Firecrest Mountain Biking - Ian Warby appointed by CTC
After 8yrs on Aston Hill developing the 100 acre mountain bike centre Ian has announced his appointment by the CTC - the UK's cyclists' organisation, as their new Off-Road Development Officer.
Back in 1997 Ian was
one of the first to see the potential in the mountain bike park riding
concept. Developing purpose built and professionally maintained DH, XC
and 4X trails as part of the Aston Hill facility.
As Firecrest Mountain Bikings current five year agreement with the
Forest Commission enters it's final year Ian was considering his options
when the offer to work for the CTC came along.
Ian said. "The CTC are looking to bring their expertise to the off-road sector and this post offers an ideal platform for me to take my knowledge and experience to a National level. The CTC have already done some stellar work for the mountain bike community in 2006. They were instrumental in getting Easy-Jet to back down on their bike ban and my new colleague, CTC's Off Road campaigner Richard George's campaign work on off-road access has potentially opened up miles of off-road trails. This is such an exciting opportunity and I'm looking forward to making the CTC the first point of call for mountain bikers. Whether it be mountain bike skills coaching, advice on where to ride from the well know MTB center's through to the miles of off-road trails available across the UK and on all off-road development issues in general."
CTC Off-Road Development Manager, Rob Fuller said: "During his time at Aston Hill, Ian developed the site from scratch and developed training courses that have brought thousands of new riders into the sport. It's exactly this type of experience that will enable CTC to cater for current and future mountain bikers."
Ian continues. "It's an exciting time for Mountain Biking and it's great to be part of an organisation committed to developing opportunities for the off-road community. Keep an eye on www.ctc.org.uk for the latest and don't be afraid to get in touch if you have any questions or have any off road issues you think that I or the CTC team can help with.
I'm sure everyone's now wondering what's in store for the future of Aston Hill? Well Firecrest Mountain Biking will continue to run Aston Hill through to the end of our current agreement with the Foresty Commission (March 2007). So there's no immediate change in store and the Forestry Commission are considering their options before choosing the direction they want to take things. There are no plans to close the Hill and I'd like to take this opportunity to squash any rumors that you might have heard about the hills future.
One of the big advantages about my new job is that I'm in an perfect position to ensure that the development of Aston Hill can continue. I and the team behind Firecrest have put far to much blood, sweat and toil into building, developing and running the Aston Hill and you can bet there's no one more committed to making sure Aston Hill will be in a position to continue to be among the riders favorites when it comes to Mountain Bike facilities in the South. As always I'll keep you up to date with what's happening on www.astonhill.com."