press release, but trust the Daily on this one) is that, "Garigal National Park is about to get an official mountain bike track."

Massive thanks to all of you who believed and supported this for so long. No doubt there will be more news on this and other developments coming, so keep an eye out.

The Manly Daily story is here:

http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...

Update: There was a second story in the Daily that quote's Mike Baird as saying and announcement was expected in the “next few weeks.". Excellent news!

http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...

nrthrnben's picture

We Need You, Now! The Future Of Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Is In Your Hands!

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On Thursday 30 June 2011 a survey will go live on Council's website that aims to collect demographic and participation data from residents and visitors who ride mountain bikes in Warringah. The survey is an important component of the mountain bike research that is being undertaken by Council. It demonstrates to the mountain biking community that we are looking closely at the current and future provision of facilities in Warringah.
Rob's picture

Menai (Lucas Heights) Closed to the Public

**MENAI (LUCAS HEIGHTS) is officially OFF LIMITS to MTB's**

Terrible news for MTB riders: The area at Menai (aka Lucas Heights) has been closed to any kind of public access, which of course now means MTB riding there is banned.

This looks to be a very serious move, with signs erected and riders reporting federal police are now patrolling the area.

Sorry to report this everyone - it was a great area Sad

See MENAI (LUCAS HEIGHTS) is officially OFF LIMITS to MTB's thread for more info.

Update 4/7/11: Having spent all day chasing the matter, Steve Mowle has managed to convince the ANSTO management to meet with Mountain Bike riders to discuss the use of Menai. This is an outstanding achievement. Please show your support and attend the meeting if you can - see ANSTO/Rider Meeting (Re: Menai Closure).

Update 4/7/11: Correction: Sorry folks - this is not a public meeting. Please do not show up! Those who go will be sure to report back though.

Rob's picture

The Grove Bike Park Official Opening - You're invited!

Although I have had absolutely nothing to do with this venture, from what I hear local volunteers have put in a massive amount of work, showed much patience and stuck this through to achieve an excellent result:

That being that Manly Council have now officially recognised the dirt jumps and pump track at The Grove in Seaforth.

They are having an opening ceremony June 16 @ 3:30pm and riders are invited to take part and enjoy a BBQ afterwards.

Please see the flyer below and RSVP by phone to 9976 1487

The Grove Opening Invite 1 The Grove Opening Invite 2

Well done all involved - this just goes to show good things can happen!

Rob's picture

Forum Round up for Apr 29

Well it's been a while, so time to have a quick look at what people have been talking about here.

First up - good luck to all competing in the Dirtworks Classic 2011 on Sunday. Plenty of talk about that including the Dirtworks Canoe Bridge, Dirt Works Tyre choice and what went on at GNR on Easter Monday.

Now might be a good time to remind everyone that we have constantly updating graphs of BOM rainfall here, including Ten Mile Hollow (the half way point) and the rain doesn't look as bad there as it has been in Sydney. Also remember not to use the forum for trading of any kind, that is what the classifieds are for - and there has been a good deal of trading in Dirtworks event entries this week - anyone wanting to get in now could probably score an entry well under cost. That said, your bike will probably need a whole lot of TLC as despite the above the track certainly won't be dry!

Other threads getting a lot of traffic recently:

BigJosh asked about a Bottom bracket repair.
Hans noticed a New standard issue bike for NPWS rangers?
Given all the rain, jonp was looking for Suggestions for places to ride in wet conditions?
Sadly we also had a bit of talk about riding on Illegal tracks - although personally am not convinced the trail in question is illegal (see thread).
Some Newbie advice needed here.
Broc needed some First timer advice for Ourimba (sic)
How about some Music while riding speakers?
Or does anyone have recommendations for Phone sports tracker apps?

Rob's picture

Unauthorised trail construction can only end badly

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Bantry Bay Fence

On my way to the office this morning some young kid tried to follow me through the Cityrail ticket gate. I stopped this person and a few insults were exchanged. The bottom line was they didn't get on that train and I would hope they might think next time before trying to skip a fare.

So you're thinking, "Meh... goodie, goodie - what has this got to do with mountain bike riding?"

It has to do with a sad but true fact of life - the majority of people want to do the right thing, but as the saying goes, "Evil prevails when good men do nothing". That is - if you know something illegal or illicit is going on but idly stand by and let it happen you are just as culpable as those performing these acts of 'evil'. A second side to the message is that those who are tempted to bend and break the rules are more likely to change their ways when confronted by their peers (ie. not a figure of authority).

Which brings me to this: it has come to my attention that in various locations in Sydney certain riders are making themselves busy with illegal trail construction on public land. Let me make this real easy for you to understand:

Illegal and unauthorised trail construction can only end one way: badly!

If you think for one second I'm wrong here read on for an explanation...

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