The Wildlings making their mark on the Noosa trails

It was an idea that was designed to reinvigorate.

Noosa Trailblazers MTB Club President Chad Thoradson and junior development officer Shane Flynn were dedicated to bringing back the family feel and numbers to the club.

So, they decided to create a ride group focused on juniors called the “Wooroi Wildlings”.

And their approach to getting new ride buddies was simple.

“Pretty funny at the start we put a few posts up on our Facebook page, but Chad and I used to poach people from the information board at the carpark.

“I’d see a dad and son or family looking at places on the map where they could ride and I’d basically go up and poach them from the map and say let’s go for a ride,” Flynn said.

While it took a few weeks to catch on, their persistence paid off.

In just over a year there is now a healthy crew, including parents, that meet up every Saturday morning at the Wooroi mountain bike trails near Noosa Heads.

“If everyone came, all the kids came, we’d have at least 40 to 45 on Saturday. And if all the parents came at least another 20-25.

“At the Wednesday skills session we have 11 young blokes and that is growing.”

Saturday’s ride fest is all about enjoying being on the bike with others.

“We break up into three groups of categories of skills and fitness levels and ride anywhere between 12 and 20km in the three groups,” Flynn said.

However, it’s not just the physical improvements they have been noticed in the junior club members.

“We’ve seen social changes, kids that are really quiet and shy have opened up.

“We always like to greet each other with a handshake.

"It’s good to see kids want to come up and your hand and say hello and thank you for the ride.”

If you want to learn more about the "Wooroi Wildlings" you can head to the Noosa Trailblazers webpage.

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Main Photo: AusCycling