MTB ADVENTURES IN VICTORIA

The Victorian High Country towns read like a tick list of mountain bike destionations. And the guided tour from Australian MTB Adventures lets you tick them all off, as Colin Levitch discovered.

My dad always told me, “it’s not an adventure until something doesn’t go according to plan.” So, when I checked the forecast ahead of a week-long tour through the Victorian High Country with Melbourne based MTB Adventures, and I saw temps touching 40C populate the week and high fire danger in the region, I knew we were in for an adventure.

For the inaugural Ultimate Bikes, Beers, and Bakeries tour guide Ben Matthews had planned an itinerary covering the bucket list trails in the region, sampling the best breweries and bakeries along the way. Our tour group was small, consisting of two guys from North Dakota and me, a born and bred Coloradoan—though I’ve been based in Australia for nearly 8-years. The North Dakotans had never been down under, and I hadn’t made it to this corner of Australia yet in my travels, so everything was fresh and unknown. Between heat exhaustion, fire danger and actual fires, things definitely didn’t quite go according to plan, luckily, Matthews was ready to roll with the punches and show off the best the Victorian High Country had to offer.

DAY 1 BRIGHT

As we loaded up the van outside the Space Hotel in Melbourne, Matthews looked at everyone and said, ‘boys I’ve got some bad news, Mystic Mountain Bike Park is closed today due to severe fire danger.’ The bike park snakes through a commercial pine plantation, and while the Alpine Cycling Club maintains the trails, the plantation has the final say on access with the priority going towards protecting the trees.

The shuttles were booked, the stoke was high, but the weather gods had other plans. With a long drive ahead and our destination closed, we took the scenic route, stopping at a few viewpoints along the way—we even went for a walk through Glenrowan, the site of Ned Kelly’s Last Stand.

Arriving in Bright, the temperature was 36C, and stepping out of the air-conditioned van felt a bit like getting into an oven. Lucky for us, the aptly named ‘Ovens River’ runs straight through town, and after refueling at Gum Tree Pies, we headed down for a swim.

With the hottest part of the day now behind us, we saddled up for some quick laps of the trails in town to spin the heaviness of the journey out of our legs. These XC trails edge up against Mystic but don’t do justice to the park just beyond reach—mostly rollers and tight corners with a few steep sections to keep you entertained. It was a blast getting out on the bike after a long day in the car, until I made the acquaintance of an Australian creepy crawly I was yet to meet, the Jumping Jack.

Only minutes after Matthews gave the other Americans the ‘most of the animals in Australia can kill you’ talk, as luck would have it I laid my camera bag down in a nest of the bouncy fuckers, who introduced themselves stinger first. There was quite a bit of swearing and dancing around before we jumped back on our bikes and headed for Bright Brewery. After a day out in the heat, few things are more satisfying than a cold beer and a juicy burger, and that’s just what bartender Wayne had in store.

“THE TRAILS ARE RAW AND TECHNICALLY DEMANDING, EXEMPLIFYING THE ‘RAKE TO RIDE’ MENTALITY THAT BUILT THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN MOUNTAIN BIKING.”

DAY 2 MOUNT BEAUTY

Big Hill Mountain Bike Park is located on Mount Beauty, with the actual peak named ‘Big Hill’ flanking the park.

The trails are raw and technically demanding, exemplifying the ‘rake to ride’ mentality that built the foundation of modern mountain biking—hardly a surprise given that Mount Beauty is one of the country’s oldest mountain bike towns. Everyone in our group left a bit of skin at Big Hill, but even battered and bloody there were smiles all around.

The heat from the previous day hadn’t broken, but lucky for us Blue Dirt was running shuttles, so climbing was kept to a minimum. Mount Beauty is an absolute maze; there are maps and a few signs scattered among the trees, but for a first timer, Trailforks is