Qld- Nerang trail status

Flow-Rider

Burner
I felt humbled when I rode on Sunday and came across new work on Never Ending Story and lantana clearing on Explosions in a dangerous sightline zone. Nerang is awesome and so are the trail care volunteers.
What's a good loop you can do to get to 911 & never ending story from the Velodrome.
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
I rode Never Ending Story for the first time last week, was impressed by the old relic structures out there. Some seriously cool tracks out the back. I'm only just to fit enough to not be too fucked from riding up elevator and actually explore a bit.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
I rode Never Ending Story for the first time last week, was impressed by the old relic structures out there. Some seriously cool tracks out the back. I'm only just to fit enough to not be too fucked from riding up elevator and actually explore a bit.
I was there last in 2016, Commonwealth Games trails didn't exist at that time and I only done a loop around Pete's and Happy Valley to Roy's.
 

Ridenparadise

Likes Bikes and Dirt
This used to be what the 3 hills climb used to look like, didn't even recognise it last time I went back during the Comm Games.

View attachment 364013
This used to be what the 3 hills climb used to look like, didn't even recognise it last time I went back during the Comm Games.

View attachment 364013
Some of it still looks like that, almost exactly. I know that spot on the first hill bit above the Comm Games ascending Loop 1. Maybe it is a bit nastier now though.

To answer your question about NES and 911; it's going to be a 1-2 hour plus ride to link those 2 trails together unless you wear spandex.... and if you do WTF would you want to do 911 for, other than for uphill torment (I mean challenge)?

So, get out Trailforks and I am presuming you want to do 911 downhill. Here we go with some digressions:

Option 1: Take a deep breath......From the Velodrome go up to the roundabout at the junction of Casuarina, Comm Games Loop 1 and 3 Hills. The bottom of the Comm Games first loop is the most obvious trail entrance as you leave the Velodrome, but it is descending only. The singletrack uphill options are just riders right of it. You have the obvious uphill fire road or singletrack via Casuarina link (2nd left off the trail from the bottom) or the bottom bit of Three Hills (first left) to choose from out of the Velodrome. Look up if you use Three Hills bottom because we made it for a last blast to the Velodrome. From the roundabout cross the fire road to Exit Trail. Choose either Exit or Goanna. For some reason Trailforks shows Goanna as Exit and vice Versa. Exit is the more tech trail to the right crossing under Barney's and Goanna is the lower link to Roy's Trail which no longer exists on Trailforks. Roy Hickman is a pioneer of Nerang trails and deserves his trail. It's still Roy's to us. At the end of Exit or Roy's you come to another roundabout. Regardless of Trailforks calling it Goanna Loop, this is Happy Valley Trail. Turn right toward Wombats trail. (You can get to the same place using Upper Happy Valley and the pirate trail off it by turning right off Exit Trail 50m before the roundabout and then left after 100m onto the pirate trail, or even earlier by turning right onto the same pirate trail only 50m after passing Barney's bottom.) Regardless, take the first (look for the gnomes in the tree) or next entrance into Wombats up to Bailey's just the Nerang side of B&B's. Turn right onto Baileys, or the fire road and go about 150m before crossing the fire road into Explosions on the northern side. Follow Explosions across 2 fire roads (the first at the dead end above the quarry). Stay straight ahead until after the second fire road. You are on Never ending Story. There's a fast downhill section and then you have to turn left at the intersection to avoid Super Loop (etc). You can then either look for a sneaky escape across the Centre Fire Road after about 1km and turn left onto Bailey's and ride about 250m to 911, or follow NES straight ahead for another 3-4km to the Centre Fire Road, cross it and use Vertigo to Baileys (for about about 2km or so to 911 on your right. At the bottom of 911 turn left onto Netti back to the rainforest end of Happy Valley (Goanna Loop on Trailforks), or if knackered go out of the National Park onto the Brookfield Reserve Link for a country cruise back to Yarrayne Fire Road, re-enter the National Park and then back the way you came to the Velodrome or out to Yarrayne Road and tarmac. Breath now - you may need to.

