Rocky and dusty in summer; it’s a scorcher in the middle of the day so take plenty of water and soak up the view as well.
One of the Blue Mountains Classic rides.
Faulconbridge Point - Highlights - 6 mins [6:11m]: The end of the Grose Point trail is well-known for its spectacular view over the Grose Gorge. I guess it’s one of those panoramas you could sit and look at for hours and never get bored. The trail’s not too bad either. A typical Blue Mountains firetrail: rolling country with ascents and descents, enough to get your heart rate up; tiring but nothing too strenuous if you’re reasonably fit. Tempting views at various points along the way but she saves the best ‘til last. The early trailblazers must have been awe-struck. I still am.
Appin is a well-designed XC course developed and maintained by the Wollongong MTB Club. They run at least 8 races on the track each year & this one was filmed at the BMC Working Week Series in May 2008.
Sydney CBD on a Friday night: Revellers, travellers, restaurant-goers and the occasional biker and stair rider…
Ourimbah is one of the most frequented MTB trails by riders north of the Sydney border. Regulars from Gosford to Newcastle head there almost every weekend to take advantage of the well-formed trails, the high-speed downhill ‘Roller Coaster’ and the snake-like bush-covered trails like ‘Jurassic Park’. All the trails are inspiring and a few can test both man & machine. Once ridden never forgotten.
Ourimbah is one of the most frequented MTB trails by riders north of the Sydney border. Regulars from Gosford to Newcastle head there almost every weekend to take advantage of the well-formed trails, the high-speed downhill ‘Roller Coaster’ and the snake-like bush-covered trails like ‘Jurassic Park’. All the trails are inspiring and a few can test both man & machine. Once ridden never forgotten.
McLeans Forest at the Waimakariri River Regional Park in Christchurch NZ has a great new XC track that’s an easy 10Km sprint. The curvaceous trail meanders through stands of new and 20-year-old pine forest and is adjacent to golf, horseriding, Orana Park Zoo and the fast-moving & freezing* Waimakariri River (*in Maori: Wai means water and makariri means cold).
Trailer for the forthcoming Trailflix Appin movie, featuring the Wollongong MTB Club race day , part of the BMC Working Week series. This is a 10Km singletrack course, with two creek crossings, and was filmed over an 8 hour race with 650 entrants… Full movie coming soon
This package has the highlights of Day 4 & 5 of the Anaconda MTB Enduro event held at Alice Springs from May 19th - 24th 2008. The Night Ride and the last day - a grueling 50km of combination singletrack, hills and fire trail are shown, along with interviews with the the winner of the mens and womens events: Adrian Jackson and Imogen Smith.
Highlights of the first 3 days of riding from the Anaconda MTB Enduro race, held at Alice Springs, 19th - 24th May.
This 7-minute vid highlights the Roller Coaster singletrack at Ourimbah, in the Red Hill State Forest near Wyong. It showcases almost the entire track in a single take. This is an insight into the great matrix of trails in the area. The (new) Full & Highlights videos from the shoot are due to be released later this year.
Just 32Km from the CBD, Menai-Lucas Heights is a little off the beaten track but well worth the time to scout out. It’s chock full of trails and has enough rock-garden and singletrack to keep you going for at least half a day…
Lucas Heights is a rock garden heaven. Not for the faint-hearted, the rocks and drops are challenging but fulfilling. Combine that with fast flowing singletrack and tight bushy tracks, with flax cutting at your ankles and a criss-cross of trails, you have a combination wasteland/wonderland for MTB.
Riding the Summit Road in Christchurch, New Zealand is riding the crater rim of a 12 million year-old volcano. The road follows the crest of the Port Hills above Christchurch, giving great views of the city, the agricultural plains and the Snow-lined Southern Alps. What’s more, it’s a gateway to a variety of XC & downhill MTB tracks.
Just 45 minutes ride from the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, is Sumner Beach. Ride uphill for a kilometre to the Summit Road and you’re above the city in dry and rocky grassland, criss-crossed with hiking and biking tracks. The Summit Road’s a great way to take in the cityscape and get access to some of the best MTB Christchurch has to offer.
