Hidden, handmade mountain bike track in Windsor safe - for now

A handful of dirt bike enthusiasts are fighting to save a piece of land they call their 'Dirt Church' hidden behind the Ganatchio Trail inWindsor's east end.

Tucked behind the trail between a new housing development sits a sizeable track carved out of the terrain, complete with steps, warning signs and culverts.

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"This has been on-going for years," said Terry Pargelen, describing the history of a park he said was built because there was no place else in the city suitable for off-roadriding.

Last week Pargelennoticed constructionequipment beside the site and feared the worst - which a city worker later confirmed.

"They said that they've been ordered to knock it down at some point this week," said Pargelen, who was worried that the jumps built by hand using only buckets and shovels would come crashing down as early as Tuesday.

Safety Concerns

People complained to Councillor IrekKusmierczykat a recent Ward 7 meeting about the trailing, citing potential safety concerns and fire pits they said they found near the bike track.

Kusmierczykvisited the 'Dirt Church' on Monday afternoon to see the bike track for himself.

"Frankly, I'm blown away," saidKusmierczyk, after chatting with some of the riders.

"Really the scale of it. This looks like something that was done obviously by an expert."

The councillor said the park will not be demolished this week.

"I asked them to put a hold on this to put a pause to give administration the opportunity to study this, to have a conversation with the cycling community, to look at it and bring a report ideally back to council," said Kusmierczyk.

He said the people at the park seemed open to the idea of working with the city for safe solutions whether it's upgrades to the current park or the creation of a new dirt bike track built by the city with input from the riders.