Hornsby Shire Mountain Bike Alliance

NPWS themselves have arrange for World Trail to run a workshop on the 17 and 18 April 2010. Its exciting to see that NPWS are seeking to learn the best techniques available for trail building. The understanding that design techniques can be used to improve the wear resistance is vital in making judgements about trail locations and construction in the future. Research shows that it is generally not the type of use that ruins a trail, it is normally poor designs that ruin trails. At the moment a lot of the examples that have been presented to the council are unsustainable trails. Trails running directly down the fall line of a hill (thus leading to the water running along the trail creating erosion) have been presented as proof that mtbs destroy trails. This is wrong but unfortunately this is what our decision makers are being presented with again and again. It is encouraging to see NPWS taking the steps to learn the facts. Lets hope our local Councilors and council managers follow the lead of NPWS and take the time to learn the truth about sustainable trail techniques.