End of an era? Has Warby suffered the fate of a Nanny MTB State?

[redbruce]

I went to the Yarra valley mtb meeting last Friday and the ranger said, la la is closed because of complaints from locals about shuttle drivers driving like crazy .. my wife almost got put of the road running shuttles for me a couple of weeks ago..
Some of the guys who ride there need to respect the locals..

An issue I have with a trail building company going in and digging is, who will do the maintenance?
Eg 1 coms track lysty... Ldtr do all the work 6 months after someone got paid a bucket load
Eg 2 copperhead .. it's stuffed 1 year after being built for a bucket load

So, what exactly is the point you are making?

What the constructor gets paid has no relationship to the consequential requirement (and cost) of maintenance, unless you are inferring they did a substandard job. Otherwise they are mutually exclusive events.

I think (hope) your point is, now we have invested in well designed and constructed infrastructure, how do we secure sustainable funding and support to maintain it.

We have a meeting out there within the next week, which will also be held with the land manager and DEPI.

Now DEWLP.

 

[latheboy]

I think There should be some sort of maintenance plan included in the original build.

Everything you buy has some sort of warranty, why not trails?

If it's possible to get funding for maintaining the trails that would be fantastic.

 

[cruxpitch]

Warby

There has been a great response to this thread. It has provoked discussion, ideas and empathy.

Overall I agree with some of the points opinions made. Firstly, I totally agree that there has been a select few who drive way too fast and in the middle of the road on the way to the top gate. On numerous occasions I have had to take corrective action to avoid a collision. Secondly, I have witnessed on picking my son up and others from the La La pick up point, vehicles racing down that short access road with music thumping so loud that you can hear them well before you see them. Also, bikes just left all around the carpark making it very difficult for other users of the carpark ( Walkers ) to negotiate a very small space. I have seen angry walkers have a go at bike owners.
On a whole though, I feel that the majority of riders who come to warby are responsible men and women. Often a rider has stopped and asked if i was ok or if i needed a hand.
The guys who have committed their time and efforts into making Warby what it is, should be commended by all and should be the benchmark for the future build. I can only imagine that it has been a thankless job with ongoing maintenance. So many riders are happy to whinge about trails but never do anything to help out and ease the work load.
I have ridden Warby for a long time, but it was only one of those tracks that I kind of rode 2 or 3 times a year. Season just passed, I spent most of my time riding there. I learnt very quickly how to ride the lines required to hold speed and make all the jumps. I felt more and more comfortable each time I rode it.
So, in a perfect world, I do hope that Warby is injected with funding to give the resources necessary for the CURRENT TRAIL BUILDERS to bring it up to Parks requirements. I do hope that La La Falls will not fade away into history but an alternate exit point be developed and the locals who escaped to the Yarra Valley for peace and solitude once again have what they want, as do we.
It will be a sad day if Warby becomes an extension of the Rail Trail down below. What I mean by this is that it is a groomed trail, 2m wide with no soul.
As far as ongoing maintenance goes, Im not even sure how that one will pan out.
Its very easy for us to sit back and want this, wish for that, but the reality is, the trail network will be built with sustainability in mind, erosion prevention, safety, and minimal impact on the local population. I look forward to reading further developments of the Warby network and wish all those involved, a seamless transition to a legal trail network.

 

[frug]

Well said Crux.

I'm a local out here in Warby and as you all know the trail riding out here is amazing.

There are very exciting things planed for Warby and the Warbuton Cycling Hub. The thing to remember is the big picture. Sure there will be changes to trails, but these small changes are huge positive steps in the big picture for the trials out here.

You can all be involved in the the future of these trails. The Yarra Ranges MTB advocacy group will be heavily involved with the future trails. Your financial membership is vital in giving Mountain Biking a legitimate voice in the Yarra Valley and will also provide your voices to the land managers and local government agencies.

Membership details can be found here:http://yrmtb.com.au/

or pop into Yarra Valley Cycles or Cog Bike Cafe for a membership form and payment.

Happy riding!!!

 

[Ezkaton]

We rode Warby today, actually a huge turnout of riders through the first half of the day... Gotta be pushing 20 for sure.

Bit sloppy but an all-round good time was had.
Look forward to the existing trails being made 'official/legal', and of course the new trail network, whenever construction begins!

Long live Warby!

 

[Timbot]

A way forward.

Firstly let me introduce myself. I am one of the main trail builders who along with a core group of committed volunteers have spent the last 10 years evolving the La La Downhill track into what it is today. I am not writing this to get kudos, I have actually tried to remain silent up until now because I do not want to claim ownership in any way shape or form for Mt Bride as we are not the only trail builders on the Hill.

