imba australia autumn edition 2014
DESCRIPTION
IMBA Australia Autumn Edition Newsletter, sharing our latest achievements. IMBA Australia creates, enhances and protects great trail experiences for Australian mountain bike riders, to advocate for access, to gain recognition as the authority on all aspects of MTB trail management and to become the pre-eminent source of professional advice. Get out there and ride!TRANSCRIPT
Autumn Edition 2014
IMBA AUSTRALIANEWS
Contents
Sutter 480 Down Under......................................1
The Fox CORE Loop............................................8
Watch This Space..................................................8
November Road Show in Victoria...................10
Watch This Space Too.............................................10
IMBA-Au Goes Troppo.........................................11
The Soul of IMBA...................................................12
IMBA-Au The Land Down Under.....................14
Sutter 480 Down Under
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The first I ever heard of this purpose built trail building dozer was back in 2002 when
Joey Klein and Pete Webber from IMBA first came to visit. We were still building
trails with hand tools, so it blew our minds and seemed to be an impossible dream
to import this kind of specialist equipment, made in the USA , to our fair Land Down
Under. Well so I thought.
Then in 2011, IMBA sent Tony Boone out to Australia to assist with some workshops and trail
design tasks. Tony can tell it better but he has spent over twenty five years using this type of
machinery to cut sweet flowing trail. Naturally on his visit Tony was selling the virtues of the
dozer and how much prime trail we could smash out in the right conditions. The machine would
“cut through the hillside like it’s a big old slab of butter!” to quote Tony. Before I knew what was
happening, Tony had organised to send a dozer over to Australia. One thing led to another and
IMBA Australia were asked to lease the dozer in Australia and keep it in good order. Not really
our core business but certainly with this kind of machinery I was hoping we could help trail
contractors to reduce trail construction costs. Hence we were keen to help Sutter promote the
dozer down under.
With minor projects completed in Lysterfield (Vic), Horn-sby (NSW), Blue Mountains (Pony Express, NSW) and Craig-burn Farm (SA) during the remainder of 2011 and 2012, I can speak highly of the dozer product. Kick ass bench cut! No messing about. And the pace this machine can chew through the hill is mind boggling if not jaw dropping. This machine has reduced grown men to tears, grovelling on the ground. I kid you not; just as Tony promised.
Anyway, there was not much uptake in the latter half or 2012 so the plan was to put me through some intensive training on the machine so I could teach others and com-munities how to use the machine whereby they could save costs on operator expenses etc. Thanks to Melrose Over the Edge and Bartagunyah Winery we came up with a plan to teach some of us how to use the dozer and the bonus was some hyper flow trail for the Super D course out there in the hills surrounding Melrose (SA).
With some fairly rigorous training from Tony, the next step was to bring the Dozer to Fox Creek and then that saga be-gan! (See “Nearly the Whole Story” in this Issue). This expe-rience has me convinced. The combo of mini-dozer and mini excavator can create some truly inspirational trail experi-ences. Certainly, the dozer can make a big impact so it may not be the best tool for every trail project, but it can still be light on its feet with a skilled operator. If there is an op-portunity to really move some dirt then the dozer can again take the trail construction to an unprecedented level. I am sold on this machine and I can recommend it for any large trail project where the vegetation is thick and the soil gener-ous. Even in rocky ground this thing can make life easier for
sure, but you will need to
rotate jack hammers and/or the mini ex to the front to keep the pace up on really tough ground.
Nevertheless, at Fox Creek, where the heavy clay soils are deep and the rocks are soft, the dozer just sliced though the terrain to bring the trail visions to reality. No more avoiding steep slopes. This machine allows you to build trail in the steepest terrain exceptionally easily. With the six way adjust-able blade as well, the machine allows the operator to carve bike specific shapes into berms, booters and jumps. Want some camber, here you go..... massive pile of dirt.
