For my first ride of 2013 I decided on a short tough ride through the familiar trails of Clear Mountain. It has a bit of everything – winding single track, thick forest, fast firetrail descents and tough climbs.
While I was riding on the single tracks, I spied this mushroom in the middle of the track, growing out of a pile of manure left by a horse. I thought I’d try taking a picture of it, but when I did, a fly perched on top of the mushroom. He didn’t budge no matter how I contorted myself to try and get the best picture.
I’ve probably said this to you before, but:
I don’t ride to get fit. That’s just a side-effect.
I don’t ride to break records or win races – even though I sometimes try to grab a KOM or two on Strava.
The thing that keeps me coming back is discovering new things, exploring new places, and sharing those discoveries with my friends. That’s why I really enjoy riding with people, and writing about what we find.
I’ve ridden this track hundreds of times, but I got a buzz out of the fact that on yet another familiar ride I was able to discover something new.
I mean – it’s not every day you get to write about a bug on a mushroom in a pile of manure 🙂
Happy New Year!
Total distance: 32.2 km Total climbing: 581 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 02:36:37
My friend, Neil B, regularly organizes group social rides on Saturday afternoons. This week, he wanted to visit House Mountain, near Samford. I hadn’t ever ridden there before, so I jumped at the chance to explore some new trails with a large friendly group of people.
For this ride, about 14 of us met at the “Jurassic” car park at Bunyaville, and started out towards Samford State Forest, a couple of kilometres to the South West…
Samford State Forest (Most of us call it “Ironbark” for short) has a lot more hills than Bunyaville. Today we slowly made our way to the high point up the “Three Sisters” track. I think it’s called this because of the three “humps” you have to grind up on your way to the top. They’re not difficult, but as with most climbs, they slow you down a bit, and tend to spread out a group of riders.
We then enjoyed a quick (80 km/h) roll down Burns Road on our way to the rail trail north of Samford. This part of railway line is popular because of the old tunnel at the end, affectionately known as “The Bat Cave“. The trail is used by horse riders, joggers, walkers and mountain bikers, and is a pleasant way to head north from Samford without having to go on busy Mount Samson road.
It’s always fascinating to peer into the “cave” through the fence, provided you don’t mind bats, or snakes 🙂
But the real challenge of the ride is House Mountain, just behind the Bat Cave. It has some very steep climbs – some of which we had to push the bikes up….
…but it also has some very steep descents, which are a lot of fun to ride down, before shooting out into a green paddock at the bottom.
We then followed some pony trails along (and across) the South Pine River back to Samford, before retracing our tracks back to Bunyaville. At some times of the year, this river crossing is impassable. Thankfully we haven’t had much rain recently, so it was easy to cross.
Because I wanted a longer ride, I started from my place, which stretched it out to about 70km over 5 and a half hours (including breaks), with about 1,300m of ascent and just over 4,000 kcal. The more sensible route (from Bunyaville) is about 30km in length with about 750m of ascent, and takes about 3 hours including breaks. It rates about 8 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.
Total distance: 70.38 km Total climbing: 1432 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 05:39:03
It’s taken two years and a couple of attempts but today Aaron and I finally made it to Dianas Bath.
Dianas Bath is a spectacular rock pool in the northern section of D’Aguilar National Park, fed by Byron Creek. It’s very difficult to get to – even if you have a 4WD (which I don’t), and it’s surrounded by steep hills, thick scrub and large boulders.
Todays ride started at the bottom of Wirth Road at Laceys Creek.
We slowly ground our way 6km to the top of the hill, then meandered through the forest until we reached Jacky Creek Road. This is a steep descent which switches back and forth down the mountain and devolves into some really fun steep single track towards the bottom.
Jacky Creek is a quiet pretty stream, but it flows in all weather, so it’s a bit of a challenge to cross. We managed to get to the other side and stay dry, which was quite an achievement.
From there we followed Dianas Bath Road to the end. This is a steep climb followed by a steep descent. In the past I found it so steep I had to push the bike in some parts. Today I just kept my head down and kept pushing the pedals around, and made it to the top. I was really pleased to tick this hill off the list. I must give credit to my riding buddy, Aaron, who spurred me on.
Eventually we had to leave the bikes behind and rock-hop along Byron Creek. This is tough because cycling shoes aren’t designed for walking in. Mine have carbon-fibre soles which hard hard and slippery. Walking on rocks in shoes like this is really difficult. In addition, the track was overgrown, we had to scramble over a few fallen trees, and the banks either side of the creek are steep and strewn with boulders. Oh, and did I mention the thorny “wait-a-while” vines that wrapped around our limbs?
After about half an hour of scrambling along the creek, we finally reached Dianas Bath. I was delighted. It was prettier (and bigger) than I imagined. My only regret was not bringing some swimmers. This place would be a lot of fun to swim in.
