#50Days50Ways - #2 - Establishing, supporting and growing Mountain biking in the hinterland, including Boomerang Farm Bike Park

I’m convinced that Mountain Biking is a high potential, low cost, an expansive economic opportunity for the Gold Coast. We have the topography and the assets necessary to deliver a credible and impressive network of trails and tracks to ride and, frankly, the city has undercooked this opportunity over the past decade.

However, I’ve been proud to one of the early advocates for Boomerang Farm Bike Park, helping establish the Outlook Riders Alliance, and helping to facilitate the agreement between the group of riders and the King family who own and run Boomerang Farm Golf Course.

My office was instrumental in delivering that project, and continuing to grow it by providing financial support to the community group and town planning assistance as they navigate that necessity. We also helped fund and establish the Glossy Black Cockatoo Reserve options in Reedy Creek, provided funding to the Gold Coast Mountain Bike Club’s asset at Hinze Dam, are working collaboratively (if at arm’s length a little) with the teams building new trail options at Numinbah Valley and Natural Bridge.

But there’s more to be done. We need to explore major infrastructure options both for the benefit of riders, in our public reserves and nearby private land, but also to assist in management of fire trails so that bushfire management can be more strategically resourced. The estimated 341,900 mountain bike participants throughout Australia directly spend $630.8 million per annum and support 6,095 full time employees annually through riding at their local trails (source: AusCycling, 2021)

If you #Vote1Tozer during March, particularly on election day, you can be sure that I’ll keep fighting to expand ouor network and industry for this low impact ecotourism activity, as well as continue my funding and support for local groups advocating and delivering MTB events in our hinterland.