Certainly some have been appalled at the level of distur-
bance created by the dozer, yet from experience I know it is
important to get the foundation of the trail set well because
within twelve months in this part of the country, the trail will
be over grown if no one is riding it! With some clever trail
finishing techniques and blending of the back slope, plus the
old IMBA technique of reintroducing the leaf litter to the trail
corridor, even the dozer cut starts to look a little lighter on
the landscape. I am confident that in 10 years, few would
notice that the CORE loop was built by machinery because
nature will have softened all the hard edges of the new trail.
Besides, most will be too busy buzzing along the trail with
an epic grin on their face to notice anything other than the
flow line!
To follow are some before and after shots to help paint the
picture of what this amazing machine can provide, but also
demonstrate that the initial disturbance in the early stages
of trail construction can be mitigated with clever design and
contentious rehabilitation of the trail corridor to create low
impact trails.
2
Before 1 Descent
After 1 Descent
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21st December 2013
4th May 2013
3
Before Before
5 Switchbacks turns - 3
5 Switchbacks turns - 4
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14th September 2012
8th November 2012
13th September 2012
21st December 2013
4
Before: The Big Traverse
After: The Big Traverse
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14th September 2012
8th May 2013
5
Before: Log Slide Feature
After: Log Feature
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Log Feature December 2013
6
The big traverse corner
Yes a dozer has been through here. Admittedly we are using an old road bench, but this picture shows how “light on it’s tracks” the dozer can be.
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16th September 2013
21st December 2013
7
After 1 Ascent
Before 1 Ascent
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21st December 2013
4th May 2013
Watch This Space
The dream formulated many years ago. Scoping the terrain
became an obsession, and then began five years of gentle
advocacy with Forestry SA. Funding came through the Office
for Rec and Sport which was managed by Bike SA and SAM-
BA. So, with approval and some modest funds, we moved
to the next phase - ten weeks of design / flagging the trail
alignment, which included cutting a pilot hole through thick
woodland of blackberry and feral pines, some of it mashed
into a gigantic pick up sticks set where previous pine felling
had been left to rot. At some stages the design team was
walking 2m above the natural soil across the fallen pines. It
was very hard core trail design! Furthermore, some parts of
the trail are located in a very steep valley with side-slopes
of up to 80%. This made walking on wet hill sides tricky,
whereby IMBA Aust Trail Consultant, Stu Clement began to
use his sprigged “footy” boots after the first day just to get
some traction! I used an old golf club to hack through the
black berries. Eventually, we got through and the loop was
approved by Forestry. Oh yeah!
Due to the modest budget of the grant, whereby only a
portion of the grant application was awarded, professional
trail construction was not viable. Therefore another model
of construction was needed to be considered to complete
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The Fox CORE LoopNearly The Whole Story
8
the project. The community model. The dozer was in SA,
SAMBA were keen to dig more new trail and I really didn’t
want to be the one who let this dream slip through my
fingers. This was the last chance to make it happen so I bit
the bullet and decided IMBA Au could provide this service
while working with volunteers to deliver a demonstration
trail of the IMBA guidelines. It was now or never so I chose
now (then)!
This means we were finally ready to start construction, but
it meant a lot of chain saw work before we could even get
the machine going. Ultimately there was nearly 4 full weeks
of chain saw work to cut the corridor, and 170 hours of 480
Sutter Trail Dozer grunt. Following this, we had the pleasure
of investing countless hours on the hand tools to ensure
super groomed flow on the “Green Smoothie Descent” but
also to make sure drainage and back-slopes were optimal
where we could on the ascending part of the loop. Most
importantly, this new loop is also a demonstration of what
the Sutter 480 dozer can do in Australia. I am impressed
and I think anyone who rides the trail will be too!
The whole loop is overlayed across 180m vertical, from bot-
tom to top and down again. The climb meanders up the
Site of the new mini skill park at Lysterfield lake park. We look forward to working with Parks Victoria and the Lysterfield district riders once again!
