By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
THE first authorised and legal intermediate mountain bike track in the Yarra Ranges has been officially opened at Lilydale Lake Park.
The track has been about three years in the planning and offers a 316-metre intermediate level extension to the existing mountain bike track.
The new track has obstacles and mounds to offer riders a more challenging run than the existing course.
The Yarra Ranges Mountain Bikers (YRMB) has praised the new track but say it’s not enough.
The group’s vice-president John Wright thanked the council for the upgrades but also called for more progress for mountain bike tracks in the Yarra Ranges.
“The council was really behind this proposal,” he said. “It has a long way to go though and it’s great to see there is lots of enthusiasm and lots of projects on the go.”
Councillor Andrew Witlox said he would also like to see more mountain biking trails in the Yarra Ranges.
“We’re disappointed for where we are compared to other councils,” he said.
“In fact, Yarra Ranges Council have closed more trails than we’ve opened; two were closed in Mount Evelyn, one opened at Lilydale Lake.
“These tracks only offer about 1.5 kilometres and it’s really just for kids to make the transition from riding around the lake to gaining more actual mountain bike skills. It’s not for real mountain biking.
“Councils like Knox, Murrindindi, and the Mornington Peninsula have more extensive authorised mountain biking tracks. The council needs to get moving on it,” he said.
Bike group president Damian Auton pointed out that tracks already existed in the Yarra Ranges area.
“There is about 30km of tracks in Seville and probably 30-40km tracks in Silvan that are used day to day,” he said.
“These are unauthorised tracks and so have no signage. What we want is to authorise these tracks and have signage that aligns with International Mountain Biking Association best practice,” he said.
