New bike track ready in Omarama

School pupils try out the new mountain bike pump track, which has been completed on a reserve...
School pupils try out the new mountain bike pump track, which has been completed on a reserve next to the Omarama Hall. Photo by David Bruce.
Mountain and BMX bike enthusiasts have a new attraction at Omarama, a $45,000 pump track with degrees of difficulty to appeal to all ages.

The track was the idea of the Ahuriri Community Board, which has completed the project using money from a reserve fund held by the Waitaki District Council.

The idea fitted in with a community visioning project in 2007, which iden-tified how people wanted Omarama to develop, as well as the desire to provide facilities to encourage people of all ages to be more active.

Board chairman Craig Dawson said the track was also to provide more activities for young people, both permanent residents and visitors.

"I often get people asking me what there is for young people to do if it's not suitable to go to the lake," he said.

Although the facility, which includes a pump track and an obstacle course for riders to improve their skills, has not been officially opened, it has already been discovered by mountain bikers.

It is based on similar tracks developed at Wanaka and Hawea, and is designed in such a way that riders can get around most of the track without pedalling by "pumping" their bikes between the humps and turns.

It is on a reserve next to the Omarama Hall. Fill and top soil was brought in to form the humps and banked turns on the track. One of the humps is about 2.5m high.

Mr Dawson said the track was ready to ride on, but "rain and some frosts" were needed to pack down the soil surface.

A gate still has to be put through the fence by the hall to provide easy access to the track and Mr Dawson hopes some landscaping, including picnic facilities, can be carried out.

An official opening is being planned for early next month.

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