Watch This Space
hill at 5% average with a few gradient pinches and then the
descent is designed to maximise the elevation with the no
pedalling, no braking and plenty of pumping action
philosophy, to make it feel like a very long indulgence in
gravity; again with average grades of 5%. Depending on
which combination of single track one uses, the loop can be
9 or 10 km, with about 6km of new climbing single track
(Middle Earth) and 2.5 km of flowing descent to make it a
loop.
From a trail network design point of view, the new CORE
Loop at Fox Creek (SA) has been retro fitted to the trail net-
work to maximise use of elevation, link top and bottom car
parks as well as provide progressive trail experiences for a
broad range or MTB riders.
Essentially, this trail is the culmination of everything I have
learnt in terms of trail design and construction. Many helped
to make the vision live. Thank you. It is hard evidence that
trails built to IMBA specification do not need to be dull.
Apart from a couple of mistakes, this trail is a very literal
interpretation of the guidelines. IMBA is the link. The guide-
lines work. This trail is rated Green Circle but enjoyed by all.
It pays homage to the stacked loop concept for trail network
design, the core loop being the centre of everything. I give
you Fox CORE!
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Special thanks to Bike SA, Forestry SA, Sutter Equipment,
MTBA, Inside Line DH MTB Club, SAMBA, The Human Projec-
tiles, and many volunteers. You all played a part in making
this trail! Big or small your contribution counts!
I was only too pleased to hit the road for IMBA-Au again last
November to deliver a series of sustainable trails workshops
and consultations across Victoria. First stop was the You
Yangs where around 25 Parks Vic staff from across the state
gathered for a 2 day forum on MTB management and
sustainable trail design.
Anyone who’s ridden the You Yangs would know it’s right
up there among Australia’s premier MTB trail networks, but
less obvious to the casual visitor is how successful the park
has been behind the scenes as a model of good MTB trail
management. Mark Urquhart and other You Yangs Rangers
shared some of their successes and challenges while I pro-
vided the IMBA perspective on a range of MTB management
issues. We were also fortunate to have some industry input
with World Trail’s Grant Suckling attending together
with Forrest’s entertaining and passionate Norm Douglas.
Parks Vic have MTB trail development well and truly on their
agenda so the workshop was aimed at helping Parks Vic staff
replicate the success of the You Yangs as a MTB facility in
other parts of the state.
After an (all-too-brief) mid-week visit to our good friends
with the fine trails at Mt Buller, a second workshop for the
trip was held with the Alpine Cycling Club at Bright in north-
east Vic-toria, attended by about a dozen keen riders &
diggers from around the region. It’s yet another Aussie
location with not only a great array of existing trails but vast
untapped MTB potential… definitely one to watch over the
next few years as an emerging cycling mecca.
Just a few days later we held another 2 day workshop for
about 25 riders & volunteers from Geelong MTB Club,
You Yangs MTB Inc & Surfcoast Trail Riders. The workshop
was split between trails at Anglesea and the You Yangs
with some enhancements made to trails in the Kurrajong
area of the You Yangs. A huge thanks to Mark Urquhart
for his tireless work in making both workshops run so
smoothly.
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November Road Show in Victoriawith Marty Krieg
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Watch This Space Too
More good news for Sydney MTBers; WarringahCouncil have now gained approval (under envi-
ronmental and indigenous heritage protection legisla-tion) to proceed with upgrades to Manly Dam. These upgrades were recommended by the trail audit that IM-BA-Au completed early in 2013. The tendering process for Stage 1 of the project is underway and on-ground works are scheduled to begin during the coming au-tumn.
Meanwhile in the Red Centre,Parks NT are also preparing
to implement trail signage upgrades recommended by our audit of the Telegraph Station Trails. While Alice has a plethora of great trails this will be the first area to be fomailsed and sign posted, and will form a model ‘gateway trail’ experience that will give locals and tourists alike a prime taste of desert-flavoured MTBing.
