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MT IRVINE, QUARRY RD, GARIGAL, CASTLE HILL, MT ANNAN XC, APPIN

2012-02-04 15:27:13

MT IRVINE RD

A couple of years ago, a pair of riders who were riding Hassan’s Walls talked about having ‘had a great ride along Mt Irvine Road ’, and I filed it as one to do at some stage...

Jan-12 comes around and I’m looking for new places to explore, when a news item about a burst gas main along Bells Line of Road brought Mt Irvine to mind. I put a note up on the forums and John Humbley said he keen and it was on.

We left the city very early Saturday when both the forecast and the clouds spoke “rain and/or thunderstorm”, but hoping for a respite. A firetrail in the Blue Mountains is nothing to write home about but the views at the end or along the way can be well worth the drive+ride.

It’s a fair hike to Bilpin, but passing through Richmond at 7:30am the roads were pretty quiet so we made our way without much pain..or rain.

The entrance to Mt Irvine Road is just past Bilpin as you head West. It’s barely off Old Bells line of Road and, as we parked, we saw a large yellow, “ROAD CLOSED” sign, but since there was no actual barrier, we figured that only made it more interesting… and headed off to at least find out what the fuss was all about and it turned out to be the start of what was a huge and rousing downhill.

From Google Maps - even the elevation ones - it's not easy to pick which way some slopes go, and when I had looked at it, it seemed like we were going to be going uphill, when in fact we descended for about 20 fun-filled minutes!, non-stop!! Well, almost stop. While I’d expected a smooth-ish firetrail, this was well-worn and lumpy, with waterborne erosion having carved out half-the road so it was - we agreed – “not suitable for your family station wagon”, though tyre tracks indicate a fairly hefty 4WD or two have attempted it. So, not “CLOSED”, but “Near-Impassable” might have been a better sign.

The highlights:
- that extended downhill
- bush-clad 90% of the way: great for staying to of the sun or inclement weather
- cliff edges that were literally straight down (ala worlds most dangerous road) in some sections
- a rusty old bridge with fairly worn planks – 1940’s vintage maybe…
- an open area for camping alongside a clear and fairly deep stream

The firetrail up the other side was smoother and easier to ride up and faster down.

We got sidetracked into thinking there WAS a Mt Irvine we could reach, so we turned off at the first sign of tarseal but it ended in 2 farm properties, so nothing to see there (move along...). Clouds were greying so we turned at what I believe was about the halfway point. We did 31km out and back and that was enough to build up a sweat but still got us back home by midday with apple pie from one of the fruit stores along Bells Line of Road for John’s missus… (gotta earn them brownie points; they don’t just hand ‘em out!)

A few photos up on Trailflix Flickr….

Also in the area: The spectacular views at the end of Mt Banks Trail, and the yet-to-explore Mountain Lagoon Rd this side of Bilpin…

TRAIL NOTES:

QUARRY ROAD: Richard H - We started from Quarry Rd, Dural as suggested. Good start with fairly flat then crazy down hill with loose rock all the way then up the hill after passing the bridge. Definitely not suitable for hardtail (IMO). Didn't make it to Hornsby as we decided to head back to Dural after about 3/4 of the trail. This track is the reason why I have bought my Avanti Vapour 1!

GARIGAL: Bloodpuddle - A lovely Nat Park and right in the middle of the north shore, which is great. And we've got access, so can't be too finicky...BUT! this ride is either going down steeply or going up steeply, and it does so for long-ish periods. Which means you'll come flying down the nice long (but non-technical) downhills, but then have an even longer, sustained slog back up. Good training, for sure, but I wasn't sure the descents were worth the climbs.

CASTLE HILL: Richard H - Love it, love it and love it! Rode it with my 26 hardtail and enjoyed every single moment of it. As a matter of fact I did it twice and enjoyed a good 45-minute workout.

MT ANNAN XC: Robert Prentice - I rode the 24-hour in December @ Mt Annan. Like the previous commenter [Ed: see the comments section on the Trail Page], I think that the track extension is back to front. But my argument would be that you climb for 6-10 minutes and go downhill for 30-60 seconds. So is it still worth all the effort for an average rider. Don't get me wrong, this is a terrific racetrack, but not everyone wants to race and how often is the track not in race mode? That being said, I really got to like the track in the 24 hour: 9 out of 10.

BTW: Don't forget nearby Kentlyn for more riding...

APPIN : Grant Byrne - Spotted a koala out on the regular race loop for the first time! That and heaps of spider webs, but most of those were on my longer loop that very few people seem to do. Some people are obviously riding bits of it but not piecing the whole thing together.

- - - - - - - - - - -
(Glad to see people are still getting out despite all this bloody el-Nina rain...!)

Cheers, Grant Shatford

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2012-01-26 15:41:13

Looking for a long, interesting, training run for one of your 100K’er events? This 37Km (one-way) trail could fit the bill. After a steep, extended incline at the start, it’s mostly down hill on the way there and uphill on the way back, but its got tall pine forests, parallel road/tracks, countless side trails, a huge picnic area with water and to top it off, glow worms, to make it a tad more interesting than your typical weekend jaunt.

The 400M walk through a disused rail tunnel filled with glowworms is unforgettable, but before that, you have to RIDE through a 300M curving road tunnel where, at the mid-point you can't see where TF you are … so remember your bike lights (or if, like us, you've forgotten the, bring an extra set of balls... Click here for more


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Lose yourself but don’t get lost in South Sydney!

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