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Don't take this attack on Mountain Bikers

Misinformation about Ku-ring-gai council plans at Golden Jubilee Oval

If you are reading this then I thank you for taking a break from your crack pipe or putting down your spray can.

WTF?!

Well as this is a mountain bike forum one assumes you're a mountain biker, and if one is to believe the labels put on us recently we are all involved in "... Vandalism, Graffiti and possibly widespread use of Drugs and alcohol...". That quote comes straight from a flyer that has been circulating in Hornsby to try and sway locals against a plan for mountain bike skills areas and trails.

It's a sad state of affairs that with no actual evidence, logic or reason to argue against a small, yet much valued mountain bike plan Ku-ring-gai council has approved, those who oppose the plan have resorted to throwing around wild accusations.

Yet the worst of it is that Ku-ring-gai council staff have actually listened to submissions based on this nonsense and changed their plans, scrapping part of the project, holding a second phase indefinitely and wasting funding on studies called for by various scaremongers. To be frank, it's disgusting.

To be clear, such a turn of events will affect much more than this one plan: If mountain bike riders are to ever receive fair treatment and planning for the facilities they require this council and other authorities need to be shown that the accusations levelled in the flyer are pure nonsense and riders will not stand to be labelled in this way.

If you too take offence at being labelled a vandal and drug addict just because you choose to ride a mountain bike please take a minute or so and write to the Ku-ring-gai council and let them know this. Let them know you are disgusted that they would lend any credence to such claims and modify already approved plans as a result. It might also help to mention if you support both stage one and two of the Golden Jubilee mountain bike plan and call for both stages to go ahead unchanged.

Please write to these councillors and the local politician, and explain all this as tactfully as you can:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Thank you.

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Server Move Complete




In case you didn't notice (and I hope you didn't!) we are now up and running from our new virtual home.

We are now on a shiny new virtual server which replaces the last move and should make for a more robust site. Not that I think anyone can complain about the old one, but perhaps a secure data centre with not only battery backup, but generators and redundant Internet links will be even more reliable.

The new infrastructure has been very generously donated by the crew at DCWest... big shout out to them.

Like I said, you shouldn't notice any difference (aside from a likely speed increase as this VPS has more grunt than the old box!), but please let me know ASAP if you do.

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Second round of MTB Discussion paper forums

Below is a preview, click to read the full post

Sydney North Forum

All, there is some disappointing news to share here, but perhaps we can turn it into a positive.

It has come to my attention that the Colong Foundation has questioned the validity of forums NPWS set up last year as part of the submission process for their mountain bike discussion paper[1].

... The Colong Foundation for Wilderness has today called for the results from these public meetings to be thrown out and for National Parks and Wildlife to explain why it granted such a sensitive task to a mountain bike advocate and who is also involved in building tracks.

Mr Anthony Burton, the facilitator of the bike forums for National Parks and Wildlife appears to be a mountain bike advocate and consultant...

NB: It seems NPWS will only put on these forums if there is enough demand. So I would discourage people from contacting NPWS to confirm their attendance in the hope some of these meetings might not even happen. Call your local NPWS office or the venue a few days before the meeting you'd goto and confirm if it is on if you are interested in attending.

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Manly Dam Closed 7-11 February 2011

Just in from the Rangers...

Good Afternoon Bike Riders,

We have engaged contractors to undertake vegetation trimming along the single use sections of track, and this work is scheduled to take place during the week of 7-11 February 2011. Due to the use of power tools and the narrowness of the track, the track will need to be CLOSED while work is in progress for the safety of both riders and contractors.

Works are scheduled to take place between 7:30am and 4:00pm on the following days/locations and riders will need to plan alternative routes as access will be blocked. The contractors have been asked to clear all debris from the track at the end of each work day so early morning and late afternoon riders should not be inconvenienced, however all care should be taken.

Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th on the track in the southern section of the park between Seaforth Oval and Wakehurst Parkway Fire Trail

Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th on the track in the northern section of the park between the turn off from the fire trail below the Roosevelt Avenue tennis courts at Allambie Heights and King Street, Manly Vale.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Kind regards,
Manly Dam Rangers

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Forum Round up for Jan 27

Hope you were all out there yesterday. A belated Happy Australia to all! Smiling

Just a quick round up of hot forum threads this week:

Phew... Eye-wink

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Forum Round up for Dec 17

As the holidays approach hope everyone is in great shape and looking forward to some great riding coming into the new year.

It seems a few people are heading overseas and there was a question about Packing up a bike - very handy for those who'll be flying. Sadly not everyone has been having luck with their equipment though, jp even asked, Anyone got a contact at Giant? regarding a problem with his BB. Might be best to go easy on the guys in the LBS over the next week or two though, as they are under the hammer it seems. More shiny new bikes on the trails in the near future then! Smiling

For those who'll be looking to work of some stuffing and mince pies, Discodan asked about the Best club to start racing? Seems there are a few around our area, but nothing local. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em and all that. Although it looks like Sydneysiders have walked away with D and B grades as reported by CCOMTB D grade cross country champione! Well done guys! Smiling Brian noted Capital Punishment Entries Open, but this caused a little discussion due to the organiser's poor luck with their events last year.

