Sorry about the quiet times folks! My computer’s currently broken and out of action, Ben’s taken himself off into the desert to find his true inner self (it ain’t gonna be pretty!), and who knows where anyone else is.
On the local news front, the S56 tracks at the bottom of Bracken Lane on Mt Wellington has been bulldozed/destroyed/blocked by the Hobart City Council and signs have been posted advising that they are illegal, as is riding them. This is a real pity, as there was a great little trail network through there. However, it came about due to the actions of some stupid individuals. A local resident was flipped off and abused by several riders who continued on to the trails. She complained to the HCC and it was enough to get the (illegal) trails destroyed.
When you’re utilising council land illegally (yes it sucks, but that’s reality), it’s in your best interest to keep local residents happy. Unfortunately much of the mountain is out of bounds for riders, so often we’re forced to rely on illegal/secret trails for riding. With the current situation on the mountain, it’s not proving to be a wise move. Several new highly obvious trails/jumps have recently been built on both council and Cascade land, which isn’t helping the cause for legal trails. The North-South trail is just a start, and doesn’t cater for the crew on big bikes, but it’s a good beginning and should encourage people to respect the mountain and its rules as much as possible.
All that said, when you’re involved in a “fringe” sport liking mountain biking, you’re often forced to create your own trails and more often than not it’s on someone elses land. That’s just the way it works, and can lead to some great trails (a hell of a lot of which are used by everyone today). The thing is to be smart about it! You know you’re not strictly meant to be there, so play it cool, kep a low profile, and let it be seen that riders are pretty damn low impact. Walking trails usually create exactly the same amount of errosion/scarring, so a well built trail (with good water drainage and smart use of existing terrain) can stay well under the radar so long as it’s ridden smart.
Keep it underground and don’t abuse the locals, that way we can all keep having a good time in the dirt.
</whinging rant>
great. i disappear overseas and while im gone, a track that has been around for close to 10 years, if not longer is finally destroyed after a bunch of smartarsed pansie boys decide to abuse a member of the public. fucking wankers. just another black mark added to the collective mountain bikers of hobart. all the council have to do is say no, mountain bikers are a liability and there go our trails for good. you may as well take up your lycra and get a roadie…
and be like you, haha. hi hunnibell how are you, all of cyclingo says gday.
….and then we drank a beer and rode our bikes.
hey hey from across the pond. getting around to a full update soon. till then enjoy the snow..