Aaron took his shoes off and waded in the water while I kept scrambling around on the edge of the pool looking for a Geo Cache.
My friend, Paul, created the Dianas Bath Geocache a few years ago. A Geocache is a small container containing trinkets and a log book. There are millions of them hidden all over the place. You can find out more here. I was delighted to finally log this cache after two years.
From there we headed back towards Mount Brisbane Road for the ride back to the cars, dodging lots of friendly goannas along the way.
Today we rode 52km in about five and half hours (including stops). We climbed about 1,750m of vertical ascent. I burned about 5,200kcal.
The ride included many slopes in excess of 25%, and some gradients in excess of 30%. This means you need to be fit enough to ride up the hills (or push your bike up), and confident enough to ride down them. Some of those slopes are slippery with dust or gravel.
I’m rating this one 9 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. Take lots of water and plenty of snacks. Don’t do it in wet weather. Watch out for 4WD’s.
Thanks Aaron for a fun ride 🙂
Note: Dianas Bath is on private property. The owner currently allows walk-in access only. Please treat it with respect, clean up any mess you make, take all litter with you, and be courteous towards anyone else who is using the waterhole.
Total distance: 53.84 km Total climbing: 1843 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 05:29:19
Harrison and I went for a long slow ride by the water at Redcliffe this morning. The weather was perfect for it, and when your 12 year old son expresses interest in going for a ride with you, it’s important to do something about it 🙂
We rode to Scarborough via North-Lakes and stopped for a bit of a break to enjoy the view of the Glasshouse Mountains across Deception Bay. The weather has been perfect for over a month, so we were able to see a long way in the clear air.
At Scarborough we bumped into an old bloke named George. He’s 93 years old and tells me the secret of living a long life is “good tucker” and going for a walk every day. George grew up in Parkdale (south of Melbourne) and says he remembers as a kid in the 1920’s how deliveries were brought to his house by a cart pulled by Clydesdale horses.
Harrison and I had breakfast at “Sangers on the Beach” right across from the water at Scarborough. The food was delicious, the service was quick and the waiters were friendly. What more could two hungry cyclists ask for?
The cycleway at Redcliffe follows the beach for over 10km, so there are plenty of nice views over the water.
Finally, we stopped for one more quick break at Woody Point on the headland to cool off in the shade and check out the sail boats on the bay.
We rode 57km in about 4 hours. The pace was slow to allow Harrison to enjoy the ride. You need to watch out for the traffic on Anzac Avenue, but apart from that it’s a pretty sedate ride which rates about 5.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.
Total distance: 57.14 km Total climbing: 396 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 04:36:16
I’ve ridden Taylors Break in D’Aguilar National Park a couple of times. My friend Rob kindly organized another ride here, so I jumped at the chance to check it out again.
I met with Paul, Aaron and Rob at the bottom of the Goat Track, and we rode up to the start of this fun descent near the corner Hammermeister Road and Forestry Road at Mount Nebo.
The track starts with a gentle gradient near Mount Nebo. A bulldozer has cleared it recently, so the ride near the top of the hill is quite pleasant.
The steepness increases as you get further down the mountain…
Towards the bottom, the gradient is very intense, and there are lots of loose rocks, so it’s advisable to walk it if you’re not 100% confident. Rob showed us how you can “get air” even when you’re walking the bike 🙂
You can ride the descent if you keep your wits about you, and get your weight as far back on the bike as possible.
The prettiest part of the ride is Branch Creek at the bottom of the descent. The shaded pools would make a great swimming spot in summer – but today we were content to enjoy the view and take pictures.
We also decided to have a bit of a break because this point was the start of the long climb up Cabbage Tree Range Road – a one hour uphill ride which rises about 500 metres in 7km.
This ride was 27km long, and we completed it in about three and a half hours. We did about 1,200m of vertical ascent and I burned about 2,500 kcal. Despite the relatively short distance, it’s still a challenging and enjoyable ride. I’m rating 7.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. We enjoyed it more because it was a cool day, we kept an easy pace, and stopped lots.
If you do this ride, take it easy at the bottom of Taylors Break. It’s very steep and loose. If you’re unsure of a section, play it safe and walk it.
Total distance: 27.33 km Total climbing: 1192 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 03:26:58
Brisbane is a wonderful city. I got to see a lot of it today in a nice big loop which covered the mountainous D’Aguilar National Park & Brisbabe Forest Park in the West, the CBD, and the Wetlands in the East. I took my time, which was enjoyable until the sun went down, and I realized I’d have to finish the last bit of my journey with lights.
I started by exploring a few trails at Bunyaville that I don’t ride too much – “Zigzag”, “Minivan” and “Darkside”. They’ve got wierd names. Someone tells me there’s the rusting wreck of a Mini Van somewhere in there, but I didn’t see it. All I saw was lots of winding flowing tracks.
