'You can just come and ride here'
The Helensburgh Off Road Cycle Club (Horcc) tracks are looking their best in anticipation of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. Seven mountain bike enthusiasts and members have gathered to show off their skills and share their passion for the sport. They whir past at high speed, dressed in blue club shirts, with a splurge of mud and a big grin.
Wayne Teal, the newly elected president of Horcc, has lived in Helensburgh for 21 years, and been involved with the mountain bike club for about 12 to 15 years.
He hopes the cycle club, which has about 120 members, has a big future. Wayne thinks back to how it all started. “The mountain bike park has grown incessantly. It started with a lawn mower at the top part of the oval, to what it is today and hopefully we can keep maintaining it and building it and getting bigger and better.”
Wayne believes mountain biking is "a lot safer" than road riding.
"It is a lot more interesting than road riding," he says. "It’s a great social group. It’s fantastic, we organise weekends away, weeks away. We have a social event every two weeks up here called the fitness challenge.
"Anyone can come, anyone can join our club – from little kids up to old people can come up and ride. It’s just so much fun to do it.
"And once you’ve got your mountain bike, apart from your regular services, it is not an expensive sport. The bike can be expensive, sure, but once you got your bike … it’s all free.
"You can just come and ride here.”
While we're talking, Helensburgh locals Jed Smith and Balin Carlisle, both 15 years old, airlift their bikes off the ramps.
Balin says mountain biking clears his head. "It’s good fun.”
He reckons everyone should give it a go, and Jed agrees: “It’s a good sport. Just riding the bush. It’s pretty fun with your mates.”
Then I speak to Ulla Cady, who remembers the humble lawnmower beginnings of the club. She fell in love with Helensburgh, but found there was nowhere for her daughter to learn how to ride a mountain bike.
“My husband with a mower did a track for her one day and it became what it is today, from just a little mow on the grass.“
Visit horcc.com.au
