I leave this Saturday (12/13/08) for Sydney, Australia and was wondering what trails people recommend and if anyone wants to show me around some sweet trails, trials, etc. Or any other info you might want to share.
My girlfriend and I are going there to street perform and meet her family as she’s from there. We plan to stay for one month, maybe two depending on how the peforming goes. In my days off I hope to be able to get some riding in. I’ll be bringing my 12 footer and trials for performing so unfortunately I won’t have my MUni but hope to be able to borrow one or use my trials. Anyone have a spare Muni I could borrow? I promise not to break it or at least replace anything on it that breaks!
We are driving 8 hours north up the coast for Christmas (for like week) to visit her mom so there might be something along the way I might be able to hit up? Let me know your thoughts and any info that might be helpful for me. Thanks in advance! Looking forward to visiting Australia for the first time and hopefully meeting some of you…5 more sleeps!!!
Hey there
There was talk about a few different people meeting up in the city sometime soon but a date hasn’t been set. Dan C and Matt P said they’d be interested so maybe this saturday? I’m sure there would be great street and trials in the city.
Sam
EDIT: So you’re coming this Saturday but thats not when you want to go for a ride?
Nvm. Basically some riders were planning to meet in the city and maybe you’d like to join?
I leave Saturday which means I don’t arrive in Sydney till this Monday the 15th of December. Let me know when and where you guys are meeting if it’s after that…
I did a few rides round Sydney earlier in the year. I’m sure Geoff (nexty) or Mr Dangerdog will be on here to give you more trail info, but the trails I rode were:
Manly Dam
This is a shortish (10km or so) afternoon ride - it’d be cool on a trials uni. You can get to it by going on the Manly Ferry across the harbour which is a nice trip in itself and not super expensive, or by a cheap bus from the city centre bus station - I’ve not got the details handy, but it wasn’t too hard to find details on google. From the ferry you have to ride about 3km to the trail, I think the bus stops closer if you can work out the buses, but then you miss going to Manly itself which is very lovely (and probably a good place to do some juggling too).
2)Narrow Neck
This is a decent length ride in the blue mountains, along an amazing narrow ridge in the middle of the mountains, amazing views, although not at all technical. You’d really want a 26 or a 29 for it. Easy to get to by train from the Sydney main station, I think it was Katoomba that was the station.
3)Oaks Fire Trail
Again not super technical, basically a very fast wide downhill fire track, followed by a few km of nice singletrack, some of which gets a bit technical. Bit of a blast on a 26 or a 29. It goes from one train station to another, so it is predominantly downhill, and hardly any unrideable uphill.
There are riders in Sydney, also I met some jugglers in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, apparently they do some muni riding too, and are bang in the middle of lots of great trails, but they are not very online - their meetup is on a Friday night 6-9 in the church in Katoomba. http://www.katoombachamber.com/component/option,com_events/task,view_detail/agid,45/year,2008/month,12/day,05/Itemid,35/
Oh and we met a couple of other muni riders in the Blue Mountains - I think Geoff has their details.
Awesome! Thanks for the info so far, keep it coming! Would love to play some unicycle hockey!!
Also just found out that it’s more like a 10 hour drive north all the way up to Brisbane so if anyone knows of any great trails along the way up to stretch the legs, that’d be great. Only 4 more sleeps…
Brisbane (or more specifically mt coot-tha) is home to some awesome bike trails you can take your muni on although im not from there so i cant show you around.
in wollongong there are also heaps (only an hour south of sydney) im from wollongong but staying in canberra at the moment so i wont be able to show you around
Mt keira-
there is an XC trail from the top, just past the entry gates to the summit about 100m on your right the trail starts theres a little 10cm diameter pipe you ride over at the entry to the trail. it pops out on the road about halfway down and links up to the dowhill trail. it starts about 200 down the hill from a big hair pin (theres heaps of room cleared on the outside of the turn as it is the turnaround point for lots of bike riders shuttling with their trailers and utes. so you go past there and the trail is on the left as your riding down the road. halfway down this track you come to another bitumen road (dont worry cars dont drive on this one) keep going up about 50 metres and the track splits up into three, easy medium and hard from left to right. these take you to the bottom and they all link up at the end so it doesnt matter which one you take
Mount Ousley - as you come down on the hwy from sydney there is a truck stop on the left at the top before you come down into wollongong the drop off point is here. from there take the track and head toward the telephone towers theres an awesome lookout (although be carefull cause there isnt a rail to stop idiots falling over the edge) you then come back toward the hwy and under the first set of powerlines on the way back the downhill trail starts when you get to the fire road head left back up the hill till you get to a massive boulder where some local kids have spray painted the name of their trail on ‘treetops’ this goes all the way down to the bottom and spits out at doonan place
if you want to come to canberra its only about 4 hours down the hume hwy from sydney it has heaps also, of which i am slowly discovering. Mt Majura has lots of XC and Mt Stromlo (proper certified mountain bike park) does also with a downhill track too (there was a world cup round held here last year so its a pretty good track)
Sweet! Can’t wait to ride with you again Jamey! You should definitely come out for some uni hockey if you can, I personally don’t know any of the trails around here just yet, though we could probably hit up one of the beaches for some natural trials.
I’m not sure if you are a juggler at all, but there is a juggling club that meets every Wednesday night from 7:30pm-9:30pm, and we usually go for food or drinks afterward.
Ya (I should change my profile come to think of it) I moved to Sydney just a couple of weeks ago, I’ll be here for at least a year and a half (which overlaps the next unicon nicely :D). Heh, if you wanted you could sleep on my couch again, though this one is even smaller
Sounds like so much fun to visit down under! Please make a video and get pics of any riding you do! Watch out though, as Austrailia is home to the most venomous snakes & spiders on the planet!
hey nigger yeah me matty, sam, we’ve rode with geof before so we should get decent sized group aye, you want my number or something, just hit us up on 0432593455, abit easyer to organise stuff over phone but yeah
Jamie I think I’ll have time after the 18th as well.I’m probably good for ride or loan of a muni or something.I’m just trying to get through a few work deadlines before I can make plans.
John
good luck finding any. and they aren’t the most venomous in the world, not even close, simply just plain deadly but u’d hav to b an idiot to get bitten
Australia is the best country and or continent in the world, you’re sure to find something. watch out for those sydney funnel webs through, because they might kill you. hahaha.
Sydney funnel webs are my home-boys.
They aren’t a problem, even if you do manage to find them. When i was really young i used to try catching them with my older brother by luring them out of their holes with ants as bait.
Thanks again for the info thus far…no need to scare me though as my gf assures me that it’s all worth the risk (which is pretty much no risk). Only 3 more sleeps…
send a PM or something when you are up in Brisbane. Theres a group of of muni riders, we ride every week, usually Mt. Cootha or theres also trails at a place called Daisy Hill. I’m sure one of us will have a spare muni to lend you.
