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Mountain Bike Blog

 

 

Finding Bruce Ridge and Loving It!

 27/2/2016

» Trail info on Bruce Ridge

Many of my MTB trips to the ACT have been on the back of work visits, it's given me a number of opportunities to explore the trails of Stromlo Forest Park, Majura Pines, Sparrow Hill and East Kowen, however it wasn't until the Kowalski Brothers did a significant update to their Trail Buddy app (from the Google Play or App Store) in late 2015 that I became aware of Bruce Ridge as a riding venue.

Gully on Daviesia Down

It was a rather bizarre and somewhat comical to find that the Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is literally 200m from my work destination. In fact I was hard pressed to find a closer parking spot! The 2nd amusing fact was the Alvio Tourist Park (cabins are my preferred method of MTB trip accommodation) is located in the same section of land.  I could have literally never left the area.

Bruce Ridge Nature Reserve is adjacent to the AIS, GIO Stadium (formerly Bruce Stadium, where the Raiders and Brumbies play) and Calvary Hospital (sadly I know this place too well). The reserve is not immediately obvious on Google Maps as it's not shown in green, unlike surrounding areas such as Black Mountain Nature Reserve and a number of smaller parks. Switching on satellite view gave me a better understanding of the area.

Nice berm on Daviesia Down

I parked in one of the smaller car parks off Purdie Street and jumped onto the cycleway that ran under Gungahlin Drive and over to the MTB trails.

The trails were super fun, not dissimilar to parts of East Kowen but more rocky, rooty and rough. Bruce Ridge is natural Aussie bush so there were plenty of trees close to the trails which added to the technical nature of the MTB park and kept me on my toes.

Typical section of trail - Creek Run

I'd been told that the best way to ride the trails that circumnavigate the park is to do an anti-clockwise loop, however I found a number of the trails, Log Run and Just In Time in particular, were more fun riding in reverse. With the exception of Daviesia Up and Daviesia Down all trails are two way.

There's not a great deal of vert at Bruce Ridge however everything in the centre will have a descent coming away from the central ridgeline to the outer ring. Daviesia Down is without a doubt the pick of the descents and the only trail more suited to an Enduro bike rather than an XC.

Some of the climbs on Hidey Ho are steep and loose

I highly recommend downloading the Kowalski's Trail Buddy app (from the Google Play or App Store) and using it on trail. While it is easy to follow the trail that circumnavigates the reserve some of the best trails are through the middle and the app will help you to find the best routes.

Bruce Ridge doesn't pretend to be a Stromlo or Majura Pines, but it is a fantastic place to get on your bike and knock out 20+kms around some really well constructed flowy single track.

My picks of Bruce Ridge

 

Trail Centres and Trails featured in this blog

 

Comments:

This website is brought to you by MTB weekend warrior Aaron Markie.
There are plenty of great websites out there with a wealth of information about Mountain Bike Trails,
however in my experience its hard to get a good mix of info, maps, photos and videos of trails I've never ridden.
The idea of this website is to tie those 4 elements together and give you a more detailed look at the MTB Trails I ride.
If you have anything to add then let me know.