Other random threads of interest:

What is Mountainbiking about?
6 Foot Track trip
SRAM vs Shimano shifter action, a revelation
Dealing with Sweaty Clothes after Morning Ride
Bike Bingle - report accidents and near misses

While elsewhere on Global Riders the GTA crew discuss the merits or otherwise of a Maximum Adventure Race on the trails they have worked so hard on - tricky subject. And BMORC crowd said, Thanks to everyone for turning up tonight after their important meeting Tuesday night.

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Forum Round up for Nov 26

<Insert random quip about sunshine and how to mention this will mean certain rain> Eye-wink

Straight into a look forward to this weekend's riding, the pick of which will surely be the Spring Fat Tyre Festival 2010 at Awaba State Forest. First time for this event at Awaba, moving from the last three years at Ourimbah, but if it has the same vibe surely this will be a contender for event of the year? Good luck to all those going.

Oh, while mentioning Ourimbah though, there have been some Ourimbah forest access issues lately - please remember to park half way up the hill!

That's not to say there aren't plenty of other great events around, the keen are already planning for Dirtworks Classic 2011 and we have to congratulate everyone who recently completed the 2010 Highland Fling. Just a couple of blogs on the subject describing this year's Fling as Tough but educational and simply, Toast.

Closer to home Manly Dam is open this weekend but last weekend's closure brought some colourful discussion about Muppets who don't read signs. If this talk inspires you to take a more active interest in Manly Dam planning remember the Manly Dam Community Workshop on Monday night (the 29th).

Scanning through the 'hot topics' from the last couple of weeks we can find someone's First bike build who looks like they didn't need to ask, Just starting - what to buy and won't have to ask about Upgrading forks or help with bike's handling any time soon! Eye-wink

For the adventurous there was talk about riding the Six Foot track, Blue Mountains, but be warned - sounds tough and looks like you'll have to do some homework about how, precisely, you can do this ride.

For the semi-adventurous, why not hit Red Hill because tomorrow morning. Or take another local ride now the sun is shining! Just remember to add a ride meeting in the calendar if you want some company Smiling

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Manly Dam is CLOSED!

Manly Dam Issues and Directions Discussion Paper - Please Comment

Just a gentle reminder that Manly Dam is CLOSED today despite the sunshine. It will take much more than a couple of days like this to dry the trails out given the amount of rain that has fallen over the last few weeks.

Given Warringah Council has just released a Manly Dam Issues and Directions Discussion Paper it's even more relevant than ever that mountain bike riders show they can act with maturity and respect land managers decisions. If, as a community, we do not respect the council's closures, which are actually for our own good anyway, how can we expect them to respect our requests for input on the future of Manly Dam?

So please, do not ride Manly Dam today.

Please do not think, "My one lap won't hurt", because it will! Imagine if everyone thought that way, it wouldn't just be one lap, but more like 200. All it takes is for one person to be seen riding, and the excuse comes out, "Well - if they are riding, I'm going to too" and there you go - it's a snowball effect out to those 200 laps of damage.

I know it's frustrating, but please go for a spin on trails that are less susceptible to damage. There are plenty of firetrails in the area that fit this bill. Or failing that, take a spin class, ride on your trainer (or borrow one from a mate), do some cross training... hell - even ride on the road! Please, just do something other than ride Manly Dam today!

Thanks Smiling

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Thank you all for your submissions!

Just a quick note to thank everyone who commented on the NPWS mountain bike discussion paper over the last month or so.

It might have taken some prompting (sorry), but a nice flow of submissions ended up on the government's forum. The final tally was 2310 comments across the 6 topics listed.

To highlight what a sterling job mountain bike riders have done in showing the department what a massive demand for mountain biking facilities there is, just have a look at a couple of other topics on the 'Shape Your State' site and the interest they received:

  • Health Reform received 242 comments across 13 topics.
  • Barangaroo development received 290 comments across 17 topics.

So go mountain bikers! Hopefully these numbers will prove to be a message that the authorities just cannot ignore.

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Forum Round up for Oct 22

Haven't done one for a while, so here's a quick forum round up for those looking to pass time on a Friday.

Sunny started quite a discussion about servicing tools - a worthy investment for any budding mechanic, right? For those already competent with a hex key or two there were lots of new machines shown off. Then there's that nice story about a Lost Phone & Multi Tool in Cascades that ended well... lucky!

Hopefully the pain of the 24 Hour Solo Worlds Champs has faded for those who did battle recently. There was a very nice Pit Crew Report too. Crazy, the lot of you!

Speaking of races, the Highland Fling is now only 3 weeks away. Surely the pick of this weekend's rides will then be the In for the Fling Mega Loop. Or would you prefer Sunday's Berowra fun stuff?

Finally, a big thanks to everyone who has taken a moment to complete the NPWS MTB Discussion Paper feedback form. Those comments are closing Monday so you still have time if you haven't added your voice yet! Sticking out tongue

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