ACT Best of Canberra Mountain Bike Experience Workshops

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Done, if variation of dates the comments are due by is anything to go by it's going to be a long road.

Para 2 "consultation until Monday 2 November"
Para 4 "email before 5pm Tuesday 3 November"
We need the hand slapping face emoji.
Yeah it seems to have become more disorganised since Covid - and I guess the election probably distracted things further.

But the Greens are supportive (they made a submission) and Labor made the Stromlo to Cotter link an election promise, so one would hope that at the very least that would get under way sooner rather than later.

Fingers crossed.
 

Litenbror

Eats Squid
Yeah it seems to have become more disorganised since Covid - and I guess the election probably distracted things further.

But the Greens are supportive (they made a submission) and Labor made the Stromlo to Cotter link an election promise, so one would hope that at the very least that would get under way sooner rather than later.

Fingers crossed.
Oh yeah that's just me being picky. I do believe they will get it going quickly and the money they saved on proof reading can go into the trails.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Oh yeah that's just me being picky. I do believe they will get it going quickly and the money they saved on proof reading can go into the trails.
Bahaha, yes.

FWIW I've spoken to the people behind the planning and they're super keen about it. Once the report is finalised it'll be about hassling the politicians to keep things moving.

The fact that it was specifically mentioned during the election is encouraging.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
If they do that trail out to Blue Range, and the Murrumbidgee Discovery trail, I can ride that all as one big loop from my front door.

Would be epic. Emailing now.
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
This is my submission, I am keen to learn how the link trail will operate so included it as it is definitely going ahead...

I am very impressed with the report, it is thorough and includes a lot of good options for the future of MTB in Canberra. I have lived in Canberra for 20 years in the Weston Creek area and frequent Stromlo Forest Park for MTB riding, part of the rationale for moving here was the MTB trails available on my doorstep.

One thing I wanted to query was whether the link trail to Cotter will be a one way downhill with a separate climbing trail, and if not whether the faster/steeper downhill segments will be one way with options for climbing separately such as climb trails linking with fire trails? I feel like people will want to ride it both ways and that just having a shuttle if it was only one way downhill would exclude riders keen for a long climb.
 

BrindiCruiser

Likes Dirt
My email

I am excited to have my say and support the report. I have been mountain biking in Canberra for more than 20 years. I have lived OS and in other parts of Australia, and chose to live in Canberra partly because of the accessibility and quality of mountain bike trails.

I have seen the ACT become the leader in mountain biking in Australia, and then gradually slip down the leaderboard compared to other national destinations. I appreciate the effort that has gone into the report and look forward to the implementation. I realise that COVID an elections have slowed down the process and it would be great to get these good ideas and plans implemented as a priority.

Trail plans in the region are moving with real investments by state governments and regions. Interstate the bar has also been raised quite a lot, and many of my interstate riding friends have started travelling to the newer destinations instead of the ACT. I have many friends who have travelled to Canberra to ride at Stromlo or at events held on nearby riding areas. eg Kowan. However, in recent years this has slowed down quite a lot and I hear more about friends and mates travelling interstate to experience the new trail networks.

I believe ACT needs new aspirational trail experiences like the ones discussed below. I note that much of the existing trail network has strong network volunteer trail builders and maintenance. I have participated in these and have also organised 3 seperate trail building days using volunteer labour provided by my workplace volunteer program. (10 people x 2 different days working with Kowalski Brothers to build trails and to close down inappropriate trails.) I do think that
we can come up with better ways of working with volunteers and professional trail builders. It would be great to have more clarity on the role or trail maintainers and the ability to influence priorities and see updates on work done. Some feedback into the social networking sites would be handy too.

If we get some more focus on implementing the plan, then I think it will reinvigorate and uplift our market share and position Canberra as Australia’s mountain bike capital. While planning and talking can generate a buzz, it will be even more useful when the new experiences are ready.

