Hardtail rides again

I now have a new frame for my Apollo Comp hardtail that I use for commuting. The new frame is a 2010 model so 2 years newer than the original. At least it was replaced under warranty as the bike has been a real lemon.

When I bought it 3 years ago the right crank fell off on the first ride when we were miles from civilisation in the Otways. This is now the 3rd frame. I still have original seat, seat post, bar, stem, brakes & front shock. EVERYTHING else has been replaced at least once!

Ballarat to Creswick on Great Dividing Trail

Last Friday I started along the Yarrowee Ck just north of Ballarat then joined the Great Dividing Trail. I followed it as far as Creswick. The track is closed beyond there due to flood damage.

Interesting & varied riding. Some smooth flowing singletrack. A few rock gardens. Some winding undulating fire tracks. Some amazing water race track.

Probably a bit less technical than the GDT between Daylesford & Castlemaine. Great riding just the same.

Major fun

A great section of track through trees
--------------------------------------------------

I spent this morning at Mt Major which is about 30k west of Shepparton. Tracks are sticky red volcanic clay. The best of the riding is as good as I've done anywhere. Lots of challenging rock gardens. But unfortunately some other tracks are overgrown. As the photo below shows, some have disappeared completely.



There used to be a track here!
----------------------------------------



Smiths Gully Revisited

Track feature: burnt out log

My day off last Friday started with a good coffee in Warrandyte. I can't remember the name of the place but its on the main road on the left just before you hit the town centre.

After the caffeine hit, I spent a solid morning at Smiths Gully. Found a heap of new singletrack. Well it was new to me. Here's details for some of it:

Tracks near Smiths Gully

Tracks near South end of Clintons Rd

I think I can now link together a loop of approximately 30k with most of it being singletrack.

Buxton revisited

We revisited Buxton today. 30 degrees & very humid meant sweat was the order of the day.

This time I found some of the newer trails which extend the main Buxton loop. Some nice flowing track but very wide in places.

Details here

Hardtail cracks up

I use my old hardtail for commuting to and from work. By old I am talking 3 years. I've recently discovered a crack in the frame near the bottom bracket. Not happy! No wonder it has been creaking so much! Hopefully this will be covered by warranty.

Anglesea "secret tracks"

Some fun riding near Anglesea on a beautiful sunny day. There is lots of good riding above Anglesea in the scout camp and nearby bushland. It is not always easy to find. Here's a nice ride including some new track north of the highway shown to me by some friends who live down that way.

Trip details here

Duelling with the Duael course

This route roughly follows the course for the 2011 Duael enduro  near Woodend. We went to explore it the other day. It's ok but nothing special. Some nice flowing single track but it has been chopped up by motor bikes and was a lot wetter and sloppier than you'd like to see at this time of year (March 2nd).

Buxton tracks all to myself

 

Did some good riding at Buxton the other morning. Who has been keeping Buxton a secret? While there aren't a lot of tracks, the riding is great fun. Nothing very technical but there are some lovely sweeping sections that make excellent use of the natural 'half pipe' gullies. Not quite as good as the famous Marriners at Forrest but good enough to make you go back round again and again!

Conditions for today's ride were cool, dry with a perfect tacky surface.

I had also intended to revisit Lake Mountain but it was wet up there so I wimped out.

Stones Fly on Stonefly

I took advantage of some nice weather on my day off last Friday to spend all day riding singletrack at Buller and Stirling including trying out the new Stonefly track. By accidentally tackling Stonefly in the wrong direction initially, I got to ride it twice. Once backwards and once the right way. Double the fun and double the pain. Riding uphill on what is supposed to be the downhill section was bloody hard work. Best to do it the right way. See the second link below for instructions

Stonefly is being hyped as the best trail in Australia, which is a pity as that can only lead to disappointment. My verdict is that it is a good track. A very good track that has had a heap of work put into it. Best in Australia? Probably not, but who cares. Such terms are not very useful. Just go and enjoy it. At the moment there are a few wet sections and soft sections. It will be interesting to see what condition they are in after the hordes of racers charge round it in the MTB event there next weekend. I suspect I made a smart choice riding it when I did.

Here's more information on the the route I took. Highly recommended.

The entire route plus cross section showing the elevation
The Stonefly Track plus photos and a cross section showing elevation

My Otway Odyssey Result

Well the results for the 50k competitors have finally been published. With a time of 2 hours 48 mins I came 48th out of a field of five or six hundred. Not bad for an old crock - if I do say so myself.

However I am realistic. I know the good riders are more likely to tackle the 100k event rather than the 50k.

