By Brendan Scale - course designer and builder.

"It all started when I was at the 2002 National Championships at Mt Beauty, Victoria. It was the first year that 4X was included in the championships.

To my disappointment, the organisers held the event on the local BMX track. I wondered why they hadn't created a purpose built 4X course for such a huge event.

Having said that, the BMX course still gave me a glimpse of what 4X could be. It had some nice doubles and a techy section at the end that ended in a big kicker where the riders were pulling the biggest whips. I was inspired.

Coupled with this was the fact that I was racing Downhill at the time and there were very few events on in Victoria.

My parents had a property about 90 minutes from Melbourne, where I was living and I decided to approach them to see what they thought of the idea of me building a course there.

After a bit of sales talk from me, they finally agreed to let me go for it.

So I got my butt into gear and went from there. My parents’ property had a decent hill on it and a mini motocross track at the bottom of it, which I thought could be included in the course.

I got into planning and showed a few people what I wanted to do and got their ideas on it. These ideas became some of the best sections of the course.

Then the hard work started, over 250 hours of it. Both Dad and I got on the tractors and started construction.

My Sundays and holidays were spent building jumps and berms and all things 4X. Each feature of the course took a solid day to build.

Finally, after help from family and friends, the course was completed two months later and was ready for racing.

Since then I have done significant upgrades to the course each year. However, I now live around five hours from the course so upgrades happen slowly!"

Open Days at Trafalgar are hosted by PUSHI and are "ride at your own pace" days. They are non-competitive, meaning there are no races. They are an opportunity for riders to practice the course and enjoy the rush of riding fast and getting big air, either by yourself, or taking on your mates.

Rider entry is $20 for the day. This includes the first aid services provided by St John Ambulance, entry to Delhuntie Park and use of it's amenities.

NOTE: All riders must have a MTBA license to ride. Day licenses are available for purchase on the day for $15.

Full face helmets are compulsory. That means no cross-country helmets or skull helmets allowed. No rider will be allowed to ride the course without a full face helmet.

Safety gear is strongly recommended when riding the Trafalgar course. This may also include knee/ shin guards, gloves, and upper body armour.