There is a green belt in the area between Oldenland Road and Hillcrest Rd in Somerset West, which has enormous potential for mountain biking.

Recently, while walking in Shady Glen at the top of Oldenland Road, I came across some young guys working on the paths in the green belt.  They were all probably around high school or university age and they were happily building paths and chatting with the passers-by.

Subsequently, I’ve seen some of the results of their work - neat bridges across the stream, paths that were saved from erosion and new winding paths that can be used by runners, hikers and dog-walkers alike.  

This sort of behaviour is the foundation for a sense of community: people doing hard work together to benefit everyone in the area.  

We would like to open the area up to mountain biking, allowing the development of a small trail network and turning the area into a small but fun venue for bike riding.  Part of this work would be to ensure that walkers and mountain bikers can coexist in the area in a safe and amenable way, by ensuring that good trail behaviour is adhered to.

 This change would benefit everyone in the area: cyclists would have a new, safe area to ride, walkers and joggers would have more and better maintained trails to run on and the increased activity and traffic in the green belt would have a positive impact on the intermittent vagrancy and concomitant petty crime in the neighborhood.  In addition, there is potential for some good old-fashioned community-building through a project like this. 

1.  Obtain preliminary council permission to develop trails in the area and open the green belt to cycling

2.  Engage with a relevant association like AMARider for affiliation/guidance on the actual trail construction

3.  Erect proper signage (IMBA stadard) and trail rules

4.  Raise funds privately and construct a trail network.