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big_d
Flogged
Joined: May 24, 2003
Posts: 3,914
Location: WELLINGTON .:Johnsonville:.
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 Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:10am Post subject: |
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| Mark wrote: | we used to have a pretty good thing going on over previous years with track building on Saturdays at LG and shuttles afterwards... was a pretty good scene really with a good mix of old and young. Seems to me like it died when i stopped track building on the race track early this year (other commitments). What it needs is for someone to pick it up again. Evidently all the people who used to help me out have stopped as well, so yeah just needs someone to get a scene going. pretty easy really.
Mike, Jono and co are working on Jawbone at LG, but they dont mind peddling their bikes around and aren't so concerned about shuttles, so like i say it just needs someone to step up, do some work up there and organise some riding |
We are usualy up the gully digging every second weekend and unless its raining, we usualy have some shuttles on for afterwards & if not, we usualy session the track for a little bit.
Putting all the track building affort into building Jawbone instead of the Race Track may have put off a few people – but you can shuttle any track at the end of the day.
PLUS, Jawbone is coming along nicely & has a few suprises up it's sleave for anyone who has not been down it for a little while 
Further development of the Race Track should start up closer to summer 
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Jono
High grade mental defective
Joined: Dec 25, 2001
Posts: 7,795
Location: Wellytron
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:18am Post subject: |
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| Mark wrote: | | Mike, Jono and co are working on Jawbone at LG, but they dont mind peddling their bikes around and aren't so concerned about shuttles, so like i say it just needs someone to step up, do some work up there and organise some riding |
Speaking for myself, I would really like more shuttles. I think that Mike is in the same boat. Shuttles are what long gully is all about.
I think that the biggest problem is that we don't have people with appropriate vehicles for shuttling. I could use my legacy (on fine days), but unfortunately my wife needs the car on the same day that we've got digs out in the gully. And I'll be honest - I have thought about buying a cheap 4WD expressly for the purpose, but it's a lot of money to leave a car down on the road for sundays (actually, I've just done a quick trademe search for cheap 4WDs - it's that kind of situation)...
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Mark
Thrashed
Joined: Feb 11, 2002
Posts: 1,055
Location: Welly
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:24am Post subject: |
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sorry dave - maybe i worded it wrong. I wasnt trying to say it's a track building/effort thing. I know you guys are going hard (i had a quick ride down JB the other week and thought it was awesome). Anyway thats not the problem and i was trying to respond to the original question.
What i was trying to say is that we had a good thing going, by having organised shuttles after digging (2005,06,07). Peeps were asked to help dig in the morning and bring $5 for shuttles..Vince Langford, Neville Barratt, myself provided transport and we often had 20 or 30 people diggin and shuttling. It wasnt perfect, but it went pretty well and everyone had fun.
I'm not trying to say that now it has stopped that it's anyones problem....just that this is what we did. There was a good scene. It has stopped because no-one is picking it up, whether it be at LG or elsewhere...
Last edited by Mark on Fri 5th Sep 9:31am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mark
Thrashed
Joined: Feb 11, 2002
Posts: 1,055
Location: Welly
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:29am Post subject: |
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actually i blame the latte drinking parents who dropped their kids off for the day with us baby sitters and then pick them up later on. The slackers should be getting involved like Vince and Neville... I reckon most of them dont deserve to have kids
Vince and Neville are legends
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big_d
Flogged
Joined: May 24, 2003
Posts: 3,914
Location: WELLINGTON .:Johnsonville:.
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:35am Post subject: |
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That they are!
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one_uknw
Worn
Joined: Feb 14, 2007
Posts: 537
Location: Wellington
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 9:48am Post subject: |
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If Wellington Downhill was dead, we wouldn't be having this discussion. The fact that there are motivated people and enthusiastic riders out there riding and doing work on trails etc suggests it's very much alive
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Walking_Frame
Scuffed
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: 363
Location: World
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 10:41am Post subject: |
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To be fair I actually think young Harry is unfortunately fairly accurate in his post title. I totally agree that there has been a distinct lack of new challenging dh/Fr track being built in the Wellington area., but I think it is more like a roast left on for too long, slowly dying rather than actually dead
What new Dh tack has been established in the last two years?
None- Orongorong isn't in Wellington, neither is Wainui or Maidstone for that matter and the Hutt people have worked very well on what they have been allocated by the respective councils.
Jawbone has been developing for the past three odd years and is really a trail to establish the required skills for the rest of Long Gully. That is the idea that it was originally designated and designed around. Having ridden it on both my Vp and Heckler, I can tell you it is soooo much more fun on the Heckler.
I would argue that the Race track and 420 would not be fun at all on the Heckler, therefore making Jb a great intermediate trail for all to enjoy.It is continuing to evolve like all good tracks with supportive trail builders.
