Backyard Adventures

I often think of going on big trips again. Mountain biking for days on end through pristine wilderness, surfing all the way up the coast for a month or so, even exploring a place like Antarctica. Like most, my reality is that taking that time away is a difficult proposition and means being away from family. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy some real adventure though. It takes a couple of hours and the willingness to head somewhere new.

So this morning I set off on my mountain bike, straight from home, to explore the area north. I had two hours to see if I couldn't get myself lost.

After about 100 metres on the road, I slipped off onto one of the tracks that makes it's way down to the beach. This in turn, linked to another trail that traversed through woodland along a pretty grass track and opened up at the beach in the photo above. As you can see, it was a beautiful morning for a bike ride. From here I knew you could follow a dirt road to the north which would lead to a trail that would eventually get you somewhere near the island you can see.

This trail was fun. A little sandy in places but it is obviously used quite a bit as it was clear and flowing. I reached the car park which then took me on to a walking trail around Sandy Creek. The first section was a lot of fun, some pretty demanding uphills and nice descents.

Then it was rock garden after rock garden. A few could be ridden through, but some were derailleur chewing stuff. So the hike a bike section began. I have been practising how I carry my bike when I'm walking as getting your technique right makes such a difference to how enjoyable these sections can be. The scenery can also help. The trail lead me down to the river and after a cold crossing the trail began to flow again, albeit briefly.

There is something about riding along a river. Just magical. It wasn't long before there were more rocks to negotiate, and then the rocks were joined by steep slopes, and it was walking time again.

The thing about hills though is that they almost always mean some nice views, and this one did not disappoint.

Leaving the lagoon and the rocks behind, I followed a flat trail along another lake for several kilometres before it brought me out onto a fire road. Remembering the map I had studied the night before, I turned left and began to look out for a sign to the Trig point. Within a few minutes it appeared to the left and so began a long slog up for about 4 km. It is never a good sign when the water bars get really big. It generally means that the gradient is too high and they need to divert a lot of water off the trail. As I climbed upwards, the bars got bigger, the gradient got steeper and my legs grew more tired. Fortunately there were a few moments of relief as the trail levelled out before pitching again.

And would you believe it, after all that, no view from the top! Not even a sign!

I continued downhill the other side, hoping that the trail would continue on towards the main road. I even chanced a couple of detours on some more interesting trail. Eventually I found the tell tale signs of a track I had been on before. This lead down to a small creek and then it was some more hike a bike up the other side. Within a few minutes I had reached the road.

From there it was a short ride to the local single track, which was in great condition after the little rain we had yesterday.

As I cruised the final couple of hundred metres home the computer read just over 30 km in about 2 hours. At times I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere but the reality is I was probably never more than ten kilometres from home. For those couple of hours I experienced lots of what makes a great adventure; at times it was difficult, there were decisions to be made, I was experiencing the rawness of natural beauty and it was a heap of fun.

All in my backyard.