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HERE IS MY REPLY FROM ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL!!
This is the definitive answer and the course WILL BE SANITIZED UNLESS THEY CAN BE MADE TO SEE SENSE.
"We are committed to retaining as much of the Olympic course as possible but adaptations will have to be made to allow beginner and novice riders to use the course safely.
There will be various works to make it suitable for public access and these works will not begin until 2013.
ECC are planning to provide opportunities for experienced riders of a suitable standard who are interested in riding the course the chance to join guided rides before the adaptations are completed.
For experienced mountain bikers who have completed “black” grade trails at other UK trail centres or others with appropriate coaching or skills qualifications who are interested they should email london2012@essex.gov.uk providing details of their experience level and weather they are interested as a) a Group or b) an individual."
I'm sure most people on here will find this ludicrously patronizing and consider that it shows a complete mis-understanding of our sport.
I think the root of the problem is that the general public in this part of the country don't understand anything about mountain biking or its popularity. This comment in the Essex Echo illustrates my point:
"Give it a couple of months and this 'track' will be just another mothballed facility." As if!
PLEASE EMAIL ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL contact@essex.gov.uk and/or write your comments on
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/9872180.Don___t_mess_up_Hadleigh___s_Olympic_bike_track
ps I live in Yorkshire so this doesn't affect me personally - just want mountain biking to be the winner!
ECC are planning to [b]provide opportunities for experienced riders of a suitable standard[/b] who are interested in riding the course [b]the chance to join [u]guided rides[/u] before the adaptations are completed.[/b]
do they not realise that people have been riding bikes on their own since they were invented. this is pretty sad.
Perhaps the way forward would be offering assistance in design and construction of additional bypass routes for the technical features (chicken runs)
Certainly, as long as riders cannot 'accidentally' ride down the technical features, and instead have to knowingly 'opt in' to them from easier routes, then there should be no reason not to retain them. There's more than adequate best practice work done on these aspects of trail design by IMBA and the Forestry Commission.
Sadly, I think this is classic local government risk aversion, with poor understanding of the actual rules and legal factors involved - the type of reaction that sees no swimming signs in traditional swimming spots.
Would it not be easier/ cheaper and quicker to put sign posts up grading the trails options black or red or use the white dots on orange that dh uses if they are really that technical.
And build a easy trail with no features around the rocky sections.
Surely the olympic xc track is the only selling point for this place.
'Legacy', 'inspire a generation' just pr speak.
Olympic venue in limbo as to whether it will remain shocker!
Sadly, I think this is classic local government risk aversion, with poor understanding of the actual rules and legal factors involved - the type of reaction that sees no swimming signs in traditional swimming spots.
Or they want to possibly prevent more council tax money ending up in the hands of ambulance chasers?
I don't have a problem with a mountain bike trail in Essex being "sanitised", if it allows people who are new to the sport to have a go. There are many, many alternatives across the UK for the STW Niche hardcore.
For everyone in favour of keeping the technical sections of the ONLY rocky trail in the whole of the south east - here's an online petition to fill in.
It's very easy to use - just click the link.
A quick word about the possibility of extra strain being put on the emergency services: I think if there's a debate to be had about this, then it's far wider than just our sport.
The position at the moment is that we're lucky to live in a country where we pay for and get an emergency medical service no matter how we injure ourselves. And placing restrictions on peoples' healthy (if not risk-free) pastimes would be a dangerous road to go down.