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Park’s new jumps course takes a bit more bottle
The mountain bike humps and jumps at the main
entrance to Bottle Lake Forest Park have been reformed to provide a greater range of challenges for riders. Council Ranger Warren Hunt says staff talked to users and got their help in redesigning the area off Waitikiri Drive. “One of the concerns some of the more experienced users had was that, with everything mixed up, they were always worrying about getting tangled up with younger, less experienced riders. They wanted us to look at graduating it from easier to hard-out and that’s what we’ve done,” he says. Now, the area in front of the car park has low-level areas for beginners through to 3m drop-offs designed to test experienced riders. “It’s way better and heaps more fun,” says Ben Weild, from Heathcote Valley. “They’ve drained it and now you can keep your speed up and go around the berms. This is getting way better.” Ben, 13, and his friend Ed Burry, nine, were testing the changes during a City Council-run youth adventure holiday programme. Ben, who also rides motocross and BMX, reckons people will appreciate the changes. “It’s real good,” he says. The jumps area was originally developed to give riders a challenge while waiting for others to arrive at the park. “We also saw a need for BMX riders to have some testing jumps,” Mr Hunt says. “There’s also going to be an area installed of skills-based obstacles that the riders will have to negotiate. It’s called a bike trials course, a sport that’s growing rapidly overseas.” |