stunts on the shore

[NoeFFeX]

hey i was just wondering if there are actually any "legal" stunts on the shore?

Edit: PS. I'm not asking where anything is. It's just a curiousity yes/no question.

If not, how long do they usually last for before they get torn down?

Just curious, as stunts have to be buried really deep in the bush here to not get torn down. I guess its a public liability thing. Gotta ove living in the age of litigation.

[Niggz]

in north van wich is 2/3 of the shore they are not ILLEGAL or at least nothing ridiculuos would get torn down as long as it is on a biking trail thats has been previously built to whenever that was agreed so like a good few years ago.

[m33p]

Stunt's per say are all illegal, but bridges over rivers and unmaintainable area's are allowed on SOME trails.

[Keefer]

No, they aren't Illegal. The NSMBA deals with the GVRD, and the District of North Van, and they allow us the mountain bike trails. I believe they are illegal in West Van (Cypress) though.

We're just not allowed to build any new trails, but we can maintain the existing ones.

[NoeFFeX]

I'm mainly talking about things like teeter totters, skinnies/skybridges to drops etc.

Were the trails always available to build on etc, or did mountain bikers have to lobby the city to allow this?

[NoeFFeX]

Well I'm actually talking about both types of manmade stunts i.e thrill stunts (sorry didn't know how else to describe it!) and necessary stunts (i.e river crossing bridges etc).

I'm just trying to work out the best way to get a mtn bike trail or network of trails to ride and maintain without having them destroyed i.e. lobbying my local council, petitions etc, and also wondering how long so called "illegal" trails last.

[couch@nsmb.com]

contact the NSMBA www.nsmba.bc.ca they will have the most relevant information

[NoeFFeX]

Originally posted by couch@nsmb.com
contact the NSMBA www.nsmba.bc.ca they will have the most relevant information

wrong country mate :D

But I wil have a look and relate the information to the situation out here.

Thanks for the info.

[couch@nsmb.com]

Originally posted by NoeFFeX
wrong country mate :D

But I wil have a look and relate the information to the situation out here.

Thanks for the info.

But the same community (we like to ride) I gave you the NSMBA address is so that you can talk to an organization that has helped surmount great odds in helping "rehabilitate" some of our less mountain bike friendly bretheran aka mayors, councils, government bodies of one type or another.

I did see the Oz address before I replied.

[NoeFFeX]

i realised that, thats why i said i will relate it to my situation :)

[NoeFFeX]

but i will seriously look into this because i think an organised body will definitely help sway the preconceived ideas that many official types have of mtn bike riders.

[couch@nsmb.com]

For the majority of government types the bottom line is $. If you can show them how public lands can be used in an environmentally sound way and bring tourist (or locals) dollars in the surrounding community you will have a case and hopefully their support and money.

[Zedbra]

i vote for couch

[ride24/7]

Originally posted by couch@nsmb.com
For the majority of government types the bottom line is $. If you can show them how public lands can be used in an environmentally sound way and bring tourist (or locals) dollars in the surrounding community you will have a case and hopefully their support and money.

When dealing with governments at all levels all they really care about is $ and votes. Your best bet is to organize and show them how many people and how much money there is in the biking comunity. The other big thing is the image portrayed by bikers, you gotta make yourselvses look good... just a bunch of nice people having fun... not any more dangerous than a lot of other sports... Aussie rules football for example.;) Remember it takes time cuz your dealing with the government and that means red tape and slow going.

[KenN]

Originally posted by NoeFFeX
hey i was just wondering if there are actually any "legal" stunts on the shore?

Edit: PS. I'm not asking where anything is. It's just a curiousity yes/no question.

If not, how long do they usually last for before they get torn down?

Just curious, as stunts have to be buried really deep in the bush here to not get torn down. I guess its a public liability thing. Gotta ove living in the age of litigation.

OFFICIALLY, there are no legal mountain bike trails in North Vancouver:

http://www.district.north-van.bc.ca/article.asp?c=709&a=553

UNOFFICIALLY, the District of North Vancouver and other local land managers work with the NSMBA to maintain existing trails in their lands. The official version is the story used by the District to cover their asses for legal liability. The behind the scenes work enables a volunteer work force to maintain the trails in the area.

The maintenance work does allow structures to be built, but the NSMBA and the landowners retain the right to final comment on the suitability of structures (whether practical, eg. a bridge or challenging, eg. a teeter).

There ARE other trails around that go beyond the arbitrary limits of the landowners which are adopted and maintained exlusively by 'premiere' (for lack of a better term) trail builders like Danger and the GMG crew. These trails are somewhat hidden and hard to find, so the owners pretty much consider these trails non-existant.

There are other unwritten agreements, such as no stunts to be built below the Baden-Powell (a hiking trail that traverses the face of the north shore mtns). This agreement prevents the little kids who can't climb up the hills very far from finding big stunts and getting seriously hurt. That said, I know where there are a few hidden items below the B-P, built primarily for filming big hucks.

That's it in a nutshell. If you need more you can always pm me.

Kn.

[parksvilleguy]

like the north shore is really succesful for legal trails cause look at all the revenue shops like cove bikes and john henry get from shore riding, along with restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes, hospitals(bad example, but its sometimes true).

also how do mtbers portray themselves in the public, are they clean, friendly, queit, instead of loud, obnoxious, litter bugs, that could care less about the area. and are u using the trails responsibly, like picking up litter, trail maintenance, keeping foreign objects that arent natural to the forest out of the forest. using dead fall and other non live things first even if its 5 times harder to move it into place, maybe that just means the trail will take a new turn if thats what you wish.

[NoeFFeX]

Thanks for all the info guys. It's good to hear informative views expressed by people have experienced this all before. Mtn biking has been around in Australia for a while now, but is still very much in its infancy compared to the North Shore and the surrounding Canadian scene.

Thanks again :)