Sparrow Hill Rawks & Majura is Fun

FINDING SPARROW HILL

Went to Canberra for work. Took the bike. Drove down after lunch on Wednesday. Took about 3 to 3.5 hours or something. Had a hire Commodore with cruise control = easy drive. Got to Sparrow Hill at about 5:30 pm (this is daylight savings, expecting dark at about 7:30pm). Took a while to find from the instructions on the CORC website. There is no little MTBA arrow on the gate. There is however a red sign that says EMP06 (I think it's a forestry sign). Eventually worked it out. Pulled up. No other cars but a little step bridge to climb over the fence (with MTB tracks all around it) was a dead give away. I had the whole place to myself. Rode up the fire trail thinking about how I should have got some water from that bloody service station as my pack felt very light. Anyways, I have a phone, 661 vegi shins, and a compression bandage to reduce exposure to risk from snake bite. I also have a spare tube and my regular gear. Got to the dunny at the end of the fire trail. Read the sign, very informative sign, lots of text, explains the various trail options and how long they generally take. I didn't read the whole sign. I figured I'd work it out.

SPARROW HILL SINGLE TRACK BY DAY

Started on single track, nice flowing, smooth, dry, easy grade, closed single track, no scrub/understory, just pine needles, not technical, novice level, occasional pinecone, large kangaroos, occasional large 'horror movie' bird making classic "vulture sounds".. I don't know what kind of bird it was, but it should be in horror movies. Cute trail naming signs like at Ourimbah, more signs that Ourimbah. On and on I rode, deeper and deeper into the forest. Crossing Fire Trail 9 from time to time. Started to lose sense of direction and it was getting darker. The various trails each had their own flavour.. yes it was dusty hardpack, very dusty compared to the loamy soil of home. This looked far from being leach country. Past cow bones (more scary) and other odd cow skulls mounted in trees etc (hmm). Kind of spooky, kind of lonely, darker and further, and lonelier I rode into the forest. I was out of water, and still had some energy left but had this odd feeling. Maybe there was a bigfoot out there? The place is kind of eriry. Eventually I realised that I needed to head back so I just took the next Fire Trail 9 sign back all the way to the "dunny".

Here I read the sign again, and took a single track option back to the car. On the way I saw a lady riding a bike and was happy to see another human in this lonely place. I thought she was keen riding alone out here with the scary birds, bones and possible big foot. Maybe she was hunting the bigfoot. I didn't ask.

SPARROW HILL SINGLE TRACK BY NIGHT

Pulled up at the car park and there were a bunch of cars there now. A mature aged bloke called Andrew introduced himself and explained his friends were about to embark on a Social night ride of Sparrow Hill. Andy had water on tap in his campervan, and a potplant hanging from the ceiling. He also had a spare halogen light 9and battery pack) for my helmet. Off we went. Mark, Michael(?), Therese, Grey and I all riding along. These people are quick, very quick. At 66 years of age this Andy bloke was a streak in the night. Thankfully, they would wait up from time to time as it was a social ride. On and on we rode, at some stage there was a little wheelie drop of about 2.5 feet that was quite remarkable for such an easy course. Little challenges like this would jump out at you rarely, but often enough to keep you alert throughout this awesomely flowing single track experience. We got to a loop "Heavy Cow" (I think) and I got a break as the others did a loop.

Heading back I pinchflatted my 450g Kenda Karma on a little rock on the front wheel. It was dark and I don't seem to pick the smoothest lines at night. [Mental Note for Future: Sun Down = Tire Pressures Up] Grey assisted with lighting as I changed front tube (I run those 0.45mm Maxis race tubes like a true weight-weenie wanna-be). Riding back to the car park was awesome, the trails flow so well, and you can get some real speed up as it's quiet open.

I have to agree with Stuart, Sparrow Hill is some of the best single track I have ever ridden. Similar to Ourimbah but it's more open, pine forest, less erosion, less rock, and very easy. A bit too easy really, but you can't have everything. This is the kind of trail you can really zone out in. Hats off to the trail fairies.

TINKER'S V6

“Thanks for the water, the light, the company, and the tour of the Sparrow Hill Andy” I said. “Now we are heading to my place for dinner, one of the guys will pick up some Asian food, would you like to come along?” “Sounds good, can I follow you there?” “Yes, what car are you driving Noel?” “I have a new Commodore hire car just over there”. “Now Noel, you struggled to keep up with a 66 year old on the trail, you are welcome to follow me, but I will give you the address in case I lose you, do you think you can keep up with an old green 1977 campervan?” A bit confused by this question.. “Oh, yeah , I guess.. I should be able to”. Off we go, the van shot off like a rocket we me in hopeless pursuit. It turns out it has a relatively new commodore V6 engine and auto gearbox powering it.

