QLD MTB Trailcare for Nerang National Park

[harveyp]

For all you dirt mad trail builders, why not jump on board with this crew and give them a hand to sculpture the 40km of approved trails in Nerang National Park? The more hands helping build and maintain these trails will only go to help convince National Parks Recreation Sport & Racing (NPRSR - formerly QPWS) that we deserve more land for the creation of MTB trails in SE Qld. Go to the following link and have a look at what these guys are up to in Nerang NP: http://www.mtbtrailcare.com:welcome::clap2:

 

[Nerf Herder]

Nice photos in the gallery ... hope you get good support from riders

 

[cressa]

I was wondering who was behind all the new work out there. It's looking really good - I am very pleased and very grateful.

I'll try and get out and give a hand this weekend and in the future now I know it's a regular thing.

 

[wavike]

If everyone put in 20% (4 rides 1 trail care) we'd have a excellent network of trails in no time, and get some features that you especially like as well. I'm enjoying getting out there, the main guys are great to work with.

 

[mlucko]

I agree with nerfherder... awesome trail photos!
If I lived in QLD I'd be all over this...

 

[Ridenparadise]

Thanks for posting this up Harvey. We update the calendar and trail news sections regularly (although we finished too late in the dark and rain to bother with pics Wednesday). There will be a team out this afternoon working on Pete's trail below the North Street Fire Road from about 3PM. Check the calendar in mtbtrailcare.com for the meeting point as it varies between the velodrome and the North St entrance.

Some of those pics are from Three hills. We have not been working there lately as the push is on whip to finish modifications to Mongrel's and get Pete's open and connected through to the original Pete's track by joining it about 150m further up the fire road. You guys will like the log ride we are developing near the fire road:eagerness:.

When those trails are done, we will get back to Three Hills which is a major build project taking trail through some really lovely locations and coming out directly opposite the entrances to Bailey's and Mongrel's. It will be sweet, but we will need all the help we can get for all these jobs, so please come and join in.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Closed Trail

When QPWS contracted Gillian Duncan to map and assess the Nerang trail system, a lot of us worried we may see some of our favourite trails closed.

Fact is that QPWS have only asked us to close 4 trails (five, if you include Jack's track, which had already been closed and inspected by QPWS Rangers). They have also not asked us to close any trail before we build an alternate bypass trail.

In the last 2 months Downhill Trail was closed. For locals, that is the old, falline link from the bottom of Pete's down to the bridge above Five Ways, or more recently, leading to the illegal shortcut onto Casuarina Grove. Today we watched riders crashing down and walking up the closed Downhill trail while we worked on Pete's trail.

This is a closed trail



It's not fun to ride a closed trail, because it's covered in shit put there to make this obvious! OK, sometimes there may be no other way to get where you are going, but in this case, dream on - there's a brand new trail from Casuarina to Pete's. You can't miss it. If you are on Casuarina it is the only intersection that looks like a real trail joins there and if you are going down from Pete's, you have to step over and through the trail closure as you pass the new trail.

Have you tried it? It is actually a good trail, not like Downhill which died years ago due to poor routing and minimal effort in construction.

Whilst I don't expect to get any sense out of inconsiderate jerks who could care less that QPWS look badly on this behaviour, we all know that Rotorburners, being salt of the earth, new age riders, will respect dog's ball's obvious closure of trails and use the better option in front of their eyes in search of the better ride.

Thank you

 

[crank1979]

If people are still using it signage might just get ripped down, but it could be worthwhile putting up some simple laminated sign at each end of the trails. Maybe just cable tied around trees so they don't cause too much damage when they are removed and easily replaced?

 

[Ridenparadise]

Yes agreed, signage is important and will be in by 17 December as I understand it. I suspect a few big dead trees may be felled by QPWS to finish the closure as well.

 

[crazymofo]

firstly, great work to all those involved with this.

im wondering if theres any plans to retain/build some proper all mountain stuff into the area? drops, ladder bridges, see saws, steep chutes etc??

"super loop" has some cool bridges, as does BB's, discovered a great track couple weeks back that leaded back to the start of BB's that had some great features.

im booked out with my riding this week, but i would like to come dig next friday afternoon (1pm ish) for a couple hours if theres some digging going on then.

i would love to get involved in building some serious tech all mountain stuff, as there simply isnt enough of this stuff around

cheers.joe.

 

[Flyboy01]

Looks like some great progress is being made down there. Having the land managers "on side" is great for the long term health of MTBing. It is a shame that "selfish, inconsiderate jerks" cast a bad light on the majority of riders who do the right thing, not to mention the disrespect it shows toward the massive personal effort put in by the riders who VOLUNTEER their time to do the work.

Keep up the good work. I am hoping to be able to get down from Brisbane to lend a hand at some stage, so will keep an eye on your excellent web page to see what lines up.

