VIC Govt Talks to Riders

The Victorian Government has engaged with riders to resolve conflict between riders, resident and other forest users.

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Nowhere To Ride

There's hardly anywhere to ride legally in NSW.

Land developers, policy exclusion, clowns and noise has resulted in closure of nearly all available areas.

Now there are Environmental problems as riders push into areas they would not have used previously.

Erosion from new track creation, grooving of water diversion banks (roll-overs), creek bank destruction and spreading of weeds and diseases from unwashed machines are all problems now.

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
23 November 2010

RECREATIONAL MOTORCYCLING IS A TOURIST BOOM

The Motorcycle Council of NSW (MCC of NSW) calls upon the NSW state government to immediately introduce Recreational Registration for off-road motorcycles along the lines of the Victorian model.

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Ride Group Briefings

The Basics

Print this sheet off (download a copy from the bottom of the page) and use it to make sure you get back to the car park or the pub with all your mates following close behind and intact.

  • Detail the Corner Man Safety Ride System (Link to below).
  • The ride destination and planned route.
  • Specific and general hazards, risks, and precautions; remind the group that trail bike riding is a potentially dangerous activity for riders and other forest users and should be undertaken with consideration of this fact.
  • Remind everyone about appropriate speeds & throttle control on ‘transport’ sections and near public use areas and inform the group where and when to expect picnickers etc.
  • Identify any other rider/s within the group with local knowledge of the ride route/area.
  • Specify the radio channel to be used and everyone with a radio.
  • The required fuel range and re-fuel arrangements if relevant.
  • Water & food.
  • Spares & appropriate tools.
  • Money for fuel & food if necessary.
  • Licence & registration.
  • What to do if you are separated from the group (get lost).
  • Do a head count before the ride and regularly throughout the ride.

The Corner Man Safety Ride System

The Corner Man system simply has a lead rider and a sweep rider and everyone else in always in between.

The Lead Rider

Briefying
The lead rider’s job is obvious and you don’t ever try to take over his job unless he asks you to; you’ll end up lost and he’ll end up annoyed. So this means he stays in front and you do your best not to annoy him by tailing him. Tailing the lead rider is a sure way to end up standing guard over a potentially hazardous pebble on the track to make sure no one hits it. In short if the lead rider puts you on a corner or a potential hazard, you stay there until the sweep rider moves you on. No sweep rider means you don’t move, for four hours if necessary. This means there’s a flat tyre, a lost rider, or worse, an emergency (link this to Accident and Emergency Procedure below) holding him up. A UHF radio (link this to Communication) can help with the frustration of this wait.

The Sweep Rider

The sweep rider is the guy at the back of the group. He deals calmly with every situation from the joy of flat tyres and broken bikes, to the poor bloke in slightly over his head and struggling on the steep slippery hills, or the lost or broken riders. He knows his way around the forest as well as the lead rider or better. He can fix your broken bike with a cable tie, some tie wire, and a piece of duct tape, or by releasing the killswitch properly after you’ve removed the petrol tank and replaced the plug three times because your bike wouldn’t start after you turned it off. Interestingly the first time you get help from the sweep you realise you should at least carry an axle spanner, some tyre levers and a few spanners. So that by the time he gets to you and your flat tyre you at least have the wheel off, and haven’t sat around on your butt for twenty minutes, which amazingly is twice the time it takes him to fix your flat and send you on your way again. The last time you changed your tyre in the shed it took you an hour and a half and you pinched the tube three times.

The Head Count and The Buddy System

Always count the number of riders in the group. Encourage new riders to the group, who may not know anyone else in the group, to put their hand in the air and show themselves and to shake someone’s hand and say hello. Regular head counts and the buddy system ensure a lost or missing rider is quickly realised and dealt with.

The Support Vehicle

The support vehicle’s role is self explanatory, and if you’re lucky enough to be able to con a mate into meeting you in the bush with lunch and a bit of fuel, and to pick up a broken bike or rider. Make sure you and every other rider in the group buy him enough beers at the pub that night to ensure he does it again but not so many that he can’t drive the next day.

Accident and Emergency Procedure

In the case of an accident or emergency (call 112 on your mobile) the Corner Man System can save a life. It gives the ambulance driver, or Gazza in the 4WD ute the direct route to the accident. So this means sitting there for a few hours and enjoying the Australian bush. You’re part of the chain; don’t break it by getting bored and riding off looking for your mate you left on the previous corner to have chat.

If you lose the group

If you’re unfortunate enough to miss a corner or somehow lose the group, the old rule that Mum told you about applies. Sit tight and wait. You will be missed and someone will come looking. If you keep moving you’ll never be found

1. File description: Ride Briefing [100.6KB]

File name: Ride_Group_Briefings.pdf

+ Notes