There is a lot that goes into the 20 kilometres of bike tracks at the Dungog Common to ensure they ride as well as they do.
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That's where Brad Lean's effort is apparent.
The Ride Dungog Trail Manager is the volunteer in charge of repairing and improving the common's trail tracks, as well as organising a small group of volunteers.
"I volunteer to fix the tracks, repair the drainage, put the signs up, just because I can. I see that it's a good thing and we get good satisfaction out of doing something positive for the community," Mr Lean said.
The born and bred Dungog resident moved away for 10 years but found himself moving back to Dungog to raise his family.
After returning, Mr Lean got into the growing sport of mountain bike riding.
"I came to the common to find a heap of trails that didn't really match up or link up. So we set about linking the tracks together and making a 20 kilometre loop of cross country trails," he said.
"We built the flow tracks, then COVID hit and mountain biking took off."
Managing 20 kilometres of trails is a job too big for one man, so Mr Lean organises a group of about 10 volunteers.
Volunteers work together to maintain the trails, a job that has been particularly challenging with recent wet weather.
"The wet weather was a bit of a nightmare. We had lots of drainage problems, trying to maintain the trails, keep them open while diverting the water," Mr Lean said.
Although there are challenges that come with the job, the feedback that he gets more than makes up for it, according to Mr Lean.
"It's good to have something that you've worked on that you're proud of, that other people can see what your goal is and they can appreciate what you've done," he said.
Mr Lean sees the trails as being Dungog's biggest strength but also presents a unique challenge for the town.
"I think the biggest challenge Dungog is going to have is we're going to get swamped. There's going to be lots of people coming to town and we'd better be ready for it," Mr Lean said.
Ride Dungog is currently looking for more people to get involved in volunteering for their track management team.
If this is something you are interested in or if you would like to know more about Ride Dungog visit https://ridedungog.org/get-involved
