NCC mountain biker meeting report by Mike Abraham

image courtesy Gatineau Park NewsMike Abraham submits this note regarding the NCC mountain biker meeting:

Matt Surch and I attended the NCC “mountain biker meeting” May 31 along with about 30 or so other interested stakeholders.  This meeting was initially directed to the BMX community and related to the bike jumps that are located in the area of Relais Plein Air.  There were about a dozen youngsters from that community present at the meeting.  As word about the meeting spread, the scope expanded to include mountain bikers (DH and CX).  Also present were representatives from some Gatineau bike shops, the relais plein air mtb club and Skinouk as well as the president of OMBA.

Steve McLaughlin has taken over the role of Michel Dallaire as the Manager of Outdoor Activities - GP.  Also present was his manager Renee Bellehumeur.  While Renee made it clear at the beginning of the meeting that the NCC wants to be open and have dialogue with interested stakeholders, however expectations have to be realistic.....GP will never be a Whistler type of mountain bike area.....certainly not under the current GP Master Plan.

While I am relatively new to the process here and perhaps not as jaded as some of the veterans who were subject to NCC intransigence in the past, I do detect a tone of openness and willingness to realize that the NCC heavy hand is not a successful approach, and that there is a willingness to work with interested parties.  Steve is a mtn biker so that is a big step right there.

With that - this meeting was very preliminary, and there will be follow-ups with specific proposals and idea gathering.  I think it will be important for the mtb community to get together in support of initiatives that will hopefully benefit us and our pastime in the long run.  Some coordinated effort and voluntarism will likely be required within the community itself, perhaps facilitated by the existing bike shops, clubs and race teams as a start.

This is just a beginning  - Will post other updates as they occur.

- Mike Abraham

Thanks for the report Mike!

Update on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 9:09AM by admin

Guide Gatineau posts another summary of the NCC mountain bike meeting. Also Kris Westwood has an update on his blog.

Comments

[Mike A]

Summary of Monday’s NCC Mountain Bike Meeting from Charles Hodgson at guidegatineau......

http://guidegatineau.ca/news/2010/06/02/summary-of-mondays-ncc-mountain-bike-meeting/