canberra.bike
Canberra continues to grow and we are squeezing more and more people into an ever-smaller place. Within a few years, 500,000 people will live in our city. We will be walking, cycling or riding a lot more than we do now. Walking to the bus stop makes public transport active travel, too.
Register here for a free webinar about Active Travel in Canberra.
In 2015 a study was carried out for the ACT Government reviewing mountain biking in Long Gully Pine Plantation. The report is attached and holds many interesting details. The Spine has been mentioned previously as it is accessible to everybody. It is certainly worth a look. The route “Isaacs Ridge peak from Woden Bus Station” follows The Spin up the hill.
Ride a good bike path, flat and fast gravel, climb a hill or singletrack, and combine it as you wish. There are advanced downhill routes, too, but that is for another day. These rides centre around the Long Gully Pine Plantation at Isaacs Ridge.
Canberra Nature Park makes it possible to ride through a network of reserves that are interconnected without ever crossing a major road. One of these areas is in the south east of Canberra.
I’ve lived in Germany, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Among other great cities, I’ve been to Berlin, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, London, New York, Venice, Florence, Ottawa and Vancouver – but there is only one city in the world I would move back to in a flash: Freiburg im Breisgau.
There was much hype about the bike path around the edge of the suburb, along the Molonglo River. The good news is that Stage 1 is finished. The community path through the Stage 2 area is progressing but not yet completed.
Australian Hiker is a website for bushwalking but there are interesting reviews of Canberra Nature Park. As routes are often along management trails they can be ridden as well. In the worst case of ‘walking only’ trails, the review may provide inspiration for further investigation what is possible along management trails.
Canberra.bike thanks Mick Andrews for sending us these photos of Glenburn Homestead.
Further information can be found here: Glenburn Heritage Trail ACT (10.4km) ACT by Australian Hiker.
I welcome your comments.
It appears that mountain bikers like those fast flowing descents far too much to bother to stop and take photos. Lucky bushwalkers do take the time and a few photos along the way. 🙂
It turns out that some of the rides that canberra.bike will recommend are also popular bushwalking areas. A good example is Mount Rob Roy, where the loop route I recommended is also a popular bushwalk. Australian Hiker has an excellent review of this walk and shows nicely the reasons for going there.
Mount Tennent, Honeysuckle Creek and Mount Rob Roy belong to the great hill climbs in the south. Mount Tennent, south of Tharwa, is usually walked but it can be run. Honeysuckle Creek is a popular road ride (the road is currently closed), and Mount Rob Roy a gravel ascent on Banks Steep Track management trail.
