Caution! Trail Sabotage in Nerang

[Ridenparadise]

Happy New Year from SE Qld, but beware if you are riding Nerang.

Over the last 6 months vandals have been pulling flagging ribbon (no big deal except for the litter), knocking down trail monuments and corrals and cutting down small trees and blocking trail with them. More recently bridges have been broken and today we removed many rocks placed on downhill sections of Centre fire road (Three Hills). Whoever did that, did it since 7 last night when we finished trailwork.

Main lines were blocked as well as secondary lines and there were smaller stones positioned off the main lines to catch riders trying to swerve and avoid the rocks (or logs). Thing is less confident riders use the fire roads, so it was someone less capable of avoiding an accident (like families) who could get hurt. Nasty. We talked to a family of walkers who said they saw them too and had taken logs off farther up the trail.

Something bad is going on and when I was young, a teenager was beheaded (on a moto) by a single strand of wire strung at neck height a few hundred metres from houses. There are previous examples of escalating MTB sabotage including by an American psychiatrist a year ago.

Keep your eyes open. Take photos. Be aware this sort of person does want to hurt someone. QPWS rangers have been informed and may take this to the police.

MTBtrailcare

 

[MrZ32]

Does anyone have any night vision gear? Maybe some of us could do a stake out? Im all for sorting out these low life scum

 

[Mitch243]

I've got a ball bearing slingshot. No nightvision gear though. Wrecking the brain dead muppet won't be good for the community though.

After hearing of some seriously horrid incidents while living in Tassie the past four years, this kinda shit is so low and criminal.
People need to wake up to themselves.

Thanks for posting.

 

[brisneyland]

http://www.trailcampro.com

 

[JP]

I'd take photos etc and go to the cops myself. I'd also get anyone you know who has come across these things to go to the cops. Parks are good at this kind of thing but sometimes how hard they pursue it is dependant on the ranger involved.

 

[oriion]

This happened in Mt Tamborine and around parkwood woodlands in the late 80's as well, several people were seriously injured by assholes placing wirelines and putting obstacles in the tracks.
My brother and i used to ride motos in the parkwood area, and we photographed heaps of deliberate obstacles. ended up being pissed off locals and neighbours that got tired of the moto noise, even though it was legal to ride there.

 

[MudRhino]

This happens in Victoria in 4WD populated areas with spikes belts in the ground etc.

We have a suspicion it was caused by locals who were over the noise that the vehicles were making, and the locals wanted to scare people off.

Obviously mtb's are not noisy - but still always a possibility that someone just got fed up. Did any of this happen close to houses? It may be for the same reasons.

Also - this may help if the issue continues - hunters have little camo cameras available that they mount on trees, which are movement activated and have night vision - might be useful if it continuous.

 

[wavike]

May be the same person/s that have been trashing the bridges over the last couple of months. Saw police on a 4 wheeler out on the fire roads last week, first time in 6 yrs I've seen them. A mate came across a weirdoo a couple of months back over near Wimps. He had a large dog and was breaking a bridge, mate was solo so keep away..... Is a folding saw considered a concealable weapon?

 

[Hugor]

This happens from time to time in WA.
Its usually targeting the pissed dirt bike riders using the trails late at night to avoid the roads.
Always makes me nervous about using trails first thing in the morning.
There was an incident recently where someone was altering downhill technical trail features deliberately making them unstable and dangerous.

Regardless of the motif these pricks need to be heavily charged and publicly made an example of.

I realise budgets are always tight in mtb clubs, but if this was a repeating trend, investing a grand on 5 of these trail cams could be money well spent.

 

[mars mtb]

Hey guys,

Perhaps contact local officials and local media as such acts could really hurt someone.

I think this is actually Malfeasance which is distinguished by an intention to cause harm by doing an act which should not be done that is deliberate and knowing.

Getting this message out through different avenues may helps to stop the cretins doing the damage if they know they would be in very deep shit if caught.

I have twice confronted people I have caught in the act and took their pics and told them I was reporting them to Police as I knew someone badly injured by their acts. I was bluffing as no one was actually hurt and I just wanted them to not do it again, but they shit themselves big time.

Hope your trails are ok.

Mars.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We went up Three Hills for a ride this afternoon (after riding Hinze Dam). No new issues in that small area.

wavike, I think you may be right about the bridges and the other acts of vandalism. If you have a description of that weirdo (esp was it one big dog, or a large black one and 2 little brown and white ones), PM me and I will get it to the ranger and to the cops.

In Nerang, thanks to the equestrians, the fire roads are not national park. There are under police jurisdiction, but police and parks work together. The recent activity by the police and rangers is related to motos. They are trying to get them out again. I suppose it is possible that could be related to the vandalism too, but I don't know and it is up to QPWS and the cops to investigate and enforce stuff.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Just an update. There is ongoing damage to trails in the Nerang National Park. One of the club riders was reportedly hurt on a sabotaged bridge on Happy Valley last weekend. I spoke with local police today (looks like some evil shit went down near the velodrome). One of them asked about the trail vandalism and gave me his direct contact to report what is going on. He said they were working with QPWS rangers to sort that and moto riders in the park.

So please, if you see evidence of sabotaged trail, including rocks and logs on trails, trees cut and placed across trail, bridge damage, corral points and decorative monuments damaged or moved etc, report them to me, or to the Gold Coast MTB Club via their Facebook page and we will get the information to police. Whoever it is doing this intends to hurt someone and they seem to be upping the ante as time goes on. Thanks for your vigilance and help.