A new club for mountain bikers and BMX riders has been launched in North London – and within two years members should have their own inner-city bike park to ride at.
Called The Trax, the club is aimed at all ages and abilities. It's based at Lordship Recreation Ground in Tottenham, which is already home to a BMX park.
In 2011 that's set to be joined by a purpose-built mountain bike loop, thanks to regeneration cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Haringey Council. The track will only be 200m long, but it will be littered with jumps and berms.
Club chairman Daniel Mintz, who runs mountain bike website www.ibikeride.com, was contacted by the council a year ago because they needed some help designing the new track. He leaped at the chance because he felt there was a real gap for that sort of facility in London.
He told BikeRadar: "There's quite a vibrant biking community in the park. They told us they wanted to see things like jumps, a skills area and racing. We took that away with the architect from Haringey Council and fed the information back into the design.
"The picture you see here won't be the final design but it's an indication. The next stage of the project, in February, will be looking at different track designers. Whoever we choose will have their own input. The plan is to have features like a pump track and a skills area with some North Shore sections."
The new club, which is affiliated to UK cyclists' organisation CTC, meets regularly on Saturday mornings. Membership is free.
Daniel said: "We realised that although it [construction of the new track] wasn't going to happen for two years, it was going to need a community and a club to sustain it. We're planning a whole lot of activities, like coaching, trailbuilding classes, local rides and away days to Swinley and Chicksands."
The bike track is being created as part of a £6.5 million overhaul of the Rec which will also include a new city farm, an eco centre and major regeneration and landscaping works. Haringey Council must provide £2.5m for the scheme in order to unlock a £4m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For more information about The Trax, visit www.thetrax.co.uk.
