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Destruction of Chicken Run Trails by Crown Lands.
Yesterday bulldozers went in unannounced on the Chicken Run trails and started destroying them in a pretty brutal manner, not only to the trails but to the surrounding bushland.
Having contacted council they said they have nothing to do with this. This section of land is Crown Land and manged by Crown Land.
I have contacted Crown Lands and I am waiting on further information from them on what triggered this action.
Knapsack Build Day - Saturday June 27th
Next build day..... not sure what we will be doing but I assume it will involve some rock?
More details here.
Reminder ; 23rd May Knapsack Build Day
A reminder that 23rd of May for work on finishing the section below the oval. Currently a lot still looks like this picture.
Quite a bit to go but we hope to be able to get enough done to open the section for riders.
Further if we have enough people we can get some of the rock armouring and trail shaping required to make it ride as well as possible and be as robust as possible.
So a good turnout would be terrific.
Full details here.
18th April Build Day results. Tentative next day in late May.
Had good results today. Lots of work to do for quite a long and important section.
The tricky rocky ground will give great results but takes a lot of work to build. Could have done with a few more hands.
We should have the next build day in around a month at the end of May so hopefully we can finish off this section and open it up. To do this we still need more cutting but also lots of rock armouring and benching.
Either way lots to do but should be some classic Knapsack type trail!
Knapsack Build Day is coming up - April 18th
Our next build day is just over a week away.
We are looking to get a new track built and closure of a less used trail.
The meet location has changed from the norm. Please join us at the southern end of Barnett street(bottom of hill) at the firetrail gate(Near the causeway).
A small parking area is available opposite the gate.
We invite everyone to attend, help out and find out more about the plans for Knapsack Reserve.
Please follow the link to register your intent to come. http://bmorc.com/node/50396
New Knapsack Build Days 21st March & 18th April 2015
Two XC build day dates organised with BMCC and with Synergy Trails for the 21st March and 18th April.
We will be continuing on with the works we started on last year.
More info here
Knapsack Rip and Brush + BBQ and Ride
Just a heads up reminder about this day which is listed in the Calender.
A bit of brush matting and some BBQ action.. primarily a social thing.
Synergy to help at Knapsack Volunteer days
The Great news is, we have 4 Volunteer Trail care days scheduled for the upcoming months. On top of this already great news is BMCC have hired Adrian from Synergy Trails to lead the Volunteer days.
All we need now is the Volunteers to help do some digging!!!
Our first trail care day will be on the Saturday 27th of September and will focus on the Down Hill trail.
The following 3 dates are Monday 13th of October, Saturday 1st of November and Saturday 22nd of November. These days will most likely be focused on the Cross Country trails.
Were you at BMORC's Rake and Ride day in Glenbrook?
Check out Synergy's Latest video featuring footage shot during the BMORC Rake and Ride Day!
Upper Blue Mountains Trail beside Rail
The Upper Mountains Trail Beside Rail advocacy was commenced by Martin Krause in 1998 and he has been committed to it ever since. The original group were some firies from Katoomba and some climbers from Blackheath, as well as Kevin from the old bike store in Katoomba.
Since then the Upper Mountains Trail Beside Rail advocacy have managed to get Greenway funding for feasibility studies and engineering survey projects.
The Oaks officially announced open
Today the trail was officially announced open. National Parks have been very pleased with the feedback they are receiving and it is certainly gaining the attention of management of all levels.
Starva has recorded 207 riders on the new alignment so far after its soft opening on May 16th.
Sent: Friday, 30 May 2014 5:43 PM
Subject: Woodford Oaks Mountain Bike Route-section RE-OPENEDNational Parks & Wildlife Service
Blue Mountains National Park at Glenbrook
Upgrade works to Woodford Oaks Mountain Bike Trail – section RE-OPENED
Oaks closure signage is coming down.
I've just received a phone call from National Parks to advise me they are two weeks ahead of schedule and are taking the signage down as of this afternoon. It will be open for riding as of 5pm Friday 16th of May. This weekend is forecast for beautiful riding weather and they want riders to start bedding in the track.
Our ranger contact has ensured me that while the closure notice will remain on the National Parks website over the weekend, the trail will be open for riding.
The Sheep Station Fiddy K is ths weekend!
If you hadn't heard already, The Central Tablelands Mountain Bike Club are putting on a fun race that will show you some of the best riding available at Rydal.
Rydal is only 45min drive west from Katoomba.
Race starts at 12 midday this coming Saturday the 10th of May, SO GET IN QUICK. Rego closes this thursday night.
The course will comprise of 25km laps, about half single track and half fire trail. Obviously the Fiddy K is two laps.
Categories include 25k, 50k and Pairs. Pairs do one lap, riding together and they must cross the line together to get a time.
Oaks Construction has begun
Today BMORC reps met with National Parks to gain a better understanding of the plans and to provide some feedback.
Parks have decided to build the track in house with the assistance of a trail building contractor. Parks reps stated that they were uncertain if they were allowed to disclose the contractors so I will leave that out. Shouldn't be to hard to work out
The Oaks Last 2km Temp Closure
For those unaware, the oaks single track is getting a make over. In particular is the last 2km of single track. Sections in here may be so much fun for a lot of riders but was a major eye sore in the terms of sustainability. If you ever stopped to take a look. Major sand pits where being eroded of the track and deposited far downhill.
"New Lower Mountains Bike Track Open" - Blue Mountains Gazette
http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/179...
