10/06/2026
Tuesday Night Ride report 09/06/2026
Oh crap, somehow I'm late! 20 riders were ready and waiting for me at Queens Gardens last night. Again, there was no ride plan and a big group - but this time I had the duallie. A couple of new faces had joined us, so I figured we should maybe try to cover some smoother trails first.
Chris led the way down the top half of 'Case of Spades', where we found some sizeable wooden ramps freshly installed. Fabian had a crack at one or two of them on the fly as the rest of us rolled past.
Chris' route took us down 'Yellow Box' into 'Aqueduct Berms' at pace - grip was plentiful, there was no dust and no mud either.
We gathered for a review of the troop (lots of fist-bumping going on), and after some faffing by Fab and a little chat I took us down 'Demon Duck' and the lower part of 'Cobblestone'. "Controversial" was a word used to describe my choice to roll straight past 'the Plank' and head 'Up Outta the River' - but I was really making it up as we went. We went 'Over the Top' (a smooth trail bypassing the RAAF rock gardens), 'Into the Dog', then 'In the Dog', crossing down to the lower line to follow the loop clockwise a bit, then turning down to the fire road ford leading past the gate into 'West World'. Mixing up these little segments keeps the rides a bit more interesting! We kept heding north until we arrived at the little dam where 'Bungalow Bill' starts. We had a short recovery break there, and then we began to spread out again.
I led the group down 'Golden Slumbers' and we continued down 'Octopuses Garden'. The dirt was so hard-packed it was almost too easy to go fast. We pulled up quickly though when a fallen tree blocked the trail - the trusty folding saw and a few strong lads had this cleared in minutes, and we continued along the narrow trail. The little water crossing was thankfully shallow and clear, but the log rollover following caught me by surprise in the dark, and I managed to miss the correct turns as we made our (shortened) way to the track's end.
After a quick debate we rode 'Up', taking an old fire road cutting straight to the top. Brutal - but not stopping just yet. 'Afternoon Delight' was fun and a little technical. Turning the whole group around at a fire trail junction, we rolled into 'Morning Glory'. This time I stayed in front, and it was brilliant. A few roos were eyeing us (likely looking for Matt D or Guy) as we blasted down the hill, but they turned away from us and up the hillside.
'Navara Climb', then 'Rocky Raccoon' brought us up to 'Ankle Track' to regroup. A couple of the lads managed to climb the entire trail, including the steep rocky top part. It was the night for it. We stayed there a little while as usual, catching our breath.
Passing some confused parkers, we rolled up 'No Bones' to 'the Tank', and I made a beeline for the Plank - pedalling fast all the way down 'Port Lane Descent'. A couple of optimists thought 'Betty's Rut' might be quicker (or just more fun), but the fast and sandy right-hander to 'the Triangle' was an absolute blast, before 'Betty Bell' really delivered the goods.
After last Sunday's vertigo on the Plank I stood aside while most of the group rolled easily over the river. I walked, but more confidently this time. It took a while for the group to gather, as Darren P had lost a jockey wheel, turning his very quick eBike into a very heavy scooter. Guy kindly stayed back with him, and we also made sure he had company and the most direct walk out (with what looked like a bit of e-assisted pushing to make things easier).
Meanwhile I found a less-used route up from 'River High Line' to the main fire road, then sent Jack up another short link and left on to 'Roo Run' and we finished on 'Old DH' (going up it of course - it's not exactly steep, and I don't know that it was ever really a 'DH' track) past the 'Sandy Dam' where all of the dirt jumps have recently been levelled =(
We finished up on time at 9pm, with about 20km and 450m of climbing in our legs, before those that could stay around had a drink and talked bikes.
This is an important part of Plenty Gorge MTB Club - we do this every Tuesday night, and we love it. It's usually a tough ride (with stops, but also with banter and sweating) but we love sharing the experience with you.
