PRIMO adventures
GOT A SHINY NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE FOR CHRISTMAS? THROUGHOUT THE PERTH METRO AREA THINGS ARE LITERALLY PUMPING (AND JUMPING) FOR OFFROAD CYCLING FANS.
Pump up the
VOLUME BY NORMAN BURNS.
T’S almost impossible to pin down, at least in monetary terms, just how big mountain biking is in Western Australia. A 2014 Tourism Australia survey showed 331,000 visitors annually to WA were “cycle tourists”, spending an estimated $486.1 million. A fair proportion would have come to WA for its great, accessible, mountain bike trails and if you add to this the growing band of domestic mountain bike enthusiasts, this is a sport generating some serious numbers. And, taking the classic Field of Dreams approach of ‘if you build it, they will come’, there is a quiet revolution underway to
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PRIMOLIFE | February/March 2017
| IMAGES COURTESY COMMON GROUND TRAILS, THREE CHILLIES TRAIL DESIGN.
provide mountain bike and off-road cycling fans within the greater metro region with challenging, exciting but accessible trails right on their doorstep. Whether you’re the fierce competitivetype or just a rider out to burn a few calories on a Saturday arvo, these “pump” and “jump” tracks are the nursery grounds for fully-fledged mountain biking. A “pump track” is a loop of dirt berms and ‘rollers’ (smooth dirt mounds) that you ride without pedalling - instead, the rider uses a ‘pumping’ action of their upper and lower body to propel the bike around the track. The jump track is exactly what it implies - a series of thrilling leaps a rider has to
negotiate. Around Perth, new facilities for both styles are either coming on line or in the planning stages as WA sits on the cusp of a mountain biking boom. The recent release of the Perth and Peel Mountain Bike Master Plan, a blueprint for the sport’s development in those areas which has been open for public input, is an important step on the way to growing the sport in a sustainable, manageable way. Said West Australian Mountain Bike Association president Alex Wade: “This is reflective of the attention our sport is getting from both state and local government. Once finalised it will herald an exciting new phase
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