Gravel riding in the Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve and the adjacent Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve. A very popular spot for gravel riding – the Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve and the adjacent Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve.
Tag Archives: gravel riding
Molonglo Valley to Civic on gravel
An alternate route on gravel when common routes are unavailable. Our options are getting limited. Butters Bridge and Black Mountain Peninsula are closed. Cycling must go on. Try a Arboretum and Black Mountain gravel ride instead of the LBG CBR Cycle Route.
Canberra dirt tracks: cross links add variety
Loop rides are popular. A great dirt loop around Canberra: “Canberra Centenary Trail without the suburbs” is made up of the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) and the Canberra Centenary Trail (CCT). The route avoids crossing the suburbs.
Navigation for CCT and BNT without the suburbs
The article “Canberra Centenary Trail without the suburbs” explains how Canberra can be circumnavigated on dirt tracks on a combination of the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) and the Canberra Centenary Trail (CCT). The Komoot app provides navigation on the smartphone. The route passes through or by Canberra Nature Park. The links are provided below.
Canberra Centenary Trail with the bus
Using the ACT Rapid Bus service to get to the track heads. The Canberra Centenary Trail is 140 km long. Most people will not ride it in one go. One trick is to break it up into multiple stages and to do a different section on different days. The question now is how to get to the track head and home again at the end of the ride. Canberra.bike suggests taking the bike on a Canberra Rapid Bus. The terminus stations are a base camp for the rides.
Denman Prospect and Stromlo West
Riding the western slopes of Mount Stromlo. A gravel ride from Denman Prospect shops, to Stromlo Forest and across its western slopes. The route winds its way over hills and across creeks, with uninterrupted views of the Murrumbidgee Valley and the Brindabella Range. The ride is 25.7 km, a 500 m rise, hilly, and with no locked gates. A mountain bike is recommended.
Denman Prospect Forest loop
Views of Denman Prospect and the Molonglo Valley. Gravel ride through the forest to a hilltop for great views and down to the Molonglo River again. The route starts and ends at the Denman Prospect R10 bus stop. Find at the shops a café, supermarket, and toilets. Ride in a clockwise direction for minimum gradients. Mountain bike recommended. Length 8 km and 180 m rise. Steep descent. The ride is very enjoyable.
Long Gully Pine Plantation, Isaacs Ridge
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.
Mount Rob Roy: alone but not forgotten
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.
Kama Reserve: much loved
Kama is a nature reserve on the Molonglo River. Beautiful but somehow forgotten, it will be much loved by the residents of Whitlam. This was the first post on the Kama Reserve. At the time, cycling was permitted, but this has changed. The Molonglo River Reserve: Reserve Management Plan 2019 (26 July 2019) states that it is permitted (read more here and below). There is no reason given for any change by ACT Environment.