To give some history, when we first found the track in 2005 we saw that it had amazing potential, but was screaming out for a realignment because with its original layout it was evident that it would not be sustainable, long term. This was due to the ever increasing traffic and the fact that the trail was extremely fall line orientated. We could see this resulting in major erosion issues and the track was becoming unrideable. A collective including myself spent countless days, hours and months toiling on this track, it was a labour of love because we all loved riding the tracks. Period. This is why we did it. It was extremely rewarding to create something that we enjoyed riding so much. Now there is a mass of people who also love riding this track, and as the traffic has increased so have the problems in maintaining the integrity of the track.

Alas, as Cruxpitch and Wisey have eluded to unfortunately the actions of a small minority threaten to ruin it for us all. Before I go on, I want to be clear that the current issues around the legalisation of the track are complex and many. However one of the main issues is around the shuttling speeds and local impact this has on residents. In fact this issue has been the main catalyst for the situation we are facing right now. I.e. the official closure.

For years I have personally tried to address these issues (as has all our crew) through closing the La La Trail networks in winter, erecting signs and personally policing abhorrent behaviour, more specifically speeding.

Moving forward let it be said we all love this trail, no one more than me and my crew, but we need to stick together if we are going to be able to influence the end outcome. If you really want to help we need to work within the framework of the YRMTB advocacy group. We will be working very closely with YRMTB to create a loud singular voice for our DH community. The best way for you all to show support is to join and become a member, and then actively support the DH community by attending meetings and generally supporting the cause.

Our crew really appreciates all the support, it means a lot, if anyone wants to chat further then please PM me or Wisey as we would be happy to talk.

Finally, please respect the remaining open trail network during winter (i.e. Matt’s trails) by using common sense regardless of the fact that the trails are not formally closed. In wet weather please steer clear as the more you ride the more work you create and please on arriving and departing adhere to the 30km yellow speed limit signs as this is clearly not being adhered to by a significant portion of riders.

Peace out. Timbot.

 

[redbruce]

I think There should be some sort of maintenance plan included in the original build.

Everything you buy has some sort of warranty, why not trails?

If it's possible to get funding for maintaining the trails that would be fantastic.

Warranty's are for manufacturing faults, not on gong maintenance.

But, yes, a maintenance plan (funding, governance, responsibility) is required.

I have no issue with , indeed encourage community involvement, but responsibility (and fund source) needs to rest with authority responsible for infrastructure.

Firstly let me introduce myself. I am one of the main trail builders who along with a core group of committed volunteers have spent the last 10 years evolving the La La Downhill track into what it is today. I am not writing this to get kudos, I have actually tried to remain silent up until now because I do not want to claim ownership in any way shape or form for Mt Bride as we are not the only trail builders on the Hill.

To give some history, when we first found the track in 2005 we saw that it had amazing potential, but was screaming out for a realignment because with its original layout it was evident that it would not be sustainable, long term. This was due to the ever increasing traffic and the fact that the trail was extremely fall line orientated. We could see this resulting in major erosion issues and the track was becoming unrideable. A collective including myself spent countless days, hours and months toiling on this track, it was a labour of love because we all loved riding the tracks. Period. This is why we did it. It was extremely rewarding to create something that we enjoyed riding so much. Now there is a mass of people who also love riding this track, and as the traffic has increased so have the problems in maintaining the integrity of the track.

Alas, as Cruxpitch and Wisey have eluded to unfortunately the actions of a small minority threaten to ruin it for us all. Before I go on, I want to be clear that the current issues around the legalisation of the track are complex and many. However one of the main issues is around the shuttling speeds and local impact this has on residents. In fact this issue has been the main catalyst for the situation we are facing right now. I.e. the official closure.

For years I have personally tried to address these issues (as has all our crew) through closing the La La Trail networks in winter, erecting signs and personally policing abhorrent behaviour, more specifically speeding.

Moving forward let it be said we all love this trail, no one more than me and my crew, but we need to stick together if we are going to be able to influence the end outcome. If you really want to help we need to work within the framework of the YVMTB advocacy group. We will be working very closely with YVMTB to create a loud singular voice for our DH community. The best way for you all to show support is to join and become a member, and then actively support the DH community by attending meetings and generally supporting the cause.

Our crew really appreciates all the support, it means a lot, if anyone wants to chat further then please PM me and I would be happy to talk.