Kentlyn is fast-flowing XC, with rock-garden, a little technical, a bit of fire trail, some sections on road and a lot of fun. This is a place to explore and enjoy.
Kentlyn (or Minto Heights as the area is also known) is a great and largely untouched trail area out in Sydney’s southwest. It has some of the most diverse XC riding in the city. The area itself is a reserve and it’s out of the way, so there are few fellow adventurers & no signs restricting bikes. In other words it’s a well-kept secret… now out of the bag!
Mt Annan Botanic Garden is set in the heart and the heat of Western Sydney’s plains. It’s an extensive showcase of Australian bush, forest and flowers. Ideal bike-friendly destination too.
An extensive botanic garden out west in Camden, Mt Annan has an easy-ride circuit road, a smooth, paved bike & walking path plus a swathe of clay-based off-road trails, criss-crossing the park. As a biking destination, it’s great for kids to medium level MTB’ers.
Lane Cove Highlights shows the fun and easy downhill from the end of Kissing Point Road into the park and then on through a segment of the Great North Walk which runs end to end through most of the park.
Lane Cove National Park is a valley wilderness in the midst of a heap of several very urban suburbs in Sydneys inner northwest. The video shows just 2 of the more than 20 entrances that you can use to get into the park, which is well-used for both commuting and recreation. Great for newbies and more expereinced riders alike, it’s a great series of trails.
Mt York trail is not for the faint-hearted. An historic and challenging ride along Lockyer’s (ridge) Road, it’s got tight singletrack, rock gardens and steep descents. The highlights show the best bits of the ridge & some of the downhill.
Mt York trail is not for the faint-hearted. An historic and challenging ride along Lockyer’s (ridge) Road, it’s got tight singletrack, rock gardens and steep descents. But it’s also got a pub smack dab at the halfway point (accessible by road for the non-riding support crew) and heaps of places to stop & explore, with an easy run out until you get to the killer ascent at the end. The Full video shows you the whole story, including how we got rained out and had to stop at the pub…
The Glenrock highlights pop off the screen like they were painted in 3-D. The rich colours of the bush trails are beautifully lit by the natural sunlight, streaming through the canopy and well-captured in this segment. It’s even more fun in person.
Glenrock has some of the best singletrack trails around – some smooth flowing, others rather technical. There’s plenty of variety and volume. Good downhill, long wide dirt tracks, and spectacular ocean views, and, in summer, head down for a swim after! What more could you want? Newcastle sounds like a long way for a bike ride…(so take the train!) …but it’s the same distance as the far side of the Blue Mountains…
The 6 foot Track highlights show much of this historic track’s downhill in all its duty glory. Built in the late 1800’s as a major route, this 45Km (27Km for MTB’s) trail is now well-used by MTB’ers and runners alike.
The 6 foot Track is an historic trail, begun in the 1860’s but not finished until some years later. It’s now well used by hikers, runners and riders and (in places) 4WD’s. It’s 160Km from Sydney, but is well worth the effort to get there and even better if you stay overnight to enjoy the fine Blue Mountains hospitality. It has 3 creek crossings and 3 killer descents, with some sections that are definitely not for the faint-hearted.
The highlights of the popular Pipeline trail are definitely both the dam - which you can bike across - and the downhill, which is extra long and finishes the ride very nicely.
The Pipeline is an in/out trail with a number of hiking tracks off the main trail if you feel like mixing it up a little. The two main attractions are a chance to ride atop the Woronora Dam, and a moderate – but long - ascent to get there and a steady - but in places challenging - fun descent on the return journey.
Multiple Trails, different grades, abundant views, both technical and highly technical downhills… Oxford Falls is kinda like Manly Dam (well, they ARE close!) only about twice the size and triple the trail length. 7 Km further out from the CBD than Manly means it’s not nearly so crowded (and somewhat hard to find the first time) … but the search is worth it.