Second faster option without Never Ending Story: Get to happy Valley and either ride it or the green spaghetti in the middle to Elevator. Ride 100m vert up Elevator (watch for riders coming down), across lower Bailey's and then cross the fire road onto the old upper Baileys, now officially the only Bailey's and it's about 1km to 911. If you want to do NES as well, then cross the Centre Fire Road to your right as you reach the top of Elevator/Baileys into a link that reaches the start of NES, Pandora and Explosions. Turn left after 100m and follow the instructions above.

Enjoy
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
I still have NFI where I am most of the time, luckily I ride with guys that do. Was sooooooo slippery through NES/Explosions area last Friday. Both Pete's tracks are re-done and re-opened now, so much fun. They do a great job out there.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
This is more or less the described route.



364337



I still have NFI where I am most of the time, luckily I ride with guys that do. Was sooooooo slippery through NES/Explosions area last Friday. Both Pete's tracks are re-done and re-opened now, so much fun. They do a great job out there.
You got a bit of rain over in that area ?
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
The ranger was out there today. They've ripped a digger through the Norco Flow jumps, destroying all of them completely, then we found them at the start of Neverending Story chopping the entry bridge nobody uses up. Apparently they plan to ruin any bridges and structures not part of the sanctioned area and fine people $600 for working on any trails. He was a right dick about it too.
 

marks

Likes Bikes
Destroying Norco Flow was a shit move a little bit of TLC and it would have been fine. There are some really shit bridges though IMO.
 

Shocks

Cannon Fodder
I only just got wind of the bad news. Word on the grape vine is it's because some muppet is suing for taking a fall while riding?
Or has someone just shoved a stick up someones arse?
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Something must have gone down bad in the area, I rode outback the other day to Lost world and on the way back I went to go down Top-drop and some local was adamant I don't go down there because he thought it was too dangerous.
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
I really wish they could just put signs at the limits of the sanctioned areas that say any further is unsanctioned, ride at your own risk. Takes a real dickhole to try sue for something that is your own responsibility. I guess that's an e-bike issue I didn't think about. I figured people out there on bikes put the work in, you wouldn't expect to see any newbies out that way after elevator or the fire trail kicks their arse and nobody walks out there.

Rode Pandora for the first time last week. That bridge scared the shit out of me. I hope he didn't come off that one but not once did I consider it being somebody else's problem if I fell off it. Going to be pretty dicey out the back when you discover the ranger has been through there the day before.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
What a shame it will be if they close more trails out there, I think that the mountain bike culture is heading in the wrong direction myself. I hope they don't take the bridges out over the rocky waterfall areas, because when they get rain with the moss growing on the rocks and people try to cross them it will be like a slippery slide to the bottom.
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
Not to mention the increase in traffic in the sanctioned areas. A lot of people purely pick their quickest route through there to get them out the back. Ruin the back section and all they will have is the same area everyone else is already in.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I really wish they could just put signs at the limits of the sanctioned areas that say any further is unsanctioned, ride at your own risk. Takes a real dickhole to try sue for something that is your own responsibility. I guess that's an e-bike issue I didn't think about. I figured people out there on bikes put the work in, you wouldn't expect to see any newbies out that way after elevator or the fire trail kicks their arse and nobody walks out there.

Rode Pandora for the first time last week. That bridge scared the shit out of me. I hope he didn't come off that one but not once did I consider it being somebody else's problem if I fell off it. Going to be pretty dicey out the back when you discover the ranger has been through there the day before.
Rode out Nerang last Saturday and there was one bridge we came across that looks fine but once you get on it swings like a hammock. My mate got across but I had to jump off to the side and only just made it. Was very sketchy and would happen with any type of bike.
 

Milpool

Have knuckles, will drag
Rode out Nerang last Saturday and there was one bridge we came across that looks fine but once you get on it swings like a hammock. My mate got across but I had to jump off to the side and only just made it. Was very sketchy and would happen with any type of bike.
I don't mean the ebikes are worse on the bridges, more that new riders on ebikes might find their way out there and in turn out of their depth much sooner in their riding career than people on regular bikes who are knackered and turn around where all the unsanctioned stuff starts. If I had no issues making it to the top of Bailey's when I started I probably would've explored out there earlier and know I wouldn't have been capable of a lot of the stuff out there. I wouldn't ever consider trying to pin the onus on someone else when I inevitably eat serious shit out there though.

Did you feel like there is someone to blame for the shitty bridge you came off or did you just accept that's the trail, it's out of the limits of the maintenance crew and moved on?
 
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