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trail advocacy
Lake Parramatta Reserve - Meeting to discuss action against possible closure by Parramatta Council
We are having a meeting at Dooleys Silverwater at 7pm on Wednesday 19
October to discuss the proposed Lake Parramatta trails closure and Draft Plan
of Management.
Dooleys Silverwater is at the corner of Clyde St and Silverwater Rd near the
Silverwater Bridge.
Slight change from the original suggestion at Lidcombe but the room was
better and it hasn't cost us anything (plus it may also be closer for some
Parramatta local riders, too).
It will be a chance for all those voices and names to finally meet and collect
our thoughts together in a common group against this.
Unauthorised trail construction can only end badly
.jpg "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...
Hornsby Shire trails - support needed
Support needed from riders in the Hornsby area. Some planned trail building in the Hornsby Shire has been put on hold due to the usual ill-informed local lobbying of council, causing them to backflip on plans to build XC trails in the area. Email from HSMBA below, with ways to help out if you're interested.
Hi Fellow Singletrack Activists,
Happy New Year and we trust you had a relaxing festive season since our last update.
Sadly we have some terrible news.
Manly Dam Community Workshop
Forestville Youth Centre, Melwood Avenue, Forestville (behind Forestville RSL)
Just got this from Warringah Council. This sounds like a very important meeting for the future of Manly Dam so please attend if you can.
Dear Interested Stakeholder
Re: Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (Manly Dam) - Community Workshop
The Manly Warringah War Memorial Park is Crown Land managed by Warringah Council. It is a unique and much loved area of bushland in Sydney that is used by many different groups of people as well as providing a habitat for native flora and fauna.
A little perspective
With all the talk of the current NPWS Discussion Paper I was thinking this morning about what bike riders are actually asking for.
Bike riders just want a few bike tracks that will give them some sort of meaningful experience inside a National Park or two. You know - a few nice loops with a variety of terrain to keep things interesting, through nice bushland with nice views. Is that much to ask? It appears some people think so, so how can we persuade them otherwise?
Narrabeen Lagoon Plan of Management Input & Workshop
Just had this from the council...
Basically - another opportunity to have input into a council's PoM (Plan of Management). It finally seems that the local authorities are trying to cater for riders. I know there have been a lot of these lately, but we need to support them all. Due to the diversity of land tenures in the Northern Beaches we have to jump through hoops for each land owner in order to get a seamless trail network in the region.
Credit to them for giving us the chance, please don't let this opportunity go to waste.
Even more money for mountain biking in Wales
North Wales has been given £6 million to develop a cycling Centre of Excellence and expand its mountain bike trails, just weeks after South Wales was awarded £5 million to do similar:
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/even-m...
[Mod. moved to NSW Advocacy]
NPWS Sustainable Cycling and Mountain Biking Workshop
As previously discussed (see Northern Beaches National Parks to pilot Sustainable MTB Access) today was the day for a "full day of consultation" which consisted of a NPWS facilitated workshop, "... to explore opportunities for sustainable cycling and mountain biking in the region.".
Pictured here you see the smiling faces after a full morning of discussion. We had reason to smile too, as the session was very useful, well organised and well mannered. The day consisted of a few presentations, splitting into groups for smaller discussion, whole group discussions and other brainstorming.
In the afternoon we visited a (rather wet) Bantry Bay and walked through the area discussing various issues. The good news here was that trail design and maintenance guru Glen Jacobs (from World Trail) saw nothing here that was a major challenge or problem.
I have to say the group was very lucky to have Glen there today as his experience really shone through. The NPWS staff seemed very enlightened by what he had to say, particularly when talking about how proper trail design can be used to effectively control rider behaviour. We are like sheep aparently - give us sweet single track and we'll follow it anywhere 
We were also very fortunate to have Tony Scott (MTBA) and Nick Bowman (of the newly formed IMBA Australia) along with a couple of NPWS Directors (Carl Solomon and Bob Conroy). It would appear that a way forward can be found at a high level between these senior guys that will be beneficial to everyone working a 'grass roots' level - that includes everyone out there that has supported efforts publicised here on this site, and through others (such as HSMBA) and our local clubs. It has to be said, that without everyone's support this workshop could have never happened - thank you all!
As usually there isn't much in the way of planning that can be shared, but a couple of choice quotes from the 'Next steps' closing. NPWS are committed to "remain relevant" to the community and park visitors which obviously includes catering for the very popular and ever growing MTB base. They are also committed to, "selection, design & development of sustainable trails" in the future.
As usual, will keep everyone up to date with further progress, but going on this showing some good things are coming... although there is always a down side - it will be slow progress as always, but you already knew that, right?
