Mountain biking trails across Nelson and Tasman will reopen on Thursday as the rules around recreation ease slightly in alert level 3.
Riders are being warned not to take rosks and potentially stretch emergency services Photo: 123RF
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said it was an opportunity for Nelson residents to go for a ride, but they had to respect alert level 3 restrictions.
Contractors will be checking trails tomorrow to ensure they are safe and that 2m physical distancing can be maintained.
Mayor Reese said it was important to keep others in mind, ride within your limits and avoid taking risks that could result in needing to be rescued.
"This weekend a mountain biker crashed in Queenstown and several police and ambulance staff were involved in the two-hour rescue," she said.
"Our emergency services are already stretched due to the lockdown, and if something similar happened here it would take up the time of emergency staff that are potentially needed elsewhere."
Tasman District Council Mayor Tim King also stressed people take a safety-first approach.
"We cannot reiterate enough that your recreation should not pose a risk to anybody else. Stay within your limits, if possible scale it back for the short term. Emergency services do not want to use their resources to manage the consequences should something go wrong, particularly in more remote areas."
Nelson Marlborough Health chief medical officer Dr Nick Baker said riders should take a cautious approach.
"Try to avoid injuries that put pressure on the health system. This means even experienced riders should use known tracks, within their ability level," he said.
"Stick to nearby trails close to your home. If you require rescuing from a remote location, you put the people who come to your aid at risk.
"Mountain bikers should also not gather in groups outside of their bubble, to limit the risk to others, and mask wearing is advised."
