Mountain Bike Blog

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Pilot Wilderness Ride - Cascade to Pinch - Part 2

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Finding Bruce Ridge and Loving It!

VIDEO: Top XC Rides of 2014/2015

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Trails

Bantry Bay (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

Bruce Ridge (Canberra)

Bungarra Alpine Centre (Snowy Mountains)

Currumbin Border Track (NSW/QLD Border)

Daisy Hill (South Brisbane)

East Kowen (Kowen Pine Forest, Canberra)

Forest Pipeline (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

Fred Caterson Reserve (Castle Hill)

Golden Jubilee Field MTB Park (North Shore, Sydney)

Hassans Walls (Lithgow)

Hinze Dam (Gold Coast)

Jackson (Jackson)

Jindabyne (Snowy Mountains)

Kiwarrak State Forest (Tarree)

Majura Pines (Majura, Canberra)

Manly Dam (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

Mt Joyce (Gold Coast Hinterland)

Mt Kosciuszko (Snowy Mountains)

Nerang State Forest (Gold Coast)

Newnes (Lithgow)

Old Man's Valley (Hornsby, Sydney)

Ourimbah (Central Coast)

Oxford Falls (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

Pilot Wilderness (Snowy Mountains)

Red Hill (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

Rotorua Redwoods (New Zealand)

Silver Mountain (Kellogg)

Singleton (Hunter Valley)

Sparrow Hill (Kowen Pine Forest, Canberra)

St Ives and Belrose (North Shore, Sydney)

Stromlo Forest Park (Canberra)

Terrey Hills (Northern Beaches, Sydney)

The Oaks (Blue Mountains)

Thredbo Resort (Snowy Mountains)

Thredbo Valley Trail (Snowy Mountains)

Whistler Bike Park (Whistler)

Wingello (Southern Highlands)

Wylde MTB Trail (Cecil Park - Western Sydney)

Finding Bruce Ridge and Loving It!

27/2/2016

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» 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.