After that I took a few back streets to Samford Forest where I stopped for a quick snack.
While I was relaxing, a couple of new faces showed up so I took their photos while they sped off down “Estate Break” – one of the steeper, more challenging fire trails in Samford Forest.
The “Three Ways” is a fun little intersection in the middle of Samford Forest with trails going off everywhere. The fun thing about it is this nice little dirt hill in the middle that you can ride over. You can’t do that at a bitumen three-ways 🙂
From there I rode over to Camp Mountain and did the tough short-climb to the summit. The climb is exhausting, which makes it easy to stop for a while at the top and enjoy the view.
It took me about an hour to ride from there down (and up) Centre Road to South Boundary Road. It was fun to look to the mountains of the Teviot Range, including Flinders Peak and recall that I’d ridden there only a few weeks ago. At that time I managed to get a photo of Brisbane as I looked north. This time I grabbed a shot of Flinders Peak as I looked south.
While I was admiring the view, a few more happy Mountain Bikers road by. It must be something about riding a mountain bike in the bush. It just makes you smile! It happened several times in the forest today – unlike in the city and on the bike paths. It must be something in the air 🙂
This time, when I got to the end of South Boundary Road, I followed “Goanna Trail” to the bottom, then climbed up Highwood Road. I have a love / hate relationship with this hill. I’ve climbed it several times, always after having ridden 50km through the national park, with tired legs. It’s a tough climb, especially with tired legs. But I’m always delighted when I make it to the top.
I then made the short ride from the top of Mount Coot-tha down “Powerful Owl” trail into the CBD and South Bank via the riverside Bicentennial Bikeway.
I think I prefer riding along the southern bank of the river. There always seems to be a lot going on, and I enjoy the view of the city across the river. When I’ve ridden on the northern bank, I think I was too close to the city to enjoy the view.
There was lots of activity by the river, including these rock climbers at the Kangaroo Point cliffs.
On the way out of Brisbane along Kingsford Smith drive I was lucky enough to get a great view of P&O “Pacific Dawn” leaving port for a week in the Pacific. She blew her horn while I was watching, which sounded loud – even from over a kilometre away. In the past I’ve always felt envious watching a ship leaving port, wishing I was on board. This time I felt much happier riding my bike. If they’d stopped the ship and asked if I’d have liked to hop on for a cruise, I would have graciously declined.
I’m content to ride my bike in the bush.
Today’s ride was 110km and took me almost 8 hours excluding breaks. I climbed almost 2,000 metres of vertical ascent and burned 6,000 kcal (about 11 Big Macs). This one rates 8 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter.
Total distance: 110.3 km Total climbing: 2088 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 09:30:28
Kluvers Lookout is a 680m high peak west of Dayboro in the D’Aguilar Range. My friend Wayne and I took a mid-week ride up there today.
We started from Laceys Creek, riding 6km up Wirth Road, and ascending 400m through the rainforest in the process.
From there we climbed another 200m as the road wound slowly up to the lookout.
The lookout itself is quite small, but the views are fantastic. We were really lucky with the clear blue skies and views out to Moreton Bay.
From the lookout we started the long descent back down to the valley. On the way down we were treated to some great scenery of low-lying clouds in the creek-beds to the west looking out towards Mount Byron. Wayne and I kept stopping frequently to enjoy the view.
Half-way down the mountain, we came across this helicopter landing pad which was built in the park for emergency rescue. Wayne did an amazing impression of a helicopter. His “chooka chooka” noises were so authentic I expected him to take off.
From there it was a fast descent down Lacey’s Creek Road back to the bottom of the range. I worked my brakes so hard that they started to fade half-way through, and I had to pump them furiously to get them working again – not the sort of surprise you like to experience on a quick downhill run!
We rode 25km with about 930m of vertical ascent, and 2,300kcal. This one rates 8 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter because of the long climb and the tricky descent.
Total distance: 24.67 km Total climbing: 966 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 02:52:58
Here’s some photos from a recent ride I did with some friends from MTBDirt.com.au at Clear Mountain.
The tracks are not far from my place, so I get to ride them once or twice per week. But I enjoyed this ride even more than usual because I was able to share it with friends. I suppose when we share with others something that’s familiar to ourselves, we experience it for the first time again – which adds to the enjoyment.
We started the ride on a couple of sections of tight twisty single tracks, followed by some steep lung-busting ascents and descents, then a climb to the summit of Clear Mountain, and finally a fast snaking down-hill run to the bottom.
Everyone got back happy but exhausted.
I’d rate a big loop of the tracks at Clear Mountain as about 9.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. You need medium to high fitness. If you’re going to try some of the steeper descents, drop-offs and downhills you’ll need at least medium technical ability or better. If you’re not confident with some of the more intimidating sections, there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe and walking those sections.
Total distance: 41.29 km Total climbing: 757 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 04:12:44
