An example of collaboration, development and management - it can be done

I'm sitting here on the deck of our family beach house at Catherine Hill Bay (29km south of Glenrock & Newcastle) with a glass of wine typing this post reflecting on the thoroughly enjoyable ride I had early this Saturday morning at Glenrock State Conservation Area. I rode for 2 hours in all and was pretty bushed by the end of the ride. But what a great ride! It is nearly 18 months or so since I last rode here and the reason I'm writing this is to express to those who have yet to experience the goodness of Glenrock, and I'm referring here to management of NPWS Sydney Northern Region specifically, but I guess also to the broader MTB community as well, how really impressed I was with the collaborative work of the local NPWS, GTA volunteers and HMBA in regards to the care and work developing the trails here. 'Exceptional' would be one word I'd use. Full credit to those people involved if you read this post.

All trails are clearly / professionally signposted - graded Green, Blue and Black. Yes that's right. The same universally familiar iconography as used for winter sports has also been used here. You cannot get lost now which I did 18 months ago. There is a great trail map on a board by one of the trail heads within Gun Club Road and one can be downloaded from here or other websites (as I did) to take along with you. Trail names are also clearly indicated on the sign posts such as 'Kenny', 'Seuss Land', 'Snakes & Ladders', 'It Happens', Shaft, 'Seismic', 'Pump Action', Twisties, 'Double Barrel' (green = good for newbies), etc.

Strikingly, a lot of work has be undertaken to construct sustainable biking trails that seem to be enjoyed by runners and walkers as well as MTB riders alike as I rode along this sunny morning. The point of this post is to pose the question - why the same trail design principals cannot be approved and applied by the NPWS Sydney Northern Region to allow this type of recreational riding/walking/running within Garigal and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Parks? Why can this be applied obviously successfully to one park area within NSW and not allowed to be carried through to others. It's inconsistent policy in my opinion.

From what I could see, riders, and there were many of them on the trails today, were sticking to the designated trails and didn't appear to endanger or destroy any flora or fauna in the process of their social pursuit which is often touted as a reason to exclude MTB single trail riding from national parks by various parties.

Interestingly, at the end of the ride as I recovered and brought my heart rate down to a reasonable level by the main directional/information board, I was approach by two people who were contracted by NPWS to take photos of the Glenrock trail network so they could be featured in the NPWS website as "it was lacking any meaningful visual content of MTB trails within national parks". Fair enough. Why they would want to take a shot of my crappy wheels was beyond me but hey, I didn't argue.

So it seems NPWS are keen to showcase and promote excellent MTB trails like Glenrock yet appear reluctant to facilitate the same 'best-of-breed' MTB trail development for regions like the Northern Beaches. Perhaps it's time for NPWS Sydney Northern Region management to pop up to Glenrock (if they have not already) to see what has been achieved by COLLABORATING WITH the community and to use this as an example of how positive these outcomes can be, when liaising with MTB objectionists.

So, is there something to be learnt here? Can Glenrock become an example/template? What do others reading this think/feel?

Off to ride Awaba and Ourimbah over the next couple of days. Yay!

Winco.