You are hereForums / BMORC News / Open message to BMORC Members
Open message to BMORC Members
Hi BMORC viewers and guests 
It has been brought to my attention that there has been some illegal trail construction taking place in the Blue Mountains council area.
As the group are well aware we do not endorse illegal trail building activity and I would call upon all active members to be vigilant if you hear of anything like this going on. Let us know so we can follow up.
I am led to believe that this activity is taking place in an area that is signposted "no riding" so these individuals are clearly flouting the council bylaws.
As you will recall the residents of Nichols parade have campaigned for the preservation and rehabilititation of the bushland at the end of their street and also have been actively involved with the Old Bathurst Rd site and whilst initially displaced from places to ride we are glad that the residents had the foresight to expose this new trail construction. It has taught us to appreciate that we can win legal trails and make them a sustainable resource for the community.
Blue Mountains Council were very quick to react with the southern trails on Old Bathurst Rd rehabilitated the week following the rehabiliation effort at Nichols Parade which was good news for the bush and the residents!
As a group we need to remember that the persons responsible for blazing the trails at the two closed sites had no trail buiding experience, did not employ any sustaninable trail techniques, were not affilaiated with any mountain bike group and had no concern for local residents or the environment.
Blue Mountains Off Road Cyclists does care about the environment, that is why we are moving forward with our efforts to create sustainable mountain bike trails that meet all the criteria set out by the council and the independant consultants employed to oversee the process.
Please if you find out any further information let us know.
BMORC will be contacting council again to let them know that we will be available to remediate the affected areas as soon as they are clearly identified.
Thanks Kingy
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
I have received a phone call this evening relating to the "Jump" it appears some local kids that ride BMX have a made a single jump in bush behind their street, my only hope is that the local residents dont attritribute this activity to mountain bike riders who have shown a good deal of self control and respect by not riding in these areas..
How ironic, locals lobby and have trails closed to riders, then their 'alledged' own kids build jumps in a forbidden area to riders. Unfortunately as access to these areas is restricted and with young family demographics in the Lower Mountains we are going to find this happening more and more.
The only way to stop it is educating people, which is what we are all trying to do through forums such as this.
Kingy it might be a good idea to post a map of the areas in Knapsack which are forbidden to ride, to prevent any road blocks for us in moving forward.
The scope of the signs at OBR and Nichols Pde are not possible to precisely define their scope on a map. They refer to "in this reserve" but technically can refer to the reservce as a whole across to Glenbrook which puts it in opposition to the POM. The original council resolution also was only for DH riding but the sign has obviously exceeded this scope as well.
Having discussed this with the relevant people in council they agree but said there was no other way to enforce it that in this broad manner even though it is very grey in its scope. Hence why basically we just say don't ride anywhere in those areas where the signs are.
Speaking to kids in the area, most seem to ride their BMX' at the skate park at Glenbrook but I guess that is quite far away for most in suburbs further north from the highway. Re-establishing the authorised jump part area that is in the vicinity would probably be of help to alleviate this pressure.
At this stage I am not jumping the gun on whi is responsible for the jump, It harks back to a lack of amenities, which as we know is not a problem unique to the mountains or indeed Australia, kids being kids they don't see the harm in shovellng a few barrow loads of dirt into a moound and then going for gold.
Education is no doubt the answer perhaps we need to approach schools and have a work shop on correct ettiquette when it comes to using the bush?
These situations happen more than we would like to admit I guess we just font see them so much in our area, I have heard of scaled down moto cross bikes creating jump parks in the mountains, radio controlled cars that run on petrol burning up old downhill tracks.
It is a very hard situation that for sure.
To answer your question regarding off limit riding areas at this stage I am not aware of any areas being off limits however, you will notice that we are not actively promoting the string line downhill alignment which is an adapted walking trail which has been utilised infrequently over the years, we feel that this trail which was originally used by walkers to access the look outs from the bottom fireroad junction adjacent to Mitchells Pass is not a purpose built trail and it's characteristics are not in keeping with the IMBA standard for sustainability.
So on that premise we have been avoiding the track until such times as remediation work is scheduled to commence.
I would also recommend steering clear of off beat looking trails that are not immediately obvious, until such times as the trails are properly identified many smaller areas ghat have been used may be rationilsed and returned to the bush.
The unfortunate thing about the trails which have been associated with downhill bikes are they all share one common trait, that being that none have been designed and built using recognised standards with regards to sustainability.
So on one front as a riders advocating for trail access we do not have a downhill track that can be presented as a good example of what is possible, instead we have inherited the poison chalice of having these adopted walking trails which are actively being promoted as examples of what downhill tracks are going to look like.
Consequently the concerned residents that live adjacent to these old walking tracks have a negative view towards establishing any downhill tracks based on the assumption that there will be a negative outcome for the environment.
I only hope that as the reporting phase of the Knapsack draws closer that the many individuals who have been advocating both fore and against the project have been dedicated enough to visit the site research the readily available information and contemplate the concept of sustainable trails.
Only then can the various groups rest comfortable with the council's decision.
I trust the Blue Mountains City Council to make the right decision, I hope that what ever way the decision goes that the individuals who have been advocating for the protection of the bush will be standing beside me when the time comes to physically regenerate affected areas, I hope that they understand that it is a huge undertaking and that at then of the day we will eventually need to work together if the desired positive outcomes for the bush are to be acheived.
Kicking us out of an area will not rehabilitate the environment only people with hand and hearts will.
@muninjitsu, there is ZERO forbbidon zones in knapsack, all existing tracks are legal to ride on.
@Kingy, keep us updated if we will be rehabilitating so I can make time to help.
As outlined in my post as individuals we need to make judgement calls on what is right or not, as I said if something looks old and is growing back steer clear of it!
It looks like the days of heading out on your bike, mates in tow, and riding around the bush until tea time are well and truly gone! We wouldn't want any kids responsible for "illegal" trail development.
Times have certainly changed for riding around the bush, if Knapsack was NP there would be no hope. As for residents worrying about the bush at Old Bathurst, they are more concerned with the bikes/riders likening them/us to riff raff. Having these sort of people hanging around the front of your house is less than desirable for residents. Like any group though there is always a minority that do the wrong thing. Good thing here though is that we all have the one goal in mind, and when its time to turn the first sod, im happy to pitch in.