Mountain bike riding numbers at Lucas Heights 'double or triple' during pandemic

Dan Greenwood, president of the newly formed Mill Creek Trail Association at Lucas Heights said anecdotal evidence indicated the number of riders in the area had doubled or tripled in the last two years.

Mr Greenwood said the growing popularity of mountain biking was widespread.

"If you want to buy a top level mountain bike, you can wait six to 12 months," he said.

The Mill Creek Trail Association was formed in 2021 to be the voice for mountain bikers in Sutherland Shire and work with the council, land owners and other stakeholders.

The association has 265 members and numbers are expected to grow with new initiatives in train.

Membership is limited to riders aged 18 and over at present, but could be opened up to juniors once safety measures, including a formal car park, is provided at the entrance to the trail network, which is accessed from a fire trail off Little Forest Road.

The association is working with Sutherland Shire Council's Bushcare unit to rehabilitate and maintain 12 kilometres of trails in the Lucas Heights Conservation Area - Crown land, managed by the council.

"Everything that gets done out there is through the bushcare unit and they have been great to deal with," Mr Greenwood said.

The new association was created off the back of a small core group of riders who started the trail network at Lucas Heights in 2011.

The council supported the 2011 initiative after ANSTO and the Gandangara Aboriginal Land Council removed access to properties which had previously been used by mountain bikers.

Mr Greenwood said the decision to form an association followed moves to get a car park when it became apparent an incorporated body would be better for negotiations and also in seeking finance, including government grants.

"Creating the trail network has not been easy, with many issues and challenges, including safe access and car parking," he said.

"The council designed, approved and was supposedly ready to build a car park and safe access to the trails in 2021, but it hasn't happened yet," he said.

"Thankfully, we've had a visit and some help from newly elected councillor Laura Cowell, who is getting a report from council staff into the holdup.

"We're also hoping to meet with mayor Carmelo Pesce soon."

A council spokeswoman said the proposal to establish a car park at the entrance to the trail network had been the subject to long term negotiations between the council and land managers of this site.

"Delays to negotiations have been attributed to a recent change in land manager ownership," she said.

"Council remains committed to pursuing negotiations with all stakeholders to progress future plans for a carpark at this site to improve access and safety for all avid users of the trail."

On the first Saturday in March, 32 volunteers organised by the association and supervised by the council's Bushcare team, carried out drainage works and a near full re-surface of the Black Hawk Down trail, which gets its name from frequent flyovers from Holsworthy military zone.

Recent heavy rains have seen an enormous amount of runoff and erosion, with further trail repairs to be carried out next month.

Mr Greenwood said the association was always always looking for more members or volunteers to work on the trails, and hoped to expand the program into Royal National Park, "where many unofficial mountain biking trails have been built with poor alignments and unfortunate disregard for environmental concerns".

"Unfortunately, we're losing a lot of time waiting for land managers to properly manage and provide for mountain biking," he said.

"National Parks and Wildlife Service is reviewing responses to their plan of management to formalise and maintain mountain bike trails in 'The Royal'.

"In the meantime, the rain is causing more damage, and volunteers are not yet authorised to head in and remediate any of the trails and lessen environmental impacts."