December 08 - February 09
SUMMER RIDE CALENDAR
December 08 - February 09
| Every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the Month | |
|
Beginner Ride - Loftus / Heathcote
2hrs, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2
Skill: 2 |
| START TIME: | 7.30am |
| MEETING POINT: | Loftus Oval car park |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Driving South along the Princess Hwy, Loftus Oval is on the left hand side just after you cross the tram tracks and just before the Audley, Royal National Park turn-off. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: |
Come along and get a taste for the fun sport of mountain biking. All you need is a decent mountain bike (reasonable brakes, knobbly tires and front suspension forks advised) helmet, tube, gloves, a water bottle (hydration pack advised) and some motivation. The tracks around Loftus/Heathcote are fun without being too technical. The ride will go for about two hours at an easy/moderate pace with lots of time for rests/re-grouping. In general, the rides are tailored to the group's abilities. Some previous off-road riding experience and a basic level of fitness (i.e. not completely out of shape) is generally recommended. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 80% Fire Trail, 20% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining the ride is likely to be cancelled. Call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Jon
0407 208 193 |
| Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the Month | |
|
Menai
2-3hrs, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2.5
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | 7.30am |
| MEETING POINT: | Barden Ridge Oval, Menai |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Driving along the Old Illawarra Road, Menai, turn left at the big roundabout, pass Lucas Height Community College on your right. Barden Ridge Oval is on the right hand side. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | There is a complex networks of tracks at Menai that cover just about all riding terrains. Many of the trails were originally created by trail-bike riders over the years and in recent times have become popular with mountain-bikers. The singletrack on the ridges tends to be reasonably rocky with sandy stretches. In the valleys the singletrack is generally smoother and more flowing. There are also lots of opportunities to push the skills and try out a bit of fun-park riding or tackle jumps and drop-offs. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 30% Fire Trail, 70% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining the ride is likely to be cancelled. Call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Jon
0407 208 193 |
****SUNDAY RIDES****
| 7th December 2008 | |
|
Menai
2-3 hours, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3
Skill: 3+ |
| START TIME: | Call Scott |
| MEETING POINT: | Barden Ridge Oval, Menai |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Driving along the Old Illawarra Road, Menai, turn left at the big roundabout, pass Lucas Height Community College on your right. Barden Ridge Oval is on the right hand side. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | There is a complex networks of tracks at Menai that cover just about all riding terrains. Many of the trails were originally created by trail-bike riders over the years and in recent times have become popular with mountain-bikers. The singletrack on the ridges tends to be reasonably rocky with sandy stretches. In the valleys the singletrack is generally smoother and more flowing. There are also lots of opportunities to push the skills and try out a bit of fun-park riding or tackle jumps and drop-offs. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 20% Fire Trail, 80% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Scott
0418 566 306 |
| 14th December 2008 | |
|
NEW RIDE - Knapsack Bridge
2-3 hours, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2.5
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | Call Erron |
| MEETING POINT: | Knapsack Park |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | If travelling by car take the M4 from Sydney and turn right at the first set of traffic lights up the hill at Glenbrook. Turn right at Levy St and when the soccer club is reached turn left into Barnet St and find the small car park at the start of the main fire road. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This is the first time we've had this ride on the calendar. Erron has done some recent exploring in the area and discovered a few short but sweet sections of single track which can be looped together to form a larger ride. It is expected that we'll do a couple of laps of this single track and throw in a bit of further exploring. In the words of Erron: "This ride won't set the world on fire but its a good one to do for something different." |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 30% Fire Trail, 70% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Erron
0447 440 234 |
| 21st December 2008 | |
|
NEW RIDE - Mt Ousley
2-3 hours, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2.5
Skill: 3.5 |
| START TIME: | Call Pete |
