Okay, now it's mountain bikes. If you visit the Royal NP you can often find
offenders using non-designated trails and riding very dangerously on the
designated trails at times. about a month ago, I saw a couple ride straight
at a pair of male Superb Lyrebirds which were in the middle of a territorial
dispute on Lady Carrington Drive. The birds were not sure which way to move
as they were in an intense stand-off and the cyclists really risked hitting
one of these birds at high speed. The cyclists yelled and screamed at the
birds, thinking it was all a big hoot. Me.....not happy again!! Many
cyclists are fine but a few really wreck it for all. It can't be policed so
I believe there should be a blanket ban. National Parks are the last island
refuges for many plants and animals in a sea of destruction and not extreme
sport training grounds. Surely all activities should be sympathetic and
harmonious with the needs of the park plants and wildlife or simply not
partaken of in a park.
I read on the NSW National Parks website that mountain bike riders should
ride through puddles when conditions are rainy/wet so as not to widen or
duplicate trails. I have sometimes found dead frogs and tadpoles with tyre
marks on them when the puddles have dried. Maybe these happened later, but
maybe not. This mountain bike riding is very bad policy on the part of the
NPWS and should be curtailed. Cyclists are happy to complain voiciferously
about motorists bullying them and harrassing them on the road but I have
regularly been bullied, harrased and forced off the trail by bunches of bike
riders on Lady Carrington Drive in the Royal NP. The corners are tight, many
blind, and the bikes go fast, so it's only a matter of time before someone
is seriously hurt and I'm thinking of some of the older birders and
bushwalkers here.
I'm therefore up for an e-petition on this: A couple of us put together a
properly drafted letter which is then copied by subscribers to Birding-Aus
and forwarded to the appropriate NPWS bodies. Is this in line with the
policy of the list? If so, what say you all?
Regards - Ricki
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