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IMBA goes Troppo
Meteorologically speaking December is always an exciting time in Darwin and our week-long trail audit at Charles Darwin National Park (supported by D.O.R.C. - Darwin Off Road Cyclists & Parks NT) certainly didn’t disappoint. There was more thunder, lightning and rain in that one week than us south-erners usually witness in a decade.
Charles Darwin NP is within rolling dis-tance of the CBD and has a great little network of fun XC trails in a Gondwa-naland-like setting. The audit will assist Parks NT and DORC plan upgrades to the trails and signage that will not only enhance the park for local riders but hopefully entice some larger events such as the Oceania Championships to the Top End in the not-too-distant future.
Maybe too long, and while I am not opposed to criticism and
constructive feedback, this kind of mud-slinging and under-
mining of the IMBA principles is stupid on so many levels.
A big part of the confusion I think is because IMBA and
sometimes other trail professionals are working for the land
managers while still trying to represent the riding communi-
ty. In a commercial sense, when IMBA Australia is assessing
existing trails or designing new trails, we are working direct-
ly for the land manager as the client. We always have the
end user (MTB riders or shared use) in mind, but ultimately
the client dictates the nature of projects and the level of
risk they are prepared to accommodate. In many instances,
land managers work in virtual isolation, so even if something
has worked for the bigger dept in one area of their state, a
new area has to go through the same old consultation and
approval processes once again. We have to run through the
same old tired (tyred) arguments, address the same old mis-
conceptions and face the seemingly limitless fears that of-
ficials and residents carry with them. Every new trail area
is like a microcosm of the broader trail access
debate. Every battle plays out in similar
ways and there is no way to fast track
any of it, thanks to the extensive bu-
reaucracy that has been created at
every level in this country (local,
state and federal). So we, the pro-
fessionals, have to work through
the whole process time and time
again from whoa to go, attempt-
ing to maintain professionalism and
objectivity in the face of screaming
subjectivity and divisiveness. And let me
tell you, it takes extreme patience and self
control of passionate individuals to wade through
these issues and at times you can understand that I have
felt like I am banging my head against a wall – “why doesn’t
anyone understand!” It’s so simple, the kids just want to ride
their bikes on dirt!
Many land managers are catering for MTBing for the first
time and so it’s only reasonable that they start at the low
Recently (late 2013) I was made aware of an article (blog)
from the US that was titled “Has IMBA lost its Soul?”. Sens-
ing the sentiment, I read through the article and comments
with much trepidation. I have seen this kind of debate before
at the local and state level here in Oz and it is never pretty.
Upon reading the article I really started to feel disappointed
and shocked. After all these years, some bike riders still can-
not see the bigger picture of what we, IMBA are trying to
do. What initially started out as healthy debate pretty
quickly turned into a mud-slinging contest in a realm where
IMBA staff and supporters cannot defend themselves or
their actions. Sure the debate raises some valid points,
many of which are specific to business interests of IMBA in
the US, but the sheer hatred of IMBA by some is difficult to
fathom and even harder to swallow, particularly when
some of the folks perpetrating the hatred have benefited
significantly both financially and in regard to their ongoing
relationships with land managers, from the hard work of
IMBA at some point in the past. To me it seems to be the
“tall poppy” syndrome and IMBA become the target for any
changes, even evolution of the single track discipline.
As someone who has worked solidly for
10 years promoting the IMBA model
in SA and now as the national rep
for IMBA, this emotion, the kind
subjective nonsense in the article
and comments really gets under
my skin. The notion that IMBA has
lost its soul is totally misinformed.
