GUEST EDITORIAL ground you’ll approach a rock clearing. This is the most picturesque spot on the ride. The escarpment now stands about 60m above the valley below with a rock wall lining the landscape to the right. The valley floor is a mixture of rolling hills and a beautiful cedar lined pond. This is one of the places that causes me to reflect on how fortunate I am to live in the Ottawa area. After indulging yourself with this beautiful picture of nature, head down another technical descent to the road below. This road is refreshingly rolling and fast, giving you the chance to crank your bike out. Upon reaching a ‘V’ in the road, head left, where the fast road continues. This leads you to a right that heads onto a double-track trail. You’ll have a short climb that brings you to an incredibly rewarding downhill section. This section veers to the right and hooks up with the beginner ski run. Head as fast as you dare down the access road and that’s all she wrote for the Eagles Nest loop.
Mountain bikers want to feel welcome By Dominique Larocque Creative Wheel
I’M TIRED OF THE ENDLESS RHETORIC surrounding mountainbiking in Gatineau Park. I’m tired of mountain-biking being the scapegoat for lack of creativity and decision-making abilities at the National Capital Commission (NCC). I doubt that the NCC, along with uneducated hikers, will succeed in making our sport into the sacrificial lamb of Gatineau Park. People can complain all they want about the negative effects this sport has on the Gatineau Park trail system, but I believe that riding a bike is better for the environment (and for the waistline) than driving a car with an air conditioner blasting. The NCC, hikers and bikers need to unite in the preservation of clean air and green spaces. So, what could possibly spoil such a pristine place as the Gatineau Park? Here’s the answer: a large group of unaware, commercial-recreational users.
Time to Start Paying? Yes!
I agree that mountain bikers have been very lucky to be permitted to roam freely among the rocks and trees for so long without having to give anything back financially (i.e. a daily/seasonal/annual user fee) or physically (i.e. trail building and maintenance). I don’t agree the illegal trail cutting and unofficial trail riding that takes place in the park. I do know, however, that we need funding to guarantee the preservation of our green spaces. User fees could generate a big part of this funding. Bumper-to-bumper traffic during Gatineau Park’s Fall Rhapsody could start generating money that is urgently needed to guarantee proper land management and educate current mountain bike users. If we are to preserve recreational activities in Gatineau Park, we need to start giving back. From what I hear around me, people are ready to give back. What boggles my mind is why the NCC does not create more initiatives that would allow people to do so.
NCC Lacks Vision
I was a mountain bike trail user when the NCC officially welcomed the mountain bike crowd into the park in 1990. What the NCC lacked at that time was vision, because it did not foresee the consequences this exciting and ever-evolving sport was going to have on the park’s landscape. I specify “ever-evolving sport” because we can no longer discuss and/or write about mountain-biking without specifying the style of mountain-biking one practices. The 100,000 annual mountain bike visits to the park have to be categorized into either recreational or hard-core biking. The latter means free-riding, downhill, trail riding and cross-country racing. It is by fulfilling the specific needs of these different 14
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