| MEETING POINT: | Truck Stop, top of Mount Ousley |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Head south from Sydney towards Wollongong along the Southern Freeway. Soon after passing the turn off to Appin Road, pull into the truck stop on the left at the top of Mt Ousley (the big hill down to Wollongong). |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This ride will be an exploration of all the track options from the first half of our usual Bulli ride. We will stay up the top of the escarpment and explore any trails of interest that we come across. Expect a bit of everything. We'll probably be including the rocky fire trail climbs and twisty single-track decents usually included in the top half of the Bulli ride. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 50% Fire Trail, 50% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Pete
0409 914 431 |
| 28th December 2008 | |
|
CHRISTMAS BREAK - NO FORMAL RIDE
|
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
Skill: |
| START TIME: | |
| MEETING POINT: | |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | |
| NOTES: | |
| RIDE LEADER: |
|
| 4th January 2009 | |
|
Ourimbah
2-3hrs, 6.5km loops |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | Call Jeff |
| MEETING POINT: | Ourimbah State Forest |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Take the F3 north towards Newcastle, take the exit after the Westfields Tuggerah sign - turn left, follow this road until you reach the end - turn left, you will pass some turf frms, turn left onto Red Hill rd. Ourimbah State Forest, follow this dirt road forabout 1km to a parking area and the start of the ride. Allow at least 1.5hours drive from the southernsuburbs. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | XC racing course. Very fun singletrack with lots of tight corners, flowing bermed bends, dips, and pedal crunching hills. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 100% Single track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Jeff
0410 651 779 |
| 11th January 2009 | |
|
The Oakes
2-3 hours, 35km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3.5
Skill: 2 |
| START TIME: | Call Kevin |
| MEETING POINT: | Glenbrook Station car park |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Follow the M4 to Glenbrook, turn left into Ross St and then follow the sign to the railway station. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | From Glenbrook we will be catching the train to Woodford. From there it's mostly downhill back to Glenbrook on the same fast fire trails, finishing with an excellent section of singletrack. It's one of Sydney's iconic mountain bike rides for a good reason. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 70% Fire Trail, 30% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Kevin
0404 246 536 |
| 18th January 2009 | |
|
Bulli
3hrs, 15-20km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2.5
Skill: 3.5 |
| START TIME: | Call Pete |
| MEETING POINT: | Hobart St, Bulli |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Head south from Sydney towards Wollongong and take the Bulli exit. At the bottom of Bulli pass, turn right at the first set of traffic lights, just before you drive under a railway bridge. Park on the left. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This ride involves a car shuffle from Bulli back up the mountain to the top of Mt. Ousley. This is an exciting ride that takes in a variety of single track and fire trails across the escarpment and down to Bulli. There are also great views to be had out over Wollongong region at the mid-ride snack break. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 50% Fire Trail, 50% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Pete
0409 914 431 |
| 25th January 2009 | |
|
Helensburgh
2-3hrs, 15-25km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
2.5
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | Call Scott |
| MEETING POINT: | Olympic Pool carpark at Helensburgh |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Head south from Sydney down the Southern Freeway towards Wollongong and take the Helensburgh exit. Meet at the Olympic Pool carpark, near the Nursery near the roundabout on the old Princes Highway. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This ride includes a good mix of trail terrains - technical to flowing singletrack and the usual joining bits. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 50% Fire Trail, 50% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Scott
0418 566 306 |
| 26th January 2009 - Australia Day | |
|
Oxford Falls
3hrs, 20-30km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | Call Clare |
| MEETING POINT: | Morgan Road, Belrose |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Morgan Road, Belrose. At the second 90 degree right hand bend in the road. There's an area just before you can park and a firetrail heading off to the left. Consult the UBD for directions to Belrose, which is a suburb located in Sydney's Northern Beaches. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | I've never done this ride before so not too sure exactly what we'll find. This is what the Nobmob have to say about the area: "This is a fantastic area of many trails that can be linked to give a long or short ride. Many downhill types just love it but there is much more to discover than that. Plenty of these trails do have technical rock climbs and drops though so it's probably not for your pure cross country ride unless the rather steep climb of the main Morgan Road Firetrail is what floats your boat." |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 70% Fire Trail, 30% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Clare
0401 360 252 |
| Saturday 29th January 2009 | |
|
Sparrow Hill
3hrs, 35-40km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3.5
