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Anniversary of the Closure of Old Bathurst Road
Well it is one year now since the fatefull council meeting in Katoomba when the Business Paper presented the plan to formalise a part of the trails at OBR and close the trail at Nichol's Pde. It seemed a reasonably good compromise at the time but the plan was resolutely squashed. There were only 8 riders there that night and we were trounced. We were disorganised and completely unaware of the opposition and disinformation that was going around.
It became obvious that some kind of advocacy group was required to present a unified voice for riders, and after discussing it on the street that night the plan was to create one. Hence about a week latter at the Lapstone Hotel the BMORC was started.
So in a year a lot has been done, but we are still waiting on some hard trail results. A lot of good work has been done forming understanding and relationships with some of the councillors and with the BMCC staff. We have also worked with the community to try and improve the image of mountain bikers and what the general mindset is of a rider with respect to the environment and society. We have greater communication and understanding with conservationist groups I think in both directions. Also I think we have a better riding community now in the mountains that was lacking before.
So hopefully within the next few months we get some results that mean that the motion presented that night to find another location can actually come to fruition.
A lot is being done behind the scenes and we appreciate everyone retaining interest and discipline as we wait on approvals. We do think it will be worth the wait.
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Yes, a year since the closure of OBR, and even though things are moving in the right direction, well I think they are, it still feels like it is taking so long for anything tangible to occur. 12 Months and we still have not turned one shovel of dirt, or been able to start on creating and adjusting the Knapsack tracks to ensure that they are made into a sustainable and well laid out course. In addition I still feel annoyed that Knapsack will provide one DH track, hopefully, yet we lost many more than that at OBR. We the riders have respected the track closures, yet I feel thus far we have received very little in return.
I am try hard to keep a positive mindset and hope that Knapsack can be the show piece of how mountain biking and the environment, including locals, can operate together, and to further demonstrate that people that ride enjoy the bush and appreciate the environment as much as other users of the land.
Keeping my fingers crossed that soon we can start to get going on Knapsack, before I am ready to retire!
Define bicycle, does this actually restrict unicyclists? Dont worry Im not one to ride the trail to find out, im just curious to know where the 'unicycle' fits into the picture.
Be patient with council, they will get to a decision in there own good time, meanwhile enjoy the tracks while they are open.
Good post Mark
BMORC is about off road cyclists, unicycles are ridden by cyclists, off road so you ar defintely in our group and part of what BMORC stands for rest assured.
So as far as the trails go I would not test the water, it's a waiting game that's for sure.
I had no intention of testing it, i support what you guys stand for.
The sign is an interesting one because the council resolution was against downhill bikes on the escarpment and the sign covers all bikes in the reserve, whatever that is which is very broad and very vague in some ways. This could have been tested in many ways but thankfully everyone has accepted this broad definition and we have gone the legit way.
How are munis on DH tracks anyway?
All depends on the rider. We used to ride this track, except for the stepped section. But not anymore. Knapsack is our playground now.