Casual Sydney Rides

Luco

Likes Dirt
Yeah that was kinda half the reason why i was querying it!
I'll be there from 7am :eek:
So if your heading up early look for me in black shorts, black t shirt riding blue reign with pikes give us a hola.
 

ChopSticks

Banned
pulling a sickie :sick:
and will be riding the newly opened trail at cecil hills at 1pm

anyone keen?... preferably spmeone who has ridden it and know the way around (as I heard signage isnt clear)
 

mtb1611

Seymour
pulling a sickie :sick:
and will be riding the newly opened trail at cecil hills at 1pm

anyone keen?... preferably spmeone who has ridden it and know the way around (as I heard signage isnt clear)
When did it open? Got a link by any chance?
 

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
Hey dudes,
I'm planning on riding the Hornsby trail in a few weeks and wanted to ask a couple of things from the locals:
-Is there a main parking area that is effectively the trail head?
-Is the trail marked and only rideable in one direction?
-How long to do a lap?
Any other info worth mentioning is appreciated y'all. ;)
 

g-fish

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Hey dudes,
I'm planning on riding the Hornsby trail in a few weeks and wanted to ask a couple of things from the locals:
-Is there a main parking area that is effectively the trail head?
-Is the trail marked and only rideable in one direction?
-How long to do a lap?
Any other info worth mentioning is appreciated y'all. ;)
It's the easiest trail to navigate I've ever ridden. The car park is at the trail head, all tracks are one way and arranged in a loop so you can link them up. Signage everywhere. It's pretty much impossible to get lost as all the tracks finish in the same central area down the bottom of the hill or at the trail head.

A full lap of all the trails would take 20-30 minutes. The best part is being able to session certain sections of trail over and over again as they loop back on each other.

It's a pretty popular track, so there will always been someone to point you in the right direction.

Give us a yell when your down, I might come out for a ride.

Anyone got plans for Sunday?
 

ChopSticks

Banned
When did it open? Got a link by any chance?
opened yesterday..... was apparently abit muddy, but by 1pm it was bone dry.
I assume it hasnt been plastered online to reduce the numbers given the on and off rains?

Give us a yell when your down, I might come out for a ride.
+1 keen to see who the mighty Dozer is...
OMV would be perfect!

How was it mate?
rode with a few mates who did the trial runs.. and was promised it was nothing like Mt Annan *cheers*... but the Muthafo's lied... it was similar to Mt Annan ie pedal pedal pedal uphill... (however not as boring, and slightly more rewarding)
a few fun bits with HUGE berms.
The Rolley Polley section almost threw me OTB... didn't see the drop at the end so be careful, but luckily pulled it off :heh:
some small doubles here and there but nothing that will kill you
and some seriously long knarly rock gardens.... LOL JOKES the 'rock gardns' are 1-2m long and you could pedal over it with a beach cruiser.
all up theres a 12km loop, with the option to ride smaller loops 6km and 8?(I think). There's also a small pump track + jump track for the dj crowd.

its essentially a trail that anyone can ride (I think that was the point) similar to Mt Annan.. the more legs you have... the easier it will be. Therefore not my cuppa tea

The bike washing facilities is a nice touch... however no toilets. The lack/location of rubbish bins is also a fail.
The stench of the opposite rubbish tip? is just revolting! Cant imagine what it will be like on a hot 30+ degree day.

In short.... I didnt enjoy it (was also pushing a bigger front ring than what I'm use to, so I felt every climb).
My 2cents: Its not a trail I will drive 1hr~ each way to ride (and most definitely not a trail I would pay $20+ for tolls to get to/from my place)

But def checking it out... at least you can say you've ridden it !
Guess its not a bad track if you're local. But for me its not somewhere I'd consider/suggest riding again anytime soon, but for those XC and cyclecross riders... You'll have a ball.
 

Luco

Likes Dirt
Good feedback chops, thanks. Mt Annan is a punish as you said. Won't waste my time just yet on it I think, and definitely not worth a sickie!
 

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
Thanks for the review chops, I wanna ride it and take the missus along. But for that big a journey I'd prefer ourimbah.
 

ChopSticks

Banned
Good feedback chops, thanks. Mt Annan is a punish as you said. Won't waste my time just yet on it I think, and definitely not worth a sickie!
I absolutely hate mt annan with a passion! The worst part for me isnt the ride, but the 15 min drive to leave the bloody place! But yes, the trail sucks... So much climbing for zero reward

trail wasn't worth chucking sickie for... But the 10am sleep in was :D


Thanks for the review chops, I wanna ride it and take the missus along. But for that big a journey I'd prefer ourimbah.
Yehhhh, just take the missus to ourimbah! Easier drive (ie highway and no tolls)
its also go little to no tree cover (like my Annan) so with summer coming up.... It's not going to be pleasant.
 

Luco

Likes Dirt
Yeah the drive out is ridiculous, very hard to stick to the speed limit. Looking forward to summer but not those stinking hot days 38 degrees +. I remember riding red hill; midday, 42degrees, water running out and I was shivering!!! And my piss looked like I had been over-dosing on multi-vitamins!! And then there's the butcher bird at manly dam.... Ah the fun. Surfing is easier in summer ;)
Got a review of The Oaks? Thanks chops.... :D
 

ChopSticks

Banned
Got a review of The Oaks? Thanks chops.... :D
IMO:
ride from woodford to glenbrook is really chilled... except for a hot summers day as its got little tree cover too.
theres a few climbs there people say are hard, but the 2 times I've ridden the Oaks I have never really struggled. ie get off and needed to walk or felt like dying.

the single track at the end of the Oaks trail to the carpark is buckets of fun. Think 30kms/h of flat,narrow but flowing ST. Faster you pedal the faster/more fun it is. Would be awesome at night me thinks

The new section thats been built recently is alright too. Very smooth and flowy... the 'black' or 'A' line is very do-able. I think the only hard feature is a 1 foot drop you can roll off if you had to.
Its great but short... again its not a trail I'd drive 50mins + train trip and/or Nato park entry to ride.
however! Oaks is a trail you can ride with a pack of 20 and still have fun. The Oakes trail is so wide, and perfect for large groups unlike 95% of other trails.
 

Luco

Likes Dirt
^^ thanks again mate. That's what I was a afraid of; a lot of boring for a little fun. The end sounds enticing... Hmmm.
 

ChopSticks

Banned
It's not a bad track, the scenery is amazing (you're riding along the ridge of mountains and it's mostly downhill with the occasional up)
some seriously knarly long decents! With super loose massive rocks and turns! You'll need brakes for those sections! Lots of it too!
you can always skip the actually Oakes trail and just ride the nato park single track... You'll just need to pay for entrance if you don't want to ride up/down the super super steep gully (one of the few places I actually needed to get off and push up a bike)
 
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