Finally, please respect the remaining open trail network during winter (i.e. Matt’s trails) by using common sense regardless of the fact that the trails are not formally closed. In wet weather please steer clear as the more you ride the more work you create and please on arriving and departing adhere to the 30km yellow speed limit signs as this is clearly not being adhered to by a significant portion of riders.

Peace out. Timbot.

Unfortunately, all too often the misguided and self centered few wreck it for the rest.

That's why eventually laws, etc, are end up being required to manage society (whether we agree with/like all of them or not). Self regulation is yet to demonstrate its fit for purpose.

Education is good, peer pressure works up to a point, but then policing is the next inevitable level. You need authority for this to have impact.

Question is, is in fact it a pressumed minority, or a growing majority (probably because they don't or accept concepts of understand cause, effect and responsibility) that are at the root of the issue?

 

[Ideate]

Question is, is it the pressumed minority, or a growing majority (probably because they don't or accept concepts of understand cause, effect and responsibility) that are at the root of the issue?

There's a lot of other people that use the roads up there, including random tourists, hoon 4x4 'P' platers, MX trail bikers and convoys of trailers collecting firewood etc. All the people actually shuttling yesterday seemed well-behaved and considerate so I'd guess it's a minority.

 

[teK--]

It'd be a shame if they close the trails and the locals still complain of the same issues. Meaning it was seldom the bikers in the first place.

Also thanks Timbot for the info and all the hard work you guys put in. We really loved the trails and are glad to have enjoyed them whilst they lasted.

 

[McFlurry]

Are you talking downhill or trail riding? If you're talking downhill you're doing it wrong.

Lysty has about 100m vert and is XC only, some may argue there are some more aggressive trails there but not really. You Yangs, whilst has some downhills that are relatively flatish, pedally and huckish (150m vert) its strength is in trail riding, some of the best in the state and yes, can be dry and loose. Warby on the other hand has over 500m vert, is very lush and is custom made for downhill riding or at least the existing trails are anyway.

Bad comparison.

Well I thought I just rode trail style, but as it turns out I'm more of a downhiller. Honest mistake!

I'd be happy to pitch in with trail maintenance etc, will keep an eye out for groups and working bees etc.

 

[Timbot]

Well I thought I just rode trail style, but as it turns out I'm more of a downhiller. Honest mistake!

I'd be happy to pitch in with trail maintenance etc, will keep an eye out for groups and working bees etc.

The best thing you could do at the moment is to join YRMTB and go from there.Cheers.

 

[Ezkaton]

Linking to this thread as more people are likely to visit the DH section.
Warburton trails update:
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/sho...EAD-**********&p=2978600&posted=1#post2978600

 

[cruxpitch]

Warby

Thanks Ezkaton,

I am totally lost for words. Haters will just continue to hate. I think that Warby is in for a tough battle in the future, no matter what gets approved and built. There will always be someone lurking in the shadows waiting for their chance to take out their anger and frustration.

Rich

 

[rednightmare]

So where do these guys fit into the picture: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-At-Warburton-RAW/788532177855386?fref=ts ??

Can't have been too smart to create an open Facebook group for unofficial trails...

 

[Timbot]

Not too smart

So where do these guys fit into the picture: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-At-Warburton-RAW/788532177855386?fref=ts ??

Can't have been too smart to create an open Facebook group for unofficial trails...

This is news to me as I'm not a Facebook user but it defiantly has nothing to do with the La La side of the Hill.

 

[Ezkaton]

This is news to me as I'm not a Facebook user but it defiantly has nothing to do with the La La side of the Hill.

Based on the images, it looks like Matt's new track.

 

[cruxpitch]

Warby

Irrespective of what side of the Hill or Track it is, its bloody vandalism. If every time we did not like what was built or not built, and choose to just go and destroy it, NO ONE would be allowed into any State or National park. We would have to put on our Virtual reality full face Helmut and go shred a trail.
Sooner not Later, Parks are going to be sick of the bickering. No rider, walker or sight seeing individual will be allowed in.


Rich

 

[Ideate]

Irrespective of what side of the Hill or Track it is, its bloody vandalism. If every time we did not like what was built or not built, and choose to just go and destroy it, NO ONE would be allowed into any State or National park. We would have to put on our Virtual reality full face Helmut and go shred a trail.
Sooner not Later, Parks are going to be sick of the bickering. No rider, walker or sight seeing individual will be allowed in.


Rich

What?!..........

 

[dunndog]

What?!..........

He means the damage done to Matts track as in the photos posted earlier..

 

[cruxpitch]

Warby

Thanks dunndog.
Yep. Apologies for the rant. But this is frustrating.