Budding cyclists get first taste of Mystic Park progress

ALPINE Cycling Club junior members were the lucky first riders on Mystic Park’s new trails next to Morses Creek last Tuesday, with the trails the first part of refurbishment and construction works improving safety and amenity at the park. The new trails consist of a climbing trail and a flow trail snaking beside Morses Creek to Fiveways, where five trails intersect, and a climbing and flow trail from the car park on Coronation Avenue to the future shuttle access point on White Star Road. The mountain bike trails are part of a suite of upgrades at the park expected to be completed in April, including a new shuttle access point and internal shuttle road, a resting area beside the creek, and a Mystic ‘M’ sign to provide a clear entry point. According to Mystic Park, the refurbishments not only improve the trail offering at the park, it also improves safety with a fence at the carpark and new underpass at Dougherty’s Bridge, removing the need for cyclists to cross Coronation Avenue. Fiveways - a future shuttle bus route and major thoroughfare for cyclists - will also have a culvert installed to eliminate conflict between bikers and shuttles. The new trails to and from Fiveways replace cyclists’ previous flat route along White Star Road with a stimulating ride filled with bumps, jumps and banked turns, also known as berms. “As you can see, the kids are having so much more fun compared to just riding on a flat road,” Mystic Park’s marketing and communications officer Anne Chiew said. “Being close to the river is just so much nicer.” She said the trails were designed and built by trailbuilding company World Trail, known for creating the trails at Blue Derby, a popular mountain biking destination in north-east Tasmania. The trails also connect with Bennett’s Trail, a shared bike path between Bright and Wandiligong, while another sealed path heading to Pioneer Park is planned around the trail head car park. Ms Chiew said cyclists commonly finish their ride along a trail called Shred Kelly’s Last Stand, but to be shuttled back up the mountain they must then ride on White Star Road to the landing area for hang-gliders. They are then shuttled along Coronation Avenue and Mystic Lane into the park. She said the new design will shuttle riders from the access point on White Star Road through Fiveways, keeping riders and the shuttle within the park and away from residential areas. “This whole new design is about getting the trailhead, the shuttle area and the trails all centrally located,” she said. “In peak summer season shuttle buses are just coming back and forth, back and forth - it could be up to six buses running in one day. “One - getting them off Mystic Lane is great for residents, and two – it keeps everything inside the park.” When the cycling club juniors were asked what the new trails should be called, names included ‘Cricket’s Run’, ‘Cricket’s Hole’, ‘Deathstar’ and ‘Berm’. Eight-year-old Odin McCormick said the uphill trail should be called ‘Rapids’ and the downhill trail called ‘Rollers’, giving the entire section of trails the name ‘Rapid Rollers’.

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