Manly Dam Trail Repairs [note from Rangers]

This was sent this evening:

Dear Rangers,

Thank you for the notification of the maintenance works. I appreciate the effort and funding that is put into maintaining the trail. As you are aware from previous correspondence, I think you guys do a wonderful job.

On this occasion I would like to raise an issue. I am hoping you have learned from recent experience, and this time have consulted with mountain bike riders for their input when designing these works. There did not appear to be any consultation regarding some of the previous works, with the result that the outcomes were poor overall. Erosion mitigation, while vital, was achieved at the price of a significant and unnecessary reduction in the amenity of the trail.

You may not be aware that works performed in the last year or so on the eastern downhill section heading south from Monserra Ave adjacent to Southern Cross Way are not well regarded by the cycling community.
• It has dumbed down a section of interesting singletrack into a virtual fire road, significantly degrading rider enjoyment.
• This has resulted in an escalation of the speeds at which riders travel this section of trail. I certainly ride it much faster than prior to the drainage works, and I’m not a particularly skilled rider. Others ride it faster still. Indeed, jumps have been added by kids to some sections. This compromises walker safety.
• There are other, world class ways of achieving effective erosion mitigation on mountain bike and walking trails, that keep bike speeds down while simultaneously improving rider and walker enjoyment.
• Long term, these alternatives are more sustainable and therefore less environmentally invasive .
• They are also likely to be less engineering-intensive and therefore more cost effective.
The unimaginative, engineering-based approach used on these trail works did not take stakeholder interests into account, resulting in worse outcomes for both walkers and cyclists.

I am hoping this mistake has not been repeated with the works that are about to commence.

Would you please consult with Rob Rainton, who runs the www.nobmob.com community website, for ways of engaging with the mountain bike community to better determine their needs. He will also have contacts who have world class expertise in sustainable trail building that is likely to significantly benefit Warringah Shire and its Council.

By so doing, you will be better able to meet the interests of your ratepayers and stakeholders. We have a fantastic facility in the Manly Dam mountain bike trail, which is a credit to the Council and is often quoted as an example nationally of what can be achieved by constructive engagement with stakeholders. I trust you are aware of its high value as a tourist attraction, since it draws riders from all over Sydney and indeed the world to come and spend time and money in our municipality, benefiting local businesses.

I’d like to think that Council is keen to maintain the attractiveness of this facility, and is therefore willing to consult to find out how best to serve its stakeholders.

Kind regards,

[Contact details supplied]

Very respectful and well thought out.

As i have said before maintenance should be done by us to IMBA standards, we should give the rangers a copy of IMBA trail building and really stress to them that unless the trail is built to these standards it may as well not be there.
By the way the jumps where not added by kids. We where riding one day and saw a middle aged “good Samaritan” building them, being on the side of the track, imo, they pose very little risk to pedestrians and make an otherwise pointless bit of track ok. But surely agree, the trail is far from perfect.

Just thinking out loud, maybe after we get more trails in the region we could petition to get a professional trail builder contracted like world trails for example to audit manly dam and offer recommendations on how to get the most out of what we have.

Nice one. Make sure you let us know what their response is.

Anyone care to comment on what's happened this week? I mean, if you've been to the dam tell us what they've done.

I haven't been there since they started doing work there but having read all the Manly Dam posts recently and by putting 2 and 2 together it's pretty easy to see what's going on.

In view of the fact a large number of people can't seem to keep it in their baggies while it's wet, I would imagine the works are to improve drainage and the council is taking the "if you can't stop them, join them" approach.

If anyone who has ridden the track whilst it's wet cares to complain about the works I'm sure we'd all love to hear from you.

BT - it's precisely the ..people on $3 hire bikes... that wouldn't know to stay off in the wet that they are catering to.

The rest of the responsible MTB community suffers.

Has anybody considered that the Manly Dam MTB course is being turned into another walking trail on the sly?
I mean all the dumbing down of the track makes it more accessable by those on foot...

To the Rangers:
Many MTB facilities, and in particular, Mt Stromlo, they have A and B lines, so all skill sets are catered for.
The A line is usually the challenging one, and caters for experienced riders.
The B line is usually reduced challenge, so beginners and less experienced riders can continue riding rather than get off and walk, and perhaps not be so tempted to try a line that may be beyond their current experience level.

Where the trail is being 'flattened' as mentioned above, it would be nice to see some of the challenging sections remain rather than simply catering for the lowest common denominator of skill level.
We do have a number of these on the Dam circuit already, and a conscious effort to continue the practice would be a good thing!

Just a thought to keep everyone happy

allthough not consulting us is not in the best interests of the mountain bike community.

If the Rangers continue to not want help for whatever reason, maybe a phone call should be made to whomever they answer to.

They may feel more inclined to involve us when they are instructed by someone higher up the food chain to listen to the people that actually use the trails.

If your heading out to the dam, watch out for the incredibly poorly designed trail updates on the allambie downhill stretch.

First, after riding the now not-so-new waterbars/dips, and entering the singletrack, there are two very abrupt and poorly placed waterbars with rocks sticking out the top. They caught me completely by surprise and was luckily able to react quick enough. They are difficult to see if you aren't looking closely and I am sure will cause an accident, if they haven't already. If their idea was to slow traffic, it's an incredibly dangerous way to do it.

And soon after there appears to be a new berm across the track sending people onto what looks like a new track on the right. Looks exciting, but anyone who takes the new berm will quickly realize the trail actually continued straight and will quickly find themselves standing in a bush. What a fantastic idea. Build a waterbar that looks like a bermed corner, on a corner, on a very quick section of trail. Brilliant.

Does anybody else have an issue with the step placed on the run towards the 19th hole? Not quite wide enough to get the bike down before the next step and not close enough for a continuous roll down, what were they thinking?

I have to agree with some of James M's comments - there are / were erosion and standing water issues and these have been / are being taken care of and for the most part my opinion is positive. Some fixes may "dumb" the track down and are met mostly with complaints about the lack of skill and challenge this now presents. On the other hand some work has resulted in changes that are now deemed inconvenient / dangerous? In having this track suitable for all users the balance would be very difficult to achieve and it must be a nightmare for those trying to do so. The bars referred to are dangerous but also an effective means of slowing bikes down before a section where it's very likely to encounter walkers, which include dogs and children. One lap around and we all know where and how to handle these obstacles (the object of MTB?). The steps at the 19th hole, yes not as practical or fun as what they were but taken as a new challenge to master instead of the same old track with the same old lines just getting worse for wear are the alternatives. It's been said many times, this track has to deal with a huge volume of traffic and because of locality, different users and I'm sure the intention is achieve some sort of balance and sustainability and we should be supportive of that. At the end of it all even with the changes it’s still a fun lap in our backyard .

Looking at the new steps leading into the 19th Hole section yesterday, I don't think they're so bad. It seems to me more a matter of judging your approach speed correctly. Although, after a few months' wet weather use it will be interesting to see how scooped out they get, and then it may be different. But for now, it looks quite reasonable and removes that collection of wheel magnet rocks in the middle of the original landing zone.

Replacement of the log with that poor excuse for a berm at the entry is not real impressive, though. Won't take long for it to be worn away.

Haven't seen the drainage "berms" further down-trail yet, so can't comment. Disappointing to hear about the Wakehurst Parkway rock garden going under - I quite enjoyed that bit. Although, to be fair, last time I rode it before my crash it looked like a lot of trail widening had been happening either side of it.

They have also smoothed out the rock roll of thingy before you get to that section of track...