In South-East Queensland the BMX and Mountain Biking community is rapidly growing as more people of all ages are entering the sport. Biking is growing more popular by the minute on sites such as YouTube where videos are uploaded to give exposure to the sport. Different disciplines of biking are making it into some of the world’s largest sporting events such as the X-Games hosted at various locations around the globe.

Cycling is a sport with rewarding fitness as it can be enjoyed by people of all ages throughout many disciplines of riding.

Several of the many cycling disciplines are:

Road riding: Cycling using roads and obeying traffic rules for fitness training and recreation.

Trail riding: Riding a mountain bike on various levels of terrain both up and down hills for recreation and fitness.

BMX: Riding a BMX bike at skate parks or street riding using urban features.

Freeride: Riding a large bike with both front and rear suspension over large jumps and various obstacles, challenging ability mostly for recreation.

Dirt jumping: Riding a BMX bike or smaller sized mountain bike over shaped and groomed dirt, the dirt is shaped specifically as take off ramps and landing ramps. Riders start on smaller jumps and work up to larger sized features.

On the Sunshine Coast, we have a great road network to cater for road cyclists as there is a range of hills and paved roads from the beaches ranging out to the hinterland. We also have several trail riding locations in our conservation parks such as ‘Parklands’, which offers a range of flowing trails with small obstacles for all riding abilities. Parklands is located off the Bruce Highway in between Nambour and Yandina and is hardly accessible by bike. The Sunshine Coast Council have built good quality skate parks around the region also catering for different rider abilities, however these parks get extremely crowded during weekends and school holidays due to other sporting communities such as skateboarding and scooter riding.

Events like X-Games are getting new younger riders into BMX and Dirt Jump riding. These two sports are becoming the most popular for the youth as they require the smallest initial investment and also cost the least to maintain over time. Our skate parks on the Sunshine Coast offer ‘street’ and ‘park’ style BMX riders an easier entry into the sport as there is many riding locations.

Recently, Dirt Jumping is growing faster than ever as more bikes of this style are being sold in our local bike stores. Riders that are interested in entering the sport however have nowhere to ride as there are no ‘official’ Dirt Jump Parks on the Sunshine Coast. Ruff End Mountain Bike Park (now closed down) had a small jump park suitable for beginner – intermediate riders, but there were limitations as the park was only open on weekends for certain hours, it was situated opposite The Big Pineapple which is not only inaccessible by bike, but it is also located so far from the Sunshine Coast’s main population making it difficult to get to for younger riders. The park also had a fee to pay upon entry.

As the sport grows and riding locations decrease, secret jump spots are built in public and private land areas across the Sunshine Coast. The jumps are well hidden which sparks an issue as Dirt Jumping can be a dangerous sport. The hidden jumps are built big and are extremely dangerous for beginners to learn on. If an injury was to occur it is incredibly hard for Paramedics to access the injured rider. When a public park is built to only suit beginners, more advanced riders attempt to enlarge the jumps making them dangerous and causing conflict between riders. Creating a large Dirt jump Park with a range of jumps for all abilities would be beneficial for fitness and recreation and cater for all riders.

I believe that the Sunshine Coast Dirt Jump riders deserve a dirt jump park that will attract many riders from beginner to professional skill level with a range of features for everyone to enjoy. A park that is easy to access and maintained. Many other cities around the world such as Zurich (Switzerland), Queenstown (New Zealand) and Vancouver (Canada) have large Dirt Jump Parks, and I believe we deserve one too.

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