IMBA is the link! IMBA is the prin-
ciple, the model approach, the blue
print that has enabled Australian land
mangers to embrace MTB single track. Time
and time again I have seen councillors and park
rangers literally change their minds right before my eyes
once they have heard what IMBA reps have had to say. IMBA
is the link between the land mangers and the riders. With-
out IMBA we would not have the extent of MTB trails in Aus-
tralia we now have. I know this better than most because I
have been on the front line of trail advocacy for a long time.
soul
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The SOUL of IMBAConfessions of a National Director
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end of the sport, specifically green and blue trails, that are more
inclusive, less risky and easier to justify to the authorities. Stra-
tegically it makes sense to cater for the novice and intermedi-
ate riders first and once established with documented success,
then more elite experiences can be rolled out. It’s the only ratio-
nal approach, and IMBA Australia is part of the puzzle to make
it work. Yet many riders lack the patience and the foresight to
understand these long term plans and they scream for high end
trail right now or they go build their own and undermine the pro-
cess once again. It can be a vicious circle with the glass is half
empty attitude. Essentially those of us at IMBA are like the “meat
in the sandwich”. We get drilled by the conservationists and risk
adverse loons and then at the same time we are getting ham-
mered by the loudest members of the MTB community, many of
who are respected role models, for “dumbing down” trails. It is
a really tough place to be and no, we do not get paid enough to
deal with this kind of punishment. While I am fighting the battle
for MTB riders, who has got my back! Yet the very nature of our
sport means this aspect of the job at IMBA may never change.
We just have support each other and keep telling ourselves it is
for the greater good.
So even after you have bent over backwards, trying to find work-
able compromises with the land managers, questioned your own
sanity each step of the way and given up your own ride time to
help someone else make their trail dreams a reality, the very high
expectations of parts of the MTB community will never be met.
So my mantra over the years has been that “if we can keep half
the people happy half the time, then we are doing ok”. From ex-
perience the silent majority are extremely happy with what IMBA
does. It could be surmised that it is mostly the old dinosaurs that
had their heyday in the 1990’s, who cannot adjust to the new
school trail developments and massive influx of new riders. MTB
is not on the fringe anymore, it’s gone mainstream and we need
to keep up. If a trail gets “dumbed down” you can be sure that
the land manager and their lawyers have asked it to be so, and
for some reason IMBA get the blame! It’s crazy, and some MTB
riders have successfully sued land managers in this country for
various incidents, only to get back on the bike later and continue
to enjoy freely supplied single track. It is no wonder that land
managers are nervous about MTB because even if they do pro-
vide a full and proper “duty of care” the chances are it will be
cheaper to settle out of court than to fight against civil actions!
Just keep in mind, when trails loose their “cutting edge” appeal,
sometimes there are big reasons behind the scenes. Reasons
that span our whole society in Australia.
Anyway – that’s a plenty big enough rant from me. It’s all worth
it in the end! Get out there and ride!
Nam inum alia adicia Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem
faccum vendaeped.
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IMBA-AU in the Land Down UnderThe Land Down Under
This is a very brief summary of the role IMBA has played in Australia since first visiting our sun burnt country. This perspective
is provided by Nick Bowman with assistance from a number of key advocates from around the country. Please note, all success
stories depend on the hard work of local advocates and this document simply aims to highlight those trail projects and partner-
ships where IMBA and the IMBA guidelines helped to make those projects and partnerships successful! This involvement takes
nothing away from the efforts of dedicated locals to make their trail dreams a reality.
(Thanks Tony Scott for working hard to promote the IMBA model in Australia over many years).
Visit 1 Date: February 2002 Pete Webber & Joey Klein (initiated by Tony Scott)
Site Visits: General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres):
Meet with Townsville Council, Rockwheelers and Parks Queensland with site visits to theDH Track and Douglas Reserve. Peter McLean, Hayden Tiley and Greg become devotes of
the IMBA model!.
Meet with advocates and land managers to assess trails at Gap Creek. Unauthorised trailuse is rampant and IMBA advise on the necessary planning for Daisy Hill and Mt Coot-tha
with Gillian Duncan and other advocates.
Met with Sydney Reps (even at this stage it was clear trail advocacy had a long way to go inNSW). Manly Dam trail authorization discussions with local advocates commence.
Dialogue starts with Parks Vic and then DSE - Leads to an MOU with Parks Vic and ultimatelyYou Yangs, Lysterfield and Forrest.