After more than three years of closure, the Lower Blue Mountains has a dedicated downhill mountain bike track again after the opening of a new $52,000 course at Knapsack Reserve on September 21.
Tracks used for mountain biking in East Blaxland and Mt Riverview were made off-limits due to concerns about their effects on environmental sustainability including soil erosion.
The new, fully accredited track is 1150 metres long, is designed for experienced mountain bikers and involves a new volunteer group called Track-care to foster sustainable trail maintenance, rehabilitation and the installation of signs.
The project surfaced during consultations between the mountain biking community and Blue Mountains City Council during completion of the Knapsack Reserve Moun-tain Bike Plan in 2010 and is funded by the council and the NSW Government.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said the track would be "an important recreational facility for the Blue Mountains and greater Western Sydney region".
"After a lot of careful planning and hard work, we can be proud of developing an environmentally friendly, low impact walking track and bike trail network in a bushland setting of national significance," he said.
Official Opening of Knapsack DH This Saturday 21st September
This Saturday the 21st at 9:30am Blue Mountains Council will be doing the official opening ceremony of the Knapsack DH track. This should include some councillors and BMCC officials and staff that have been involved or interested in the project.
Meet at the gate on Barnett St of Lovers Walk.
BMCC will also be sending a professional photographer to take photos of the official stuff but also to get some photos of riders using the track. They will providing us with copies so come along and ride and try and be snapped doing something cool.
We have to check how viable a BBQ is so we will be looking into that.. hopefully we can get a cook-up going as well. Slightly short notice so lets see what can be done before then.
Please pass this info on to anyone else you know who might be interested as well.
Knapsack Downhill Open for Riders!
If you have been following the BMORC Facebook page, you would probably have guessed that the Knapsack Downhill Track has been given the all clear by the Blue Mountains Council to be ridden!
The required signage has been installed and can be seen here if you want to see what they look like before visiting.
BMCC have done a final walk with Dirt Art and with IMBA today looking at the last details that need to be ticked off. They are also working on a forward action plan for maintenance issues to be handled on volunteer days.
Further there is a tentative plan for an official opening of the trail on the Saturday 21st September. This is yet to be confirmed and I know Kingy wants to do a good ceremonial BBQ that day as well! Hopefully we can show some of the councillors in person what this project has all been about.
Enjoy an Oaks Guided Tour with NPWS Ranger
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service's off-road cycling campaign this September.
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/cycling
On September the 15th one of our rides, the Oaks Trail, offers a rare chance for riders familiar with this route, to discover more about their surroundings and what makes this trail so special from environmental, geological and cultural point of view. For anyone new to the Oaks Trail, it's an opportunity to get out and try something new with a knowledgeable guide to show the way.
Nielsen races to podium finish
Springwood’s Blake Nielsen has taken Elite Men’s silver at the second round of the NSW Downhill series at Del Rio, near Wiseman’s Ferry.
Barely a second behind Woodberry (NSW) rider Graeme Mudd, Nielsen was in great form all weekend, despite a change in conditions on race day which left the track muddy and slick.
The wet weather didn’t deter Nielsen, who said: “I just ride the same lines I practised and commit, there’s nothing more fun than being on the edge of control on my bike”.
Downhill Opening Still a While Away.
Currently the DH is still closed because there are some issues to work through. At this stage we are not sure how long this will take to get done, so all we an ask is to be patient a little longer and don't ride the trail.
In a nutshell, there are some concerns from BMCC, BMORC and other stakeholders in whether some of the features will hold up well enough and be in fact "sustainable". For those of you who have walked the track will probably have noticed these sections where the dry and poor soil of the area hasn't bedded in well enough to form certain features. From a purely rider based perspective we fear that they could fall apart resulting in people diverting and in the end compromising the trail such that rider uptake of it becomes poor. A bad outcome, so we would like it robust from the start.
Have your Say on the Planning of the Blue Mountains the next 4 to 10 years
Blue Mountains have your say
Have Your Say on the proposed action plans for the future of our City of Blue Mountains.
Our City, Our Future Sustainable Blue Mountains - Planning for the next 4 to 10 years
The Council has prepared a number of draft plans for the future of our City, and wishes to invite the views of the community on these plans.
The draft plans are on public exhibition from 26 April to 23 May 2013 and are available for viewing
Looking to Have the DH Trail Open by next week - or soon after!?
Speaking to council there are just a few more assessments and sign-offs that need to be done to be sure the DH trail meets all Commonwealth stipulations. They are desperately working at getting that done as soon as possible and expect it to be done by the end of this week or early next week.
BMCC will be keeping us in the loop because they are more than aware of the excitement and eagerness of riders to start riding the trail. So please hold off for just a few more days until this can all be done officially.
So watch this space or the facebook page.
It's (was) On! Dirt Art Build Day - Sun April 14th 9am
See the calendar entry for more details, but this has now been confirmed as being on.
This would be some more work on the DH including cutting in an extra switchback reroute that was approved by the commonwealth and various grooming and tweaks of the DH trail in preparation of it being opened.
I will add any more details as I get them.
Once again for the late notice but we have only just had it confirmed by council.
2nd Annual Easter Trail Hosting days
As part of our active involvement with the staff in the Blue Mountains National Parks, we will again be holding 2 trail hosting sessions on the Oaks Trail from Woodford to Glenbrook, over the Easter long weekend.
If you recall last year, Wes and the Evil Alan David were setup at the woodford trail head on Sunday. With Michael and Rory setup on the Monday at the start of the single track at Glenbrook.