Start – National Park
Finish – National Park
Daily Distance – 46 km cycle + 12 km walk to/from town
TA Distance – Off-Trail (well, out-of-sequence anyway)
Today saw me atop a bike for the first time in 5 years and riding through the 42nd traverse forest. This
was actually my first ever mountain bike trail and I’m glad to say that it was an absolute hoot.
Fortunately, owing to a combination of sun-infused optimism and a lack of foresight, I didn’t research the
track before booking. Fortunate, because if I had, I probably wouldn’t have attempted it. It’s rated as a
challenging ride unsuitable for novice riders and I can vouch for the accuracy of that description. Of
course, being a novice, many of the downhill sections saw me hanging on for dear life, squeaking out a
somewhat panicked rendition of “Jesus, take the wheel” and trying not to close my eyes. As I said, an
absolute hoot, although very much in the type 2 fun mould. I was even gifted the opportunity to learn
about bike repair, having conspired to break down after only 20 minutes. I have no idea how a bike chain
can become twisted not just once, but twice, but I can report that it is definitely possible and I am
unexpectedly capable of making it happen. As fortune would have it, I broke down in an area with good
phone reception, so courtesy of Mr’s Google and YouTube was soon back underway. Well, if you
discount the hour spent scratching my head, getting oily and occasionally storming off in disgust at any
rate. Still, I wasn’t stranded for days and forced to drink my own urine to survive, so I am least glad of
that. I even ate a Snickers.
If any TA walkers are contemplating whether to walk vs ride this trail, I would definitely recommend the
ride. In terms of character it’s like the bigger, badder version of the lovely timber trail. Not so picturesque
or interesting, but with steeper gradients, stonier and more rutted pathways and the occasional
(potentially) high speed river crossing. Great fun on a bike, but rather dull if spending 2 days walking it I
feel.
