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Mountain Bike Blog

 

 

Bantry Bay and Forest Pipeline trails now up

 28/5/2013

I've been busily riding some of the lesser known trails around the Northern Beaches, trails that by themselves aren't the pick of the area but trails that can link up with other sections to make some seriously long distance rides.

Bantry Bay

The Bantry Bay area contains a number of short fire trails that can add extra kays to rides around Manly Dam and link in with the Forest Pipeline track.

The Engravings Track runs on the western side of the Wakehurst Parkway from the end of Bantry Bay Rd, Frenchs Forest to the end of the Parkway straight, popping out just short of Seaforth Oval.  Linking with the top section of Manly Dam I've found this a good pre-work loop.  By getting the car on the western side of the Wakehurst Parkway & Warringah Rd Intersection before the traffic sets in I can spend 30 mins on the trails and still make it into work with time for a shower.

The Currie Rd Track and Cook Street Track will also be good pre-work rides however I haven't summons the courage to descend them in the dark as yet. These trails are quite fun with some nice steep rocky descents and some challenging climbs back. 

(I got myself an 1800 lumen light with the assistance of a $50 voucher I won from Bike Bug and I'm really happy with how it's going)

Of course we are all waiting with baited breath for work to begin on the new Bantry Bay single track.  Read more about it here

The Forest Pipeline Track

If you are a local you've probably noticed the Forest Pipeline before, however did you know it runs from Government Rd Beacon Hill, through Allambie Heights, Frenchs Forest, Belrose and Davidson before crossing Middle Harbour, climbing up to St Ives and continuing on its merry way for a few kays!  Well I didn't - so I rode it to find out.

It's pretty much grass all the way with the exception of a few road crossings, 3 bridges, a dirt stretch between Allambie Road and the Wakehurst Parkway, a short bit of single track near the Aquatic Centre and sealed sections in Frenchs Forest and Davidson.  It may sound like there are a lot of exceptions but its really a LOT of grass riding.

For the most part there's not much going on along the Forest Pipeline Track however there are sections that will link Red Hill and Manly Dam, Manly Dam to Bantry Bay, and Manly Dam pretty much to the Cascades Track.

Probably the best find on this track was the single track section that runs along the eastern side of the Wakehurst Parkway crossing the path coming from the Aquatic Centre footpath.  Running north to south there are a number of drops and a fairly significant gap jump.  Not sure if I'm going to put that one in the "I'm too old basket"!

Next on the local to do list is ride the Slippery Dip and Powerlines out at Oxford Falls and finish off the south side of Terrey Hills and the trail linking up to Ryland Track.

 

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.