In my view, the areas that offer the best potential for the development of new trails are:

  1. a new long term trail network at Blue Range in the Uriarra Forest area
  2. a new ‘flow trail’ from Stromlo Forest Park to Cotter Recreation Reserve (Stoney Creek Nature Reserve) with a return climb that can be ridden by riders as a loop (and not just a shuttle track), noting this was an election commitment;
  3. better connecting trails between Arboretum and Stromlo Forest Park;
  4. a recreation trail network at Cotter Recreation Area; and
  5. a new shared-use trail along the Murrumbidgee Discovery Track

Personally, I would also like more flexibility to create simple local suburban loops in the Canberra urban parks in the green space that intersect places like Campbell but also many other suburbs, and to join up a network of mountain bike trails with some of the bike paths.

Thanks for doing the report. The trails in Canberra are overflowing with mountain bikers as COVID encourages outdoor well spaced out sport and the next generation of mountain bikers are riding with their parents and family members. This is a timely report that plans out the next major trail areas and initiatives
  • particularly as other plantation based areas have been decimated or reduced;
  • as Stromlo struggles to cope with increased local crowds and
  • the appeal of interstate destinations increases.

I can't wait for it to be implemented!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nzhumpy

Googlemeister who likes bikes and scandal
Done, I tapped out a quick message on my phone as I'm away for a long weekend but just stating how I visit regularly primarily for the trials etc.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Done, I tapped out a quick message on my phone as I'm away for a long weekend but just stating how I visit regularly primarily for the trials etc.
Brilliant, thank you.

That's now nine emails I know of from Rotorburn over the last couple of days - can we smash out a few more?

@bear the bear @johnny @T-Rex @damo666 @PDub @lucifuge@D01@sc. @slimjim1@SF Trailboy @RichJS @peanut @Shinigami @Kramer

This is of course open for anyone not from Canberra who thinks they might be up for visiting some new trail...

Feels like a Telethon!
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Hey Canberra riders and others who like the trails here.

Time for me to hassle you all again. It's budget time, and while the response to the draft report was really positive, let's just say I have it on really good authority that mountain bikers are among the least engaged community members when it comes to agitating for investment from our politicians.

While the Stromlo to Cotter flow trail was an election commitment for both Labor and The Greens, there's not a specific dollar figure attached to that as yet. The bigger development at Blue Range is just an aspiration at this point.

We have about one week to get agitating, and there's a few ways to do it:

The easiest way is to use COVID-19 recovery budget survey, where they ask what you think should be prioritised in the 21/22 ACT budget:


There's also an email address.

I don't think it's an exaggeration that expanding trail in Canberra is of significant benefit to the region; health, jobs and especially tourism.

So let's tell them how we feel. Will only take a few minutes, and those of you who submitted to the consultation should already have some thoughts you can draw upon.

Thanks everyone!



@droenn @bear the bear @Scotty T @Haakon @johnny @T-Rex @nzhumpy @Litenbror @damo666 @BrindiCruiser @PDub @lucifuge@D01@sc. @slimjim1@SF Trailboy @RichJS @peanut @Shinigami @Kramer
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Hey Canberra riders and others who like the trails here.

Time for me to hassle you all again. It's budget time, and while the response to the draft report was really positive, let's just say I have it on really good authority that mountain bikers are among the least engaged community members when it comes to agitating for investment from our politicians.

While the Stromlo to Cotter flow trail was an election commitment for both Labor and The Greens, there's not a specific dollar figure attached to that as yet. The bigger development at Blue Range is just an aspiration at this point.

We have about one week to get agitating, and there's a few ways to do it:

The easiest way is to use COVID-19 recovery budget survey, where they ask what you think should be prioritised in the 21/22 ACT budget:


There's also an email address.

I don't think it's an exaggeration that expanding trail in Canberra is of significant benefit to the region; health, jobs and especially tourism.

So let's tell them how we feel. Will only take a few minutes, and those of you who submitted to the consultation should already have some thoughts you can draw upon.

Thanks everyone!



@droenn @bear the bear @Scotty T @Haakon @johnny @T-Rex @nzhumpy @Litenbror @damo666 @BrindiCruiser @PDub @lucifuge@D01@sc. @slimjim1@SF Trailboy @RichJS @peanut @Shinigami @Kramer
Do you have to create an account to take the survey? It won't let me click anything.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Do you have to create an account to take the survey? It won't let me click anything.
Yeah apparently.

Although if you don’t want to there’s an email address there too.

Contacting the office of Andrew Barr and the environment minister as well as the Green’s guy directly is worthwhile.
 
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