 

[trailsnail]

There should be some digging going on next Friday at 3pm.

Check out our Calendar section in a few days for the details, I need to confirm dates with people first.
http://www.mtbtrailcare.com/Calendar.asp

For now there are no see saws going in as we must complete our list of tasks to legalize these trails first, and trust me it is a an extremely big list.
Once we can show that we are responsible trail stewards we can ask for more trail features.
We need to give before we can take.

Wooden features are a problem currently as the land managers don't want to invest in structures that burn, so they are still looking for a better way to build bridges.
We will get there in the end, but we must do the right thing along the way.

I know that once we see Petes and Mongrels (Bretts) completed, that there is some interest in Wimps/Norco Flow from a few of our volunteers.
If you wanted to have some input into what gets done there you should attend some of our trailcare days elsewhere in the park to meet the guys and girl that are considering adopting these trails.

Too many people cry out that trail work is not done how they wanted, but they don't put in any effort at all to get what they wanted so badly.
Work is how you guys can get what you want, and we can get it legally.

I hope to see you next Friday, Ash.

 

[crazymofo]

Ash, I'm not afraid to dig, I dig my own trails (private property). Im a steel fabricator, so if having features out of steel would be allowed, i'll supply the materials (to a degree), time and labor for no cost if it helps the cause.

As for 3pm friday.. *SHOULD* be ok, but relies totally on my wife getting out of work early to pick up the kids from school. Hence why i said 1pm ish.. Gives me 2 hrs to dig/play before school commitments kick in.
Maybe during school holidays would be better suited?

I'll keep an eye on the calender and attend what i can. I ride TRAIL/AM/DH so happy to help on any trail. However, from my perspective it just seems that newer trails are losing the technical edge, i hope some of the trails that are being constructed also have thought for the riders with the more advanced skillset too. To many of them are becoming to groomed and too flow-ey (if thats a word lol!). Please dont take the comments the wrong way, i understand there needs to be trails anyone and everyone can ride, and i appreciate any work thats being carried out on new trails, cos theres never enough new ones. But i hope there can be some consideration for harder to tackle trails, that can challenge the skills of riders who seek progression in their riding.

cheers.joe.

 

[Flyboy01]

Hey crazymofo, I can probably answer those questions, because they are common to all newly legalised trails. Hope you don't mind me putting my perspective Ash. I have been involved in the trail care on the southside of Brisbane for the last few years and we have gone through the same process as Nerang is starting to.

It goes like this......

The land managers get together with the MTBers and determine what needs to be done. There isn't much trust to start with from the land managers, so the MTBers really need to do the right thing and repair trails to IMBA standard to make them sustainable. Two things happen here. One is that the trails become less steep(to avoid erosion) and two is there is so much trail to fix up and so few volunteers that the repairs are done to a basic standard.

This in effect "dumbs" the trail down. So everyone that isn't helping starts bitching about the trail care guys, BUT the land managers now see that they can trust the MTBers to do the right thing and start to give the trail carers more leeway with their trail design BUT without enough volunteers to build these much wanted features the few regulars that turn up to trail care don't have the time to put into these cool features.

Notice the vicious circle that develops here? Ash and the other volunteers are in this "gaining trust" phase. Without a lot of support from fellow MTBers they simply do not have enough time (remember they are volunteers, they have lives as well) to build techy trails because they will be struggling to keep the network maintained as it is.

The main thing is that everyone has to be patient. Better trails will come to fruition by working with the land managers(and remember, they are government, not private enterprise, so they move at a glacial pace!) and showing maturity. Nerang(and SE QLD) has the potential to be an Australia-wide riding drawcard with the right mix of trails. Maybe the government will see that one day.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but we have just been through this phase. There is light at the end of the tunnel....and no, it isn't a train!

 

[Ridenparadise]

The areas we are currently completing are the closest to the velodrome and therefore are being made to a standard that all riders can enjoy, from families and kids to good riders. We are putting in some log rides (skinnies) and some smaller jumps where we can and that is OK with QPWS. When people see new trails made wide, there is an impression they are going to be highways without challenge. In reality, they very quickly become narrow trails as riders consolidate the correct line and the trail covers or grows over on the edges. The outcome is the chance to ride faster on narrow singletrack without the worry of hitting obstacles right next to the tread. We do not class 15cm wide trail with logs, punjies and steep embankments impinging on the line as technical riding. We class that as shit trailbuilding.

As we move away from the velodrome into the adjacent valleys we will be looking at upping the ante on trail difficulty. There is no intention to turn all Nerang into Daisy Hill as we hear so nauseatingly often, but QPWS has demanded IMBA standards and that will mean all skinny bridges will have to be replaced with 60cm wide ones, unless they are an A line with an alternate line available. We want to retain and add to the more technical trails over time, but the initial list of tasks has to be completed before we get to build more boldly.

