Ourimbah singletrack

So no need to be sorry. I personally would like to see more 'challenging' trails in Glenrock.

Unfortunately "raw and natural trail" left unmaintained will continue to degrade to the point where they become un-ridable by anyone, then the new lines pop up, trail widens, further impact and erosion. There are very few natural trail that can stand up to it, especially with the traffic we get in such popular areas. These sorts of trails need to be hand built to a high standard.

The problem here is that they are harder to build, harder to maintain and harder to justify with the land manager - in particular the NPWS.

But we are getting there.

I think with the current growth of the sport and the steep learning curve that the modern equipment allows we will see more demand for just such trails. See the work beginning on BJ's as an example, it's off the main loop so it can be avoided by anyone wanting a more mellow ride, so this means it can be of higher level of difficulty.

The big thing with these trails is the higher impact caused by braking, tyres pounding through rough technical sections and faster corners, so it has to be done right.

The resources that go into these trails would be up to five times what it takes to build flatter 'flowy' trail. We need more materials - rock and gravel, we need more NPWS input - machines and operators and we need more volunteers. So if there is a demand for this style of trail then we should also see an increase in people coming along to help build them.

So for everyone that's keen keep an eye on the GTA for upcoming build days and we can make it happen!

I've found you get different things out of trails at different times.

I think on paper Ourimbah is more technical than Awaba but compared to Red Hill and Oxy neither are very technical.

I've found that I now prefer Awaba when I head up north as the technical aspects on either arent that challenging anymore but Awaba is a lot more pumpy and dynamic with lots of quick changes in direction. For me it has more of a DH flow keeping the suspension dynamic. Ourimbah feels more static with longer corners.

Awaba descents also feel longer and makes the climbs feel more worthwhile.

Both good tracks and I know a few years ago I would have preferred Ourimbah for the slightly more technical stuff.

In my opinion Awaba definitely suits shorter travel forks though, 160mm feels a little sluggish in the tight stuff as the head angle is generally much slacker. 100mm to 130mm is about right.

I haven't ridden much of Glenrock, I know how much work everyone's put into the place and their efforts are well appreciated by us who are also working with NPWS in Sydney. Impressions of what I have ridden is that it is much better on a short travel bike in the corners especially where it gets quite text book(IMBA guidelines not accounting for newer AM bikes?). Also on anything greater than 100mm it is in places easy to straight line and jump over all the TTF's designed to choke the trail or slow the rider down and going around the features with the track is awkward on a larger travel bike.

Happy to show you around Red Hill if you come down to Sydney. Suits 160mm travel bikes.

Red Hill is in Sydneys Northern Beaches.

Currently rough as and doesn't officially exist. TrailCare is working hard to get this area official so proper management and maintenance can happen.

Check trail links on NobMob for details and google earth overlays.

More drops than jumps, many options or short walk. Mixture of single track and eroded fire trails reduced to rock shelf.

Many guys wear some pads. I ride it now on my 160mm travel hard tail. Most use duallys. I'm slow uphill but that relates to fitness.

From your description Red Hill would be a great place. It's where most of us learnt to drop stuff and ride techy terrain before doing DH and FR.

Why doesn't Ourimbah host more races of the 8 and 12 hour variety ?