Otway Odyssey done and dusted

I spent Saturday morning in Forrest at the Otway Odyssey event. After 30+mm rain over night the weather on the day was mainly dry and very warm.

In the main 100k event the riders had to contend with some horrendous clay that had recently been applied to some fire roads. This really made it hard for the masses. However not for Chris Jongewaard who powered through, winning in 4 hours & 22 minutes.

I tackled the 50k event. This had a few puddles but no real mud to speak of and was generally good fun. Mainly singletrack which allowed fast flowing riding. I was hoping for a time of around three and a quarter hours. My 'stretch target' was 3 hours.

I managed a sub-three hours time. Not sure of exact result because the organisers still haven't managed to publish the 50k results - even though it's now three days after the event. Computer problems apparently.

The one thing I was not happy about on my ride was cramping! I drank 4 litres water & 1 litre of energy drink plus 3 magnesium tablets. But I was cramping badly for the last 15k. So I'm doing something wrong!

Otway Odyssey Familiarisation Ride

Last weekend I visited the trails at Forrest. We were there to check out the route for the Otway Odyssey which is next Saturday. There were a lot of others doing the same thing.

My partner and I are both lining up for the easy alternative 50k route, rather than the gut-busting 100k extravaganza. The majority of the 50k route is single track and route it takes is all good fun - apart from  an initial slog up a gravel road to help spread the field out. The weather forecast for next weekend looks a bit damp but hopefully it won't come to much. I'm sick of mud - bring back the drought I say.

Good news for people that haven't visited Forrest for a while is that the Forrest Brewery Cafe is now open. After dinner last Saturday night and several visits for coffee I can recommend it. It's a great place to hang out before, during or after a ride!

Dry Diggings Track

 

A point-to-point ride of about 55k that's pretty much all singletrack. And technical enough to keep you absorbed the whole way. How good is that.

We rode from Castlemaine to Daylesford. I now know that involves more uphill so you might prefer to do it in the other direction. A car shuttle or some other form of vehicle support will be needed unless you want to ride back again. That would make a very big day!

               

More details of this trip can be found here

Falls Creek to Ropers Hut

While the area around Falls Creek is not known as a mecca for mountain bike riding, there is still some fun to be had on a bike.

This ride starts at the Falls Creek village. After cruising around the Rocky Valley dam on bitumen, we headed up the rocky Mt Nelse fire trail. The final section to the recently rebuilt hut is along some double track. It is fast and rocky on the way down to the hut, with the return being interesting and a bit technical.

More details of this trip can be found here

Ropers Hut Ride Photo

This photo was taken at Ropers Hut in the Victorian Alps on a recent ride from Falls Creek.

Some details of the trip will be added later.

Smiths Gully singletrack

Finding a variety of good singletrack in the Melbourne area is an ongoing challenge. Smiths Gully is a place I've recently been introduced to and it's a good find.

I've mapped a nice loop which you can see below, shaped like a butterfly (if you use a bit of imagination!). I started at the bottom left. There is a good parking area on the west side of Clinton road right near the intersection with Eltham Road - between Kangaroo Ground and Yarra Glen. The right hand "butterfly wing" contains some steep stuff whereas the left hand one is more gentle. It's all good.

More details of this Smiths Gully single track trip can be found here

Trance X0

In my first couple of years of riding mountain bikes, I rode an inexpensive heavy hardtail.


In March last year, I broke into the piggy bank and upgraded to a Giant Trance X0. It was the 2009 model which had been retailing for $7,699. However it seems that Gian has a policy of heavily discounting superseded models to make way for the new seasons stock. So mine set me back about 4 grand. Still not cheap, but the component spec is quite amazing for the price. XTR running gear, Mavic Crossmax ST wheelset, Avid Elixir CR Carbon brakes, Fi'zi:k Gobi saddle with braided carbon rail and high end Fox suspension.

I've ridden it about 2,800k so far - pretty much all single track - through a wet and muddy Victorian winter. Here's what I've had to fix / replace in that time:

• Rear brakes had to be bled and reset in first few weeks (under warranty)
• Replaced both front and rear pads
• Replaced chain twice (with SRAM rather than Shimano XTR)
• Carbon rails of saddle snapped a couple of weeks ago! Replaced under warranty with latest model of same seat. We'll see how new one lasts.
• Replaced rear inner gear cable and section of outer. Due to mud getting in.
• Replaced rear wheel. Totally my own fault for being an idiot. Expensive. However by buying overseas I could get the next model up (Crossmax SLR) much cheaper than Aussie price for the ST.
• Replaced grips. I think I hang on too tightly!