Informs and strengthens the broader trails strategies of the Office for Rec and Sport, Forest-rySA and BikeSA in working towards formalisation of Fox Creek and the development of Eagle
MTB Park which are key projects (Foundation Trails) of the SA MTB Strategy (2001).
Cairns
Internal guidelines, Munda Biddi plans and MTB access becomes a major challenge for DEC butIMBA have provided insight into how to progress with solutions.
Site visit to Smithfield and talks with Glen Jacobs, Cairns MTB Club and Parks Queensland.This leads to formal agreements with the club to open trails at Smithfield. Once again Smith-
field has been nominated as a World Cup and World Championships Venue..
Townsville
Brisbane
Sydney
Melbourne
Adelaide
Perth
In almost every instance, where Pete and Joey met with local MTB clubs and land managers we began to see a higher level of engagement
between stakeholder groups (riders and rangers) as well as a model for how trails could be developed and maintained as low impact ac-
tivities in Australia. From my perspective in SA, as the logistics guy on ground, the IMBA guys gave us a language to talk about trails and
trail construction and most importantly find the common ground with the land managers so that we could all move forward together.
15
Launceston & Derby
IMBA are contracted to design a trail network at Hollybank with assistance from local Rob Pot-ter. Hollybank is now undergoing professional trail construction funded by Tourism Australia.
Visit 4 Date: 2006 Joey Klein
Site Visits General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres)
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Visit 2 Date: October 2003 Joey Klein
Site Visits: General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres):
Notable attendees: Tony Scott (organiser), Gerard McHugh (DSE/World Trail), Kristjan Snorrensen(TrailMix), Gillian Duncan (Gap Creek/MTBA), Brenton Collins (Adelaide MTB Club/Trail Solutions
Australia), Marty Krieg (BikeSA/IMBA Au), Rod Worthington (SA), The Kennet Brothers (NZ), MOZZIE (Rockwheelers).
Talk to CNP (Parks ACT) land managers and managers . Talk to Kosciusko local riders and theplanning authority about MTB access as the new PofM was being drawn up
One day trails workshop for land managers, visit to Trevallan where a plan was in place forMTB trails. Drove to Hobart via Trial Bay (west coast of Tassie). Gave a one day workshop
at Cascades Brewery to land managers. Visited Glenorchy. While there are still issues around Hobart, Glenorchy has become a prime bike park!
Joey and Tony Scott preview the site for the 2006 Commonwealth Games XC track at Lyster-field once again reinforcing the need for sustainable, long lasting trails
Tumbarumba This innovative four day trail school or as I like to call it “Master Class” enabled Eattendees totake a detailed look at the trail development guidelines and how they can be implemented
in a real setting. These attendees all play a role in the implementation of the IMBA model in their respective areas and professions.
Canberra / NSW
Launceston, Cradle Mountain and
Hobart
Melbourne
Visit 3 Date: November 2005 Joey Klein
Site Visits: General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres):
City of Mitcham finalise their (MTB) Trails Strategy that outlines all future trail developmentacross the council tenure. The majority of elected members were extremely impressed
with Joey Klein’s presentation and it helped to formulate a solid determination to open the council reserves to unstructured recreation (trails). 1. Adelaide: Presentations to City of Mit-cham, Forestry, National Parks and other stakeholders. 2. Trail workshop with local riders.
Perth South West
Goat Farm and Mt Lennard (Pile Rd) – At this point unauthorized trail development wasrampant in WA and riders and Land managers were not on the same page. Joeys visit and
trail workshops provided a forum for both to understand one another’s needs and to develop a shared language and vision for MTBing in WA. The Goat Farm MTB park project sprang from this workshop and MTBers and land managers worked together to fund and develop the Goat Farm. Department of Parks and Wildlife developed MTB management guidelines in conjunction with riders to guide trail development
Adelaide
Brief visit to Forrest Forrest Trails project underway with DSE
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Visit 5 Date: February 2008 Joey Klein (organised by Tony Scott and Gillian Duncan)
Site Visits General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres)
Noosa Trail Workshop for local clubs and stakeholders in the build up to the 2008 Tracks and Trails
Conference. New trails and upgrades are designed and implemented at Tretawin State for-est.
