Popular Nelson trail is back on track

One of Nelson’s most popular mountainbike tracks is back after log harvesting forced its closure.

The grade three Firball, at Codgers Mountainbike Park in the Brook Valley, will re-open today.

Nelson Mountain Bike Club secretary Paul Jennings said the trail was close to many riders’ hearts.

For many club members it was their first ‘‘proper’’ track and a trail where they ‘‘learnt how to ride and experienced the thrill of mountain biking’’.

‘‘Over the last eight years, it’s been ridden by tens of thousands of riders, and the view from the top over Nelson and Tasman Bay has probably been posted on Facebook a similar amount of times,’’ Jennings said.

The track was originally built by the club eight years ago, and was enjoyed due to its flowing nature and naturalness.

It went through several upgrades over the years with volunteers working to improve it.

Many riders were sad to see the track go when the council logged the Douglas Fir on the track’s hillside last year.

But the club had welcomed the opportunity to work with the Nelson City Council to create a new Firball to cater for the growing number of beginner and intermediate mountain bikers in, and visiting, Nelson.

The council had paid for the track to be built and the club had consulted with it over the trail, Jennings said.

‘‘The council has been really supportive and they contracted trail building experts Empire of Dirt for this project - the end result is first class, a really exciting and fun trail that we imagine will quickly become a firm favourite in our network.

‘‘Although we miss the trees some of the views are incredible.’’

The new track had to be built wider than the old Firball so it would last on the hill’s denuded terrain.

It would narrow up into a more natural track over time and mature into a trail more consistent with the old Firball vibe. ‘‘It’s nice to see Codgers come of age again after 2-3 years of being rebuilt.’’

Sports and recreation committee deputy chairman councillor Mike Rutledge said mountainbiking had the highest participation rate in the region outside of walking.

The Codgers area was close to town and a fabulous asset, so it was important the track was reinstated to a high level and built to last. The council paid $90,000 for the track from its forestry account.