You are hereForums / By Discipline / Mountain (off road) / By Location / Australia / NSW / Sydney (South) / Mt Annan
Mt Annan
Morning all
To those of you that ride Mt Annan on a regular basis is there a loop that can be done that would be great for a first time rider?
I would really like my girlfriend to get into mountain biking but given Mt Annan may be her first off road ride its probably going to be a bit of a struggle. IIRC its fairly hilly and a pretty decent workout for even the more seasoned riders.
Brad
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Tags
Brad,
There sure is. My 10yo did it a month back. We also had a 7Yo with us. It took us a while LOL. Its the green lap. its very well sign posted. you cant miss it.
My little girl went OTB and just sucked it up. It was a very proud Dad moment. I'm sure I'm telling you something you already know but there is no harm in letting your girl know that there is no shame in getting off if she feels its required.
Try Camden river?? just down the road from Mt Annan, nice and easy mostly. couple of sections she'd probably need to hike a bike (and she might need you to walk her bike across the huge steep bridge section at the start... i even struggle pushing up that..)
but aside from that really well signposted, b lines everywhere. Just be careful of going after rain as it can get slippery
http://nobmob.com/node/22050
Thanks Stefan, i had totally forgotten about the coloured loops. I havent ridden there in so long!!!!! I will have to give it a go. There is a Giant demo day there and i would love for Andrea to have a ride on a bike thats suited to her. I think she would struggle on my 15 kilo Remedy no matter where we rode. A Trance X 29er i am sure would be a more suitable bike for her to ride
FT, I will give that a go once i have ridden it. I am yet to get there myself and to be honest have never really enjoyed exploring so am not about to get out there and try and fumble my way through. For some reason i just prefer to ride something i am familiar with. That is a ride i am looking at doing sooner than later as well I can only imagine how dirty and slippery it would be after some rain!!!!
What day is the demo day happening ? I curious to try the new 29er trance ..
http://giantsydney.com.au/demodays/
Mt Annan can be a bit tricky even on the green loop, just depends on how much of an initiation you want to give her. I reckon the best place to take a first timer is Narrabeen. Once they get confident there you can take them to Terry Hills, maybe Mt Annan. I would not take a first timer to Camden River. Most of it is nice, flowy stuff but the tough sections are very daunting and likely to put off a first timer.
I agree with cake eater,camden river is a bit tough for first timers (especially when introducing your partner) and mount Annan is not that beginer friendly,as you live on the south side I would recomend Lady carrington drive in the Royal NP, nice scenery no hills just the ticket to get your lady loving MTB... It worked for me
@Brad, if you want to do Camden river some time I Know this ride well, there is a few other rides in our area I can show you also.
Not close but I like taking first timers to one of the nice easy firetrails in the blue mountains area .. something like Faulconbridge, Baltzer lookout or even the Oaks would be my pick
Problem with some of the trails mentioned is they are now about 2 hours away so it makes it hard. If i was going to drive that far i would sooner go to Stromlo and leave Andrea at home lol
Thankfully she isnt new to cycling and has done pretty damned well on the M7 cycle path so i think to get onto a mountain bike would be good. It is a lot tougher but i think mountain biking is a lot more enjoyable than road cycling. I have never really understood why a fat, over weight, 60yo man feels the need to try and look like Cadel Evans lol
Craked, definitely up for it thats for sure. The rest of this year is more than likely going to be a write off for riding as i still have some work to do on the new house and then silly season begins, but some time in the new year would probably be easier. Keep me in the loop though if you wouldnt mind
Smiley.....Nov 17 but you need to book on the Giant Sydney site 10am -5pm
I would try the Green loop and if that is too much there are plenty of dirt tracks to explore , stop off for a good coffee / lunch etc and not scare her off .
My two cents worth ....
Smiley, just so you know Giant Sydney do have these bikes available normally for 48 hour test rides.
I went in there yesterday to check the Trance out and the guys made me aware of it then which is good to hear
family reunion is happening plus forecast is for rain looks like I might be on the trainer !! ido09s what area are you located in so we have some idea of the trails close by ?
South west Sydney
Mt Annan is perfect as i havent spent all day travelling somewhere to find out the trail is too hard or Andrea isnt overly interested and wants to go home after 10 minutes of riding lol
Plus this time around there is the Giant test rides which meant she could have used a bike perfectly suited to her.
Will see how we go. I may have missed the boat already plus it is predicted to be raining and the garden management seem to close the trail quite quickly after rain and especially when more is predicted. I think its great as people dont waste their time traveling there to find it closed
I just been on the Mount Annan Botanic Garden Track and it was great!
**As from 11 April 2011, Mount Annan has free admission**
Please that this is a public (government) trust and strict opening hours are in place. Anyone trying to access the track outside these hours is looking at a heavy fine. See the Mt Annan official site for more info.
Introduce her on the green trail and if she likes it at a later stage try the blue track.
Hope she enjoys it, my partner loved it.