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CEO and President of IMBA (US) gave a keynote address while Joey Klein made a specialist presentation at this National Trails Conference. Talks about IMBA Australia progressed and
key advocates from around Australia pooled their knowledge to develop and Aussie version of the Trail Difficulty Rating System.
Tracks & Trails
Conference at Noosa
Further advances to advocacy with Parks SA and some local council reps. Ongoing progress with Mitcham and ForestrySA. Some progress made with local government reps
Adelaide
Milestone 1 Date: October 2009 Nick Bowman employed as National Director of IMBA Australia
“Nick was the successful applicant from seven other highly qualified experts in the field of MTB advocacy.” EO Tony Scott (2009)At last MTB advocacy had a dedicated national director to take over the burgeoning requests for trail advice from the MTBA EO Tony Scott. Once installed the calls for help, advice and trail workshops increased. “Build it and they will come” comes to mind.Initial visits to WA, Lysterfield, Atherton, Cairns, Wangarratta and Snowy Mountains have all helped to kick start local networks and build support for trail projects. Demand for IMBA Australia was immediate and overwhelming!
Visit 6 Date: April 2010 Joey Klein (organised by Nick Bowman)
Site Visits General Outcomes and “Flow on Effects” (advocacy/trail centres)
Cairns Cairns was once again and opportunity for riders and Cairns MTB club to sit down with the
local park ranges and work out a path forward for formalizing Smithfield MTB park and Atherton . Notably these two projects have resulted in trail networks of national importance as well as a World Cup and Championships venue
Building on the workshop in Cairns, IMBA met with a number of agencies and trail advocates with some trail work at Mt Coot–tha, to wrap it up. Flow on benefits to Mt Joyce, Brisbane
City Council and Gold coast council plus the formulation of broader strategies to engage MTB riders across Qld.
Brisbane
Margaret River
A similar situation to many other places had developed at Margaret River with Land Manag-ers and MTBers at loggerheads over trail development. This workshop bought all parties
together and provided the forum for important conversations and understanding’s to develop between MTBers and land managers. This was the beginning of cooperation and respect be-tween all parties. Joey and IMBA provided an independent voice that while advocating for MT-Bing also spoke the language that land managers wanted to hear about respecting the land and building safe and sustainable trails.
With over 40 attendees from MTB clubs, state govt departments and other interested par-ties, the flow on effects from this workshop are far and wide reaching from Forrest to
Nowa Nowa, Mornington Peninsular to Wodonga. MTB in Vic got a very big boost with this State Level workshop!
Melbourne -
Lysterfield Lake
Sydney - Hornsby and Ourimbah
Day 1 of an extended program saw that we had over 60 attendees. It was huge. Although immediate results cannot be claimed here, we are now seeing MTB developments roll out
across the state thanks to the hard work of many local advocates. Key projects at Glenrock, Ourimbah, Bundanoon, Mt Annan, Manly Dam, Hornsby, Bantry Bay, Livingstone State Park and Belrose demonstrate that the IMBA message plays a role in opening up trails for the public.
AUSTRALASIAN SUMMTAnnouncement
MTBA and IMBA Australia deeply regrets that at this time we need to advise that the 2014 IMBA Australasian Summit has been cancelled. The proposed Summit unfortunately, had not been able to achieve the necessary registrations and financial support required for it to proceed at this time.
We thank you for your interest in this event and are extremely sorry for those of you who have already made travel bookings to attend the Cairns summit. Naturally all conference registration fees will be fully refunded.
On the positive side, we are now working towards planning for an Advocacy & Trails Summit in 2015. With additional time and an opportunity to source alternative venues and locations, IMBA-AU and MTBA are confi-dent that we will be able to organise a very valuable conference and Summit in the future.
Kind regards
Nick Bowman National Director IMBA Australia