"cfsmtb" wrote:
> This letter appeared today in the Melbourne Times:
> http://flickr.com/photos/51035538080@N01/112631557/
>
> I've heard of similar issues during the last few years, as many of the
> walking tracks along the Yarra are 'poached' as singletrack.
Oh no! Sounds like another beat up against cyclists, just in a different
vein to normal. The walking tracks in the area referred to are very short so
few MTBers would really use them. The tracks run across rocky hills where
erosion is fairly unlikely, rainfall would do most of the damage, and
walkers will have a similar impact to "high pressure knobbly tyres" (??). I
gather a greater fear for walkers would be bumping into a 'trouser dropper'
as it has a reputation as a bit of a hang-out.
The Yarra Trail has a series of great single-tracks between Fairfield and
Westerfolds Park. Most of them have been developed by MTB riders over the
last 10-15 years. They run through areas of weed-infested bush, riverside
forest and plantation eucalypts. It is a much better trail ride than the
little patch around Dights Falls. All the way along there is a 2.5 m shared
use path for cyclists and pedestrians, and past Westerfolds a great section
of single-track was 'sanitised' to become 2.5m of bitumen. MTB riders
should, of course, always ride responsibly and yield to walkers, but I don't
think 'Mike Francis' has enough to occupy himself.
--
Cheers
Peter
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