 

[crazymofo]

thanks for calrrifying guys, see you out on the trails, with shovels in hand

cheers.joe.

 

[trailsnail]

You guys have said exactly how things are currently.

We do not see ourselves heading deeper into the park for a while yet as we still have alot of work approved and yet to do within the valley that starts at the velodrome.
So for the next year or maybe more, the majority of our work is relationship/trust building and beginner friendly trails within the velodrome valley system.

The way that we aim to do repair work is to start at the velodrome where access is easy for land managers.
So inspections are easy and our encounters are as pleasant as possible.
All our relationship/trust building is done on trails for beginners at the front of the park.
As our ability to build with more imagination/trail features & rider challenge increase we work further out into the park.

This is how QPWS would prefer us to do our trail work.
They have broken the trail network into four sections and want section 1 then 2,3,4 done.
We really couldn't ask for more, we have an opportunity to really make Nerang great.


The reason for us working on Petes & Mongrels before Casuarina Grove is so that the MTB community can get immediate benefit from our trail work.
Legalizing new trails has felt like an unrealistic fantasy for years, we have a chance to further our sport now.

Trail approval is a big deal.


With over 50km of single track I'm sure we can have a little of everything from beginner through to expert.

The way we would like to run things is to have people attend trail care days so they understand how to build/repair with IMBA guidelines in mind.
IMBA is the standard we have agreed to build to.
Once volunteers are competent trail stewards then they can adopt a section of trail and repair/maintain to the rider groups that the trail is intended for.

This means volunteers fix the trails they ride, and so... have the best chance of doing repairs which suit a trails user group & skill set.
As an example of this, most of the jump/DH guys would most likely prefer to work on wimps, and guys after technical riding might get together and adopt wombats.

The best way for people to get the trails they want how they want is to join us and make it happen.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Cheers Joe

I should have added that regardless of what we want to build in Nerang, the terrain makes most decisions for us. When you factor in drainage that can cope with 200ml per day rainfall, you end up with "flow" trail. As the options for very long descents are limited in Nerang, it makes sense to work on linking trails that provide their own features. Steep and long descents are not really available here, not compared to Mt Joyce, Thredbo, Buller etc. As the snail said, there are volunteers interested in looking after the steeper trails and making them rip as safely as possible, but we have to prioritise.

ASAP we will have top of Pete's to Casuarina to velodrome as an almost continuous downhill, then Three Hills opposite the top entrance of Baileys and Brett's to Barney's to Exit to Roy's (we have been asked to make a big change on Exit Trail, but until QPWS OK's it, the last bit to Roy's is not definite) as another one. Clearly Brett's becomes the link of choice between those lines and has its own uphill and downhill challenges. It will be inspected next week and should be on the authorised trail list this year. All these trails are dual direction.

Perhaps trailsnail can link the trail map from mtbtrailcare.com ?

 

[trailsnail]

http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/nerang/pdf/nerang-trail-map.pdf

Unfortunately the only map that can be posted is the one in the link above.

The entire trail system has been mapped, Unfortunately we can not share this complete map as it is Government Property and not to be copied.
Also posting a map of unauthorized trails is a big no no.

We need to legalize trails if we are to get them onto a proper map.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Closure of "Downhill Track"

We thought it was closed, but it wasn't. After seeing riders going up and down the trail the other day, a closer inspection showed closure materials pushed aside and new lines being ridden-in wide of the closure. That's not the work of once-monthly, recreational riders who mistakenly got onto a closed trail they used to ride. It's the actions of disrespectful riders and it had to be stopped.

QPWS stated Downhill Track must be closed, so we closed it. If enough people push through that closure, QPWS will have to come and do the job properly with machines, like they have done on other trails previously. Closing trail is time-consuming. For QPWS, time and funding are both major issues. When we do it they respect our efforts. If closed trails are re-opened, their level of respect for the MTB community falls and their liability rises.

Please pass the message to all your riding mates: the way to get the trail you want is to help build it, not to deliberately defy progress and become a trail nuisance.

Here's how Downhill looks today. Top to bottom closures, old gap jumps closed, log rides disabled and the construction materials added to the trail closure. Any rider who doesn't get the hint is a conscious menace from now on.



The skinny bridge at the bottom was already long gone and everyone has been getting there via Casuarina. Therefore QPWS becomes responsible for any misadventure on the trail as it has been connected to their authorised trail. It hurts closing some of the features because they were fun, but we are building others to take their place.

It shouldn't be long before the forest resumes this trail. Building some simple drains and unblocking seasonal creek lines should help the area recover.



Please help us get up to 60km of Nerang trails authorised. Come and help make the trails you want to ride. Don't be a douche and undo decades of hard work and negotiations that brought Nerang to this point in time.