There is nothing wrong with the pushing and sesisoning after digging. For one it allows the diggers a real chance to work out if what they built actually works rather than just blowing through it doing runs. However, I do agree with Mark that since he has left there has been a distinct drop in the number of attending dig days and general cruisy shuttle scene. It is not hard to shuttle in Long Gully if people simply follow the Watson's guidelines for the use of their land.
Even though I basically never shuttled with the group , largely due to the fact not many people were interested in helping with the development of 420 and I wanted to push my own riding and "Learn how to Jump!" Eventually, I 've kinda learned how to jump through trial and error- just see the 5 pins taken out lof broken hand from earlier in the year and you'll agree I still have some learning to do!
Without people , like Biggest D has said, 'getting off the esra and helping create track ", none will appear. It's not like anyone who likes building dh gets paid and most of the young Dher's in Welly can't be esrad doing much outside of getting driven to the top of the hill and picked up at the bottom. In an ironic situation, quite a few of the older, and let's just say 20 plus crew don't even turn up to help. They talk it up, or post up how keen they are and generally come up with an excuse week in week out aboutn why they haven't turned up to help- this doesnt help get more trail either....
I am very aware everyone has other things to do and I for one no longer have the time to appear every two weeks for an 8 hour dig and ride.
I do however manage to maintain and ride 420 regularly enough for it to be entirely hitable top to bottom.If anyone wants to come along, they are welcome to help and then ride. This has always been available to people but I guess working hard to get what you want is always left to the minority, like Jono and Mark havealready said.
I might add, that I have had AWESOME help from a few people over the years, who without that help I'd still be stuck in middle section diggin my way to hell and back . 
The race track has been in Long Gully well before I got involved and is changing to suit the demands of the racers that actually turn up to help create a track for them to train on for racing...
420 has been there for 4 odd years with professionals like Drop In,team Lapierre and plenty of top Nz riders really enjoying the track...
Then there is Jk's track and Mullet which anyone could have stepped up and taken over.Until recently no one has bothered with either track.A student from my school and his mates have started to reconstruct Mullet which is awesome to see...
So after all that blah blah blah - it has shown me at least Dh is not dying Wellington, it is however going through change as different people become more or less involved.
We have a ton of good riding available to us in close proximity to our city which is something many people here take for granted...
Adrian
Last edited by Walking_Frame on Wed 10th Sep 1:56pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Vee
Scuffed
Joined: Jun 20, 2008
Posts: 328
Location: Wellington
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 11:41am Post subject: |
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I am just getting into downhill...
I'm keen to dig, help out and ride different tracks in Welly. 
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Mark
Thrashed
Joined: Feb 11, 2002
Posts: 1,055
Location: Welly
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:03pm Post subject: RE: Is Wellington Downhill Dead? |
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very well said Virg.
| jumpmtb wrote: | For a while now the Wellington Downhill scence has seemed like it's starting too die out, with people giving up. Hardly any races ever on, never any news or people building wee downhill runs anywhere. I know it takes people to organise events and stuff, and I know I dont do any work there, but latly it feels like the wellington DH scence is dead, well thats just my views on the matter.
Harry. |
Are you in the Wgtn MTB Club? There's a newsletter that goes out every couple of weeks with whats going on...if you want to be involved thats where you should be looking
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Vee
Scuffed
Joined: Jun 20, 2008
Posts: 328
Location: Wellington
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:09pm Post subject: |
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Me? No, I'm not but I will have a look into it.
Who/where do I ask etc?
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Thermo
Worn
Joined: Apr 16, 2007
Posts: 590
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:11pm Post subject: RE: Is Wellington Downhill Dead? |
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| jumpmtb wrote: | | I know it takes people to organise events and stuff, and I know I dont do any work there... |
There's your answer.
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pinkmaggit
Mush
Joined: Mar 29, 2007
Posts: 1,719
Location: Wellington, NZ
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faux_name
Flogged
Joined: Mar 22, 2007
Posts: 3,342
Location: wellies
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:12pm Post subject: |
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| Vee wrote: | Me? No, I'm not but I will have a look into it.
Who/where do I ask etc? |
Pm Mike The Hippy I think it's $40 for the year now, which covers your shuttling charge per ride (used to be $5)
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brispuss
Dusty
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 117
Location: None of your business!
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:13pm Post subject: |
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wot
Last edited by brispuss on Wed 29th Oct 9:31pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Vee
Scuffed
Joined: Jun 20, 2008
Posts: 328
Location: Wellington
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| Posted: Fri 5th Sep 12:15pm Post subject: |
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| brispuss wrote: | Is Wellington Downhill Dead?
Yes. Time to move on (to road cycling)! |
That's too easy
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