Plenty Gorge and Parks Vic

Wednesday

Likes Dirt
Hit up PG for the first time in about 8 months yesterday, amazed at the amount of trail works that have happened in the area since I moved away. Got lost in a few sections, not as I remembered but all fun. Are there still group rides on Sat/Sun still happening? Love to try and commit to memory a few trail links. Cheers.
 

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
Hit up PG for the first time in about 8 months yesterday, amazed at the amount of trail works that have happened in the area since I moved away. Got lost in a few sections, not as I remembered but all fun. Are there still group rides on Sat/Sun still happening? Love to try and commit to memory a few trail links. Cheers.
I'm new to the area (~10 mins away depending on traffic) and have ridden there twice.
There's Sunday rides and BBQs to my knowledge, just follow their Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/PGMTB

Haven't been on one yet myself, I've just explored the area using the Trailforks app, which is ridiculously handy.
Personally I enjoyed the south side of the river a fair bit more than the north.

North has too much climbing and not enough fun descents or trail features for my liking to balance it out or make it worth the effort.
 

emerthis

Likes Dirt
I'm new to the area (~10 mins away depending on traffic) and have ridden there twice.
There's Sunday rides and BBQs to my knowledge, just follow their Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/PGMTB

Haven't been on one yet myself, I've just explored the area using the Trailforks app, which is ridiculously handy.
Personally I enjoyed the south side of the river a fair bit more than the north.

North has too much climbing and not enough fun descents or trail features for my liking to balance it out or make it worth the effort.
Yes, the club is still running social rides (usually followed by a bbq) on the 3rd Sunday of each month. The fb page will show event details posted regularly.
We also run a couple of group rides each Tuesday night, starting at 6.30pm - again, all the details are posted on the fb group.
With the popularity of the trails increasing every week, there are many small groups and several other clubs running regular and ad-hoc rides there, too.
On behalf of the club, I apologise about the lack of official maps and signage. OpenStreetMap has a lot of detail, and we also hope to have ROAM MTB app available to the public on the future - but until everything is formalised, your best bet is to head out with someone who has local knowledge.
Cheers,
Emerson
President of Plenty Gorge MTB Club
 

iUDEX_nCr

Likes Dirt
Personally I enjoyed the south side of the river a fair bit more than the north.

North has too much climbing and not enough fun descents or trail features for my liking to balance it out or make it worth the effort.
haha, I've only ever gone out solo... always started from the water tank so I guess North Side? Yeah heaps of climbing... I'll check out the south side, where do you enter from?
 

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
I entered from the P down the bottom, then just check Trailforks once I hit the fire road.

Very cool being able to see your GPS location in amongst a map of the trails!

 

emerthis

Likes Dirt
Kariboo Grove in Greensborough or Queens Gardens in Bundoora are the usual south side starting points - but you can cross the river using the plank bridge (at the bottom of the Betty Bell trail) or ride through the river at the old coach road ford, where an old fire road crosses the river.
South side has a lot of technical rocky sections. A bit of climbing, but not much, and nothing very long. There is fast flowing trail, rock gardens, and a couple of jump lines. You do get a lot more walkers on the south side though.
Have fun exploring!
 

iUDEX_nCr

Likes Dirt
my mate lives a block away from Queens Gardens. Great to know!
Rocky, technical, fast flowing, no long climbs, all sound good to me!
Thanks guys.
 

Dan_Alexander

Likes Bikes
Great Trails but what's a recommended loop?

Hey I was out yesterday and really enjoyed the different terrain on offer but found myself tackling some pinching climbs that may have been downhill sections? I was using the Trailfork's app and tried to note the Green (start) and Red (End).

http://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/view/326464/

Can anyone recommend a favorite loop to tackle? Linking a ride log or painting on some arrows on this map would be great thanks.
 

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cracker

Likes Dirt
i do something like that when iv got the legs for it... best bet is just keep hitting different tracks until you can make something up for yourself.\
my start is at the bottom of the map where its pointy...
also throw in carlas dh run and quarry dh often too
 

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Dan_Alexander

Likes Bikes
i do something like that when iv got the legs for it... best bet is just keep hitting different tracks until you can make something up for yourself.\
my start is at the bottom of the map where its pointy...
also throw in carlas dh run and quarry dh often too
Looks the goods. Yeah those 2 DH runs look fun on the map. Would it be worth bringing the DH rig for push runs?
 

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
Looks the goods. Yeah those 2 DH runs look fun on the map. Would it be worth bringing the DH rig for push runs?
Not even close to worthwhile. You could comfortably do them on an XC hardtail, haha.

They're not rough, fast, or steep... and they last about 1 minute.
 
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cracker

Likes Dirt
yeah as above not worth while with a dh rig.
i used to hit them flat out on my XC bike, ride a AM bike there now, XC is prob more suited in alot of places, but the bigger bars and slacker head angle are nice for the rocks and decents, just sucks for climbing...
 

dynamitedread

Likes Dirt
I saw a tiger snake by the plank bridge yesterday.
Just a reminder to be on the lookout.
Thanks mate. You made me skip over that plank in record speed today.
Maybe not so much snakes but I always enjoy seeing all the different animals at Plenty gorge. Can anyone tell me what sort of lizard and wallaby these are. Sorry for the average mobile photos
 

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emerthis

Likes Dirt
I should know the wallaby species because the Rangers told us what they are at a meeting - a couple of years ago now...
The lizard looks like a kind of bearded dragon but again I'm not sure.

Cheers!
 

dynamitedread

Likes Dirt
I think it's a swamp wallaby but wasn't sure. It had a Joey with it. We had a five minute stare off ( I reckon I won). Spotted each other at the stepping stones
 

emerthis

Likes Dirt
A quick update.

Parks Victoria Rangers are just about ready to make their submission to management aiming to officially authorise MTB trails in the area. It's taken a long time to get this far, but thanks to our ongoing efforts, a huge volume of work by the Rangers, and the achievements of other MTB groups around Victoria, we're finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't expect a sudden appearance of signs and new trails - the actual on-ground detailed trail assessments are still yet to start. In the mean time, please enjoy the existing trails - and don't build any new ones. The time will come.

Cheers,
Emerson
President of Plenty Gorge MTB Club
 
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