In this issue:
Areas:
Pinjar Rocks
Advocacy:
City of Swan Guidelines
Ranger Survey
Summer Riding Tips
Events
Pinjar Maintenance Morning Feb 7
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Helping to save your riding areas
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Dear Member
Welcome to 2015! We start this new year with an important issue that could affect anyone who enjoys riding on their own private property or the property of a friend or relative. Please take the time to read the story on the City of Swan Proposed Guidelines, and more importantly, take the time to respond if you think it might affect you.
There's also some good news for Pinjar fans, some clarification on 'legal' single-track - and a celebrity trail rider tweets from a mystery location.
Read on to catch up with the latest RTRA news...
City of Swan Private Property Guidelines
The City of Swan (which will shortly include the Shire of Mundaring) has proposed a set of guidelines relating to the riding of motorcycles on private property. Among the proposals is one which could limit riding on your own 5 acre block to just once per calendar month.
The guidelines are out for public comment, with a deadline of January 30.
If you live in the City of Swan or the Shire of Mundaring, and ride on your own or a friend’s property, then it is highly likely that these new guidelines will affect you. We may only have this one chance to put the riders’ point of view forward.
The RTRA is collating comments from riders so that we can structure a formal response to the City of Swan. Please read the summary of the guidelines and let us have your comments or concerns by no later than January 20
Ranger Survey Analysis
 The RTRA ‘Report a Ranger Incident’ service has now been running for over four years and has provided us some useful information. For example, bikes that are not road registered are nearly 10 times more likely to be confiscated than road registered ones. And over half of all infringements or warnings given to road registered bikes are under the Control of Vehicles (Offroad Areas) Act - which generally doesn’t apply to road registered vehicles!
The good news is that most encounters result in a warning only, and the majority of rangers are rated as ‘firm but courteous’. If you have an encounter with a ranger while out riding please let us know. The more data we can gather the more valuable this information becomes in ensuring that rangers provide correct information and the relationship between riders and rangers is improved.
Pinjar Rocks
DPaW has advised that work will soon commence to remove rocks from the new Short n Curly practice MX circuit at Pinjar. We will advise members when we get an exact date for this work to be done. The entrance to the circuit will also be upgraded and more work done to block off shortcuts to make the circuit safer.
Meanwhile the new trail counters installed on the PeeWee Circuit are highlighting the intensive use that this trail is getting. The average traffic is around 2,000 laps per week and despite this heavy use the trail surface is holding up well. Thanks for the vigilant parents and friends who ensure that this junior trail is only used by juniors!
Fire Warning Reminder
 Still on the topic of Pinjar, we have already had the first seasonal fire weather risk closure - we suggest checking the RTRA web site or Facebook page before heading out there if the weather is going to be hot.
And please take care - DPaW had to extinguish a smouldering campfire on Sat 6/12. We really shouldn’t have to remind people not to light fires in a pine plantation in summer.
Single-track!
 We’re often asked about 'legal single-track’. There are two ways that single-track gets created - the first is that it is a gazetted road or a trail that is open to the public that has become overgrown from lack of use by cars and 4WDs, so that only a single line still exists. The second is that it has been created for an enduro at some stage with the permission of the land manager.
Publicly open roads or trails are OK to ride, but old enduro single-track is often in places where permission to ride has been withdrawn over the years (or maybe never existed).
The only newly created legal single-track is the pilot trail at Metro Road. With this project now demonstrating the sustainability of properly designed single-track the RTRA will be pushing to create a lot more of this in 2015.
So What does a Red Bull F1 Star do at Christmas?
 Great to see Daniel relaxing at home and enjoying some local trails.
Any suggestions of where this might be?
Minimal Impact - Stay Covered in Summer
 The hotter weather brings many temptations - including the temptation to forego some of the standard protective riding gear. Problem is, you just never know when you are going to need the protection of proper boots, pants and tops.
Even a casual ride can easily turn into a painful session having gravel picked out of torn skin. And it can get a lot worse.
Remember, even on a hot day you will be air-cooled while you ride, so there's no reason to depart from the ATGATT mantra (All The Gear, All The Time). A little heat discomfort is way preferable to a side full of gravel-rash!
Spread the Word
If you think the RTRA is having a positive impact for riders, just think how much more effective we'd be if we had double the members. It's actually not that hard - all it takes is for each member to find one other rider to sign up. If you have riding buddies who are not yet members of the RTRA, please forward them this email and give them a prod to join up.
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