The tremendous growth in cross in and around Ottawa is a gratifying result of the series. But it is also creating a problem. As most of you know, we need permission to use the race venues and are charged a fee by the City of Ottawa and other bodies for their use.
Part of our our understanding with the city is that race sites will only be used for a maximum of two events each season to limit damage to grass and to minimize conflicts with other park users.
But the substantial number of people now training regularly at some race venues has prompted complaints to the city. Other sports groups also book these facilities and are not pleased to find riders zipping through their races and training sessions. The city, after all, keeps cross country running races and cross country ski clubs away from the sites when we hold races. It's only reasonable that we should respect their bookings. The mash up could also lead to collisions at some point.
If it continues, this situation may jeopardize our ability to book race locations in the future.
The loss of facilities within the city would not only mean driving farther to race, it would also dramatically shorten the series.
So here's our request: please train somewhere other than the parks where we race. When you're training, you don't need washrooms, parking and an area big enough to for a circuit that can accommodate 100-plus riders. That opens up all kinds of potential spots for training, some of which, are probably superior to our current venues from a racing, if not a logistical, standpoint. Even better, those locations may be closer to your home.
That being said, please use some sense. The large number of tire tracks on the grass berms and hills surrounding the War Museum suggests that it is becoming popular training site. But please remember that those berms were built to honour the dead of the First World War.
Ian Austen and Bob Woods