July 3, 2019
The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Users Association (BVRTUA) has stopped organising cycle races on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.
The announcement was made by BVRTUA president Paul Heymans after last Saturday’s BVRT100 cycle race between Esk and Yarraman.
My Heymans said the main reason for the decision was that recreational usage on the rail trail has grown so much over the past few years it was no longer safe to run cycle races on it.
Another was that attendance figures suggested more people preferred non-competitive events where fun – not speed – was the main consideration.
In an open letter on the BVRTUA’s Facebook page, Mr Heymans said the decision was a “difficult but necessary” one.
“Our committee has thought about the implications long and hard,” he said.
“The race events have been an incredible promotion for the BVRT, attracting many top endurance cyclists who went on to become influential ambassadors for the rail trail.
“However, when we ran the first BVRT E2E in August 2017, traffic on the rail trail was relatively light.”
My Heymans said to some extent the BVRTUA had become a victim of its own success.
“Traffic on the rail trail has increased exponentially,” he said.
“A few participants in the BVRT 100 on Saturday commented that they had never seen so many other users on the rail trail compared with previous events.
“As the association representing the interests of all BVRT users, we have a responsibility to the wider community of recreational cyclists, walkers and horse riders who just want an enjoyable day out on the rail trail.”
Mr Heymans said the potential for accidents was also a factor in the decision.
“A modern mountain bike ridden by a strong, fit cyclist can average close to 30km/h over a 100km course,” he said.
“It’s not just the potential for a collision with innocent bystanders that is a cause for concern, it can also be a bit nerve-racking to have groups of cyclists whizzing past you at speed.
“It also seems significant that when we ran the Toogoolawah Dash as a recreational event we had over 300 participants, but when we ran it as a race we attracted only half that number.”
He said the BVRTUA believed challenge events would appeal to more people if they were not run as a race because most participants believe completing the course is their primary objective, not winning a podium place.
Mr Heymans said the BVRTUA did not want to foster a culture of speed on the rail trail.
To ensure this, future endurance events would offer opportunities for people to challenge themselves but the emphasis would be more on enjoyment and personal achievement than speed.
They would also be untimed.
“Instead, we will be offering prizes for randomly selected places so everyone has a chance of winning a prize, and everyone will receive a completion certificate,” he said.
“The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail is a recreational trail, not a racetrack.”
