Having been in the advocacy game for more than 5 years now I was pondering the concept of the “quick win”. You know, where people ask for access from land managers, have them say “yes” and get in and build?

I must admit, I’m beginning to wonder if such a beast exists at all…

You see, in order to demonstrate to a land manager a long standing need for facilities, there needs to have been, umm, well, a long standing need. What this means is that although you might have only just asked for a particular set of facilities, bets are on that others have been asking for something similar for a fair while before you get the go-ahead.

Take the dirt jump project that I’ve been working on in Canberra for over 4 years now. We’ve finally got high level Government support, and this is great, but it took one of the Members of the Legislative Assembly to write a letter saying “this has been on the table for 4 years now, and we see the merit in it and think it should go ahead” before that high level support came through. Had a letter been sent saying “someone came in last week with this as a proposal and we think it has merit”, I doubt that the outcome would be the same.

Yes, it seems that like it or not, trail advocacy is usually going to be a long process, not one of lots of quick wins. So, settle in for the long haul and really take pleasure in the fruits of your labours (and the labours of your predecessors) when they finally do see the light of day.

I was thinking about the post “Mountain Bikers Care About Wild Places” in conjunction with the recent “….tap, tap, tap …..” forum post regarding the aging mountain biking demographics as I rode along yesterday.

I mountain bike because its fun, challenging and it puts me out in the bush in differing conditions regularly (and my family like me better if I have got out and thought and spun).

My appreciation of the sport grows as I get older. I think it is one of the few sports that a person can do for life and that the people who enjoy mountain biking average in their 30’s is not surprising as to enjoy the sport is not generally a cheap one nor is it one that can be learned overnight. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m lucky. I can ride out my garage and be on the dirt in five minutes. I can be in a park in 20, and then have trail and fireroad choices that can keep me out longer than I can ride. The Santa Monica mountain range in Los Angeles cuts 60 miles or so east-west from the Hollywood sign to the Pacific Ocean. Twenty miles offshore, the Channel Islands are mountaintops from the same range. Read the rest of this entry »

Hello All,

Below and attached are some details on a very important chance to gain more equitable access for cycling on land managed by the Sydney Catchment Authority. Some of you are already aware of this and some have put submissions in already.

Please, if you are a cyclist living in the Sydney Region (read anywhere within 200km of Sydney) or if you have a general interest in cycling access, read the documents, put in your own submission (as an individual or perhaps representing a cycling club or organisation). Also please pass on these details to any of your friends, contacts, who you feel may have an interest in pushing for change to these regulations. After many years of high level meetings and correspondence with the SCA I should tell you that there is NO point in to arguing for access for XC trail loops, trail building, events etc etc. What we are trying to open up to cyclists is permission to ride existing roads and management trails within SCA managed Special Areas. To achieve such would be a substantial victory over an organization that sees exclusion as the easiest form of management.

The article from Mountain Biking Australia magazine [here] will give some background for those who do not have it already.

Best regards,

Huw Kingston

A ONCE IN A DECADE CHANCE TO OBTAIN BETTER CYCLING ACCESS TO SYDNEY CATCHMENT AUTHORITY MANAGED LANDS.

The Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) is carrying out a review of its General Regulations, the rules that govern what can and can’t be done in the huge tracts of land they manage or jointly manage to protect Sydney’s water supply. This is a once in a decade opportunity to argue for cycling access to roads and management trails that is currently banned. Whilst over the years the cycling community had been promised consultation on the new regulations, the SCA has drafted new regulations without prior consultation and then made these available on May 2 for public comment. The Draft Regulations are even more draconian than the ones they replace and it is vitally important that any riders with an interest in riding classic routes such as Katoomba to Mittagong, make submission on these regulations. A joint submission has been prepared by MTBA and Bicycle NSW and this is attached. You can also read the Draft Sydney Water Catchment Management Regulation 2008 and associated Regulatory Impact Statement [here] by close of business on 6 June 2008.

Whilst a date of 30 May 2008 is given for Submissions we have been given an extension of one week. So please make submission to [regulations@sca.nsw.gov.au] by close of business on 6 June 2008.

For any further information contact Huw Kingston on 0418 977609 or email: huw [at] wildhorizons.com.au

Download Submission to SCA on Draft Regulations.doc [here]

Discuss [here]