Skill: 2.5 |
| START TIME: | Call Geoff |
| MEETING POINT: | Queanbeyan |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Call Geoff |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | Lots and lots of tight, twisty singletrack through pine forest plantations. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 5% Fire Trail, 95% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Geoff
0414 931 007 |
| 1st February 2009 | |
|
Mount Stromlo
2.5-3.5hrs, 25-30km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3
Skill: 2.5 |
| START TIME: | Call Geoff |
| MEETING POINT: | TBA |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | TBA |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | Canberra's No. 1 XC race course. One monster of a climb up the mountain, but then lots of excellent single track options for winding back down. This place is known for being king of the bermed corners! |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 20% Fire Trail, 80% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Geoff
0414 931 007 |
| 8th February 2009 | |
|
NEW RIDE - Welby
3hrs, 15-20km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3.5
Skill: 2 |
| START TIME: | Call Erron |
| MEETING POINT: | 2-3hrs, 6.5km loops |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Going down the Hume Hwy south of Sydney take the Mittagong exit ramp (Old Hume Hwy). Follow this road around through Mittagong and onto Welby, which is the adjacent suburb. Make sure you don't veer off the Old Hume Hwy near the Mittagong town centre, but keep to the right when there is a fork. Turn RIGHT down Meranie St and follow this all the way to the end. Park near the cemetery. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This new ride was rained out on the last calendar so we've put it up again. Erron managed to source a map for this newly created mountain bike XC track. It is shown as a 6.5km loop and is rated on the map as moderate to hard. As a bit of an indication of the trail there are lots of fancy names on the map for various track feature including: Lightning Ridge, Col de Dump, The Challenge, Burnt Out, Durie's Drop. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 20% Fire Trail, 80% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Erron
0447 440 234 |
| 15th February 2009 | |
|
Bargo Colliery
2-3hrs, 25-35km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3
Skill: 2.5 |
| START TIME: | Call Clare |
| MEETING POINT: | Bargo Railway Station |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | Go down the Hume Hwy heading to Canberra, take the Avon Dan Rd exit ramp (near Pheasants Nest). Turn RIGHT into Avon Rd Dam. Follow this Rd in a NW direction for about 5 min and you should reach Bargo, go over the rail bridge and turn RIGHT. I'll be parke |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This one got rained out on the previous ride calendar so we thought we'd try again. So far we've had two explorative rides around Bargo and on this third ride we'll put together the trails discovered so far and ride the Butterfly Loop. We will do a western and an eastern loop of the area covering a real mixture of riding terrain, including rough fire trails, smooth fire trails and sections of singletrack. There is also the opportunity to do some more exploring on the day. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 35% Rough 4WD Track, 35% Smooth 4WD Track, 30% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Clare
0401 360 252 |
| 22nd February 2009 | |
|
Manly Dam
2-3hrs, 20km |
|
| GRADE: | Fitness:
3
Skill: 3 |
| START TIME: | Call Geoff |
| MEETING POINT: | Shops on Bantry Bay Rd |
| HOW TO GET THERE: | The meeting point is opposite the small row of shops in Bantry Bay Rd near the intersection of Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Rd. |
| ROUTE DESCRIPTION: | This is a very popular loop which has sections of both technical rocky single track and open fire trail. |
| TRACK CONDITIONS: | 50% 4WD Track, 50% Single Track |
| NOTES: | If it's raining, call to confirm. |
| RIDE LEADER: |
Geoff
0414 931 007 |
| Metro rides are graded using a two tier system to try and quantify the relative fitness and skill levels required. It should be noted that the grades given to rides are meant as a guide only and Metro takes no responsibility for the accuracy of such grades. | ||
| FITNESS | SKILL | |
| GRADE 1: None | Suitable for anyone that can turn a set of cranks. | Bikes can be ridden off road? /, ie knobbly off road tires. Eg you can comfortably ride up and off a street gutter. |
| GRADE 2: Average | Short distances and/or gentle climbs. Eg, you can ride for 60 minutes and can ride 10kms on road in an hour | Some technical skills required to handle rough or loose tracks. Eg you can comfortably ride up and off a street gutter. |
| GRADE 3: Intermediate | Moderate distances with some challenging but rideable climbs. | Ability to negotiate some moderately steep descents, small drop-offs, logs and other obstacles. |
| GRADE 4: High | Some serious climbing or bike carrying involved. | These rides have larger drop-offs, rock gardens, steep descents and technical ascents, often with no clear line. Some bike carrying over tricky sections may be required. |
| GRADE 5: Very High | Very long distances, long steep climbs or sections where the bike must be carried. Often a combination of all three. | Predominately technical and sometimes high risk riding. Body armour may be recommended for some of these rides. |
