Mojo HD

 

 


Oaks - Greg on s/t

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hodgie tackles the rough


faster than the speed of light? Mark Hodges photo.
Mark Hodges photo

 

Track closures:

Fires close sections of Blue Mountains National Park from time to time, and tracks may be closed for maintenance or safety reasons. Check the current closure status with NPWS BEFORE you head out.


As a kid I rode Malvern Stars and dragsters around the streets of Blaxland and hit the trails on a lawn mower engined mini bike. Nowadays, I'm still in the Blue Mountains, and do my trail riding on mountain bikes - there are some great trails locally (some with spectacular views), and some big hills to struggle up, but big hills are great fun going back down - surely the only reason uphills exist.

Rides are rated in fat hippies one fat hippy - one fat hippy means grab a slice of pizza, sit on your beanbag, and stare at the lava lamp, two means not bad, three means well worth a ride, four is a great ride and five means stop looking at your computer, go ride it - now! A new category of no fat hippy no fat  hippies means the track should be avoided - it's a climb, a walk, or just lame. All opinions and times taken are based on my own experiences - yours might be different.

To put my reviews into some sort of perspective, here's some info about me.

These are just some of the rides I reckon are pretty good, and were ridden between 1999 and 2013. In the mid-noughties, The Oaks and St Helena were voted as NSW's most popular mtb rides by Australian Mountain Bike readers - which probably made them the most popular in Australia. If you explore, no doubt you'll find more great tracks.

Any reasonable quality mtb in good condition will take you safely on all these rides - you don't need the latest and greatest, although you will need good brakes! You should avoid supermarket bikes with "Not suitable for off road riding, stunting or jumping" stickers - they really aren't... Buy from a bike shop, and tell them the sort of riding you plan on doing, so they can point you at the right models. Speak to a few shops.

While suspension isn't essential for any of these rides, I strongly recommend front suspension for the improvements in control and comfort you'll receive. In fact, I reckon duallies are better still, the advantages outweighing the disadvantages of complexity and weight. I don't recommend supermarket duallies at all.

 

the landslide, mt solitary, narrowneck
l-r - the landslide, mt solitary, narrowneck

 

Note that tracks and National Parks may be closed as a result of bushfires, extremely high fire danger, or for other reasons. Check with NPWS before riding - no matter what I've written, tracks may be closed. High winds around September and October tend to bring a lot of trees down - take care!

rating
the tracks
one fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippy
one fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippy+
one fat hippyone fat hippyone fat hippy+
one fat hippyone fat hippy+
  • Mt Hay - Leura - would be a great ride if it wasn't for the corrugations (and big hills) - great views
  • Long Angle Gully - Springwood to Blaxland - something of a mess these days, lots of sidetracks
  • Murphy's Glen - Woodford
  • Grose Head South - Winmalee - great views of the Grose Valley.
one fat hippy+
None at the moment!
tracks to avoid!
no fat hippy -
   
thefathippy's youtube channel
   

Tips

 

and the rainbow bleeds
sometimes you can be in the right spot at the right time