TINKER'S TABLE

Asian food was the go, and some very nice red wine to wash it down. Discussions about CORC, and clubs and how I don’t want to join TORC as they are too serious, and how I think I will join CCOMTB as they have Ourimbah and it’s quite close to me. Discussions relating to some of Andy’s interesting dealings with some of the local MTB characters. Retail stories from the younger bike shop mechanic/sales assitant, Mark. All good fun and very interesting. Much better than sitting alone in a restaurant or eating room service in my hotel room at Dickson. Marks carbon hardtail SCOTT is about 9.2 kg. Turns out many of the attendees are CORC members and CORC is the largest MTB club in the southern Hemisphere. Me using flats (Funn's) was also a topic and Mark believes the platforms/cage around the Candies (what I have tried and still own) reduces their effectivness in unclipping. Makes sense. We agreed I should try eggbeaters before I try shimano. Mark could also quote the whole section from a recent magazine that looks at the pros bike set ups. We dicussed how I removed the big dog and how Andy says he never users the Granny. My long term plan is to try and have only one cog at the front and get rid of the granny, derailer, cable and shifter. I no longer have a big dog. I tend to live in the middle ring, and seem to live it more as I build strength. Grey added that by being clipped in, there is increased ability to shift the bike when/if it slides, where as at the moment it requires much more effort to maintain shoe-to-pedal traction to do the same (to throw the back end out).

Therese provided me with some directions home and off I went. She also drives at pace. I owe these people (especially Andy) for their excellent hospitality. Discussed the possibility of riding Mount Stromlo XC on Friday morning. Heard on the radio (in the car) that it might rain Friday. Andy says “They always say it’s going to rain but it never does”.

What lovely people. It got me thinking. I do a bit of travel, and people outside of Sydney are so nice. Maybe in Sydney we really are arseholes, or maybe just I am? It must be the roads and the traffic that does it to us.

WORK ON THURSDAY

It was just work. Parked my bike in the boardroom that I spent all day with the General Manager in. Didn't want to leave it in the car or hotel room, such is the bond between man and machine. Started 9am finished 5pm, job done, everybody happy. Back to hotel. Time to find Majura Pines!

MAJURA PINES

Easy to find, pulled up in cark park. Lots of cars. See two down-hill riders heading off up the fire trail. Hmm, where do I start? Up the fire trail, no signs, take a left at the junction. I can see trails all over the place. Came across two XC riders. General directions "it's all down there, not much up here". Off I go.. the trails are more worn than Sparrow Hill, I'm guessing they get way more use and may be older. Its flatter, less flowing, nearly no signs, dippy (good), some very big dips (great) eroded surfaces, exposed tree roots, smoother rocks, less rocks, more networks rather than a nice flowing long trail. Log rides, long transverse log rides crossing, like a timber rock garden. It’s harder to get into a zone as the forest is much more open and you remain relatively close to the car park, you can see the cars and hear the traffic on the road more frequently. On the other end of the spectrum, at Sparrow Hill, you feel isolated, even a bit spooked. I found Sparrow Hill made for better immersion, where as Majura Pines felt more ‘fun’ and tricky as I went over the same trails over and over, trying different turns (there are lots of intersections) but ending up generally following the same trails. I didn’t take the Garmin Edge 305 with me to Canberra but if I did, the GPS map of me riding Majura Pines would have resembled a spider web cast by a spider high on caffeine! Saw a giant kangaroo, think he was the biggest one i have ever seen in the wild, that close. Also saw mum roo near-by with a joey in her pouch. I could see some more kind of downhill/freeride friendly trails (with decent gap jumps etc) further up but I stayed out of them for fear of becoming a bump in the track. I was riding alone in a place I might not be able to describe to the emergency services. Got back to the car by dark, only one car left.

STROMLO

I was planning to ride Stromlo on the Friday morning. Chatted with a dude (with a Mitsubishi Evolution and a 2008 Giant Reign 1) in the cark park at Majura Pines and he said Stromlo is covered in half an inch of dust from the 3000 riders who recently raced there. I asked “Wouldn’t the rain wash it away?” He responded with a peculiar look “It doesn’t rain here dude”.

My chain was already starting to squeak, my legs were in pain, and my whole bike was covered in this dusty dry brown Sparrow/Majura flavoured residue. I had reached my limit so I gave Stromlo a miss and drive home to Sydney Friday morning.

Gave the “silver bullet” (2008 Trance XO) a full degrease, clean, lube and polish. Even applied some new flame stickers to the forks. I love my bike, I love riding, and I love people who don’t live in Sydney, they seem so nice. I think I’m going to order a MTB gift on the net and have it delivered to Andy in appreciation for an excellent ride and evening.

CONCLUSION

Sparrow Hill is awseome for a long long cruisy ride. Marjura Pines looks like a nice place to casually play around, particualrly if you wan to ride with riders who can't all meet up or start at the same time. It didn't rain on the Friday, but when I got home I was stuffed, glad I didn't ride Friday AM, I would have been running purpley on excitement energy. I was stuffed.

Additionally, bike culture in Canberra leaves any other major city I have visited in Australia for dead. The amount of infrastructure provided and the amount of people riding to and from work was outstanding, and these people were just regualr people cuising along. They were not the ultra lycra brigade in search of a latte to pose with.

.. All this is just my opinion, it may not all be correct. It's just how I saw it.