Helensburgh Mountain Bike Track, the first legal trail in the Illawarra, has been officially opened and held its first club race on 21 November.

The mountain bike trail has been four years in the making, with many hours of labour invested by the local club – Helensburgh Off Road Cycling Club (HORCC) – the generous support of local businesses and a $60,500 state government ‘My Community Project’ grant.

A key part of the track is an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which is accessible for the whole Helensburgh community 24 hours a day.

“We believe this is a first for the Illawarra,” said HORCC President Dave Eccles. “In an emergency, you dial Triple-0, they give you a code to access the AED and stay on the phone as you utilise it.

“There are a lot of bushwalkers, runners and sporting clubs here, as well as the mountain biking, so we felt this safety feature was important for the community.” Member for Heathcote Lee Evans was on hand to officially open the track, with 35 adult riders taking part in a 12km race that included a men’s, women’s, and e-bike category.

Several people from Sutherland Shire Cycling Club, including its president, and a member of the Southern Highlands Cycling Club attended.

It’s come a long way from the original trail that was mown into the grass behind the footy ovals by local HORCC member, Matthew Cady, to provide somewhere for his daughter, and other kids her age, to learn to ride.

That led to several key relationships, with the local Dharawal people for use of their land, and with Wollongong Council.

Now, the track is abuzz with children and adults alike utilising the purpose-built trails.

“It’s great to see people of all ages and abilities using the track, with families coming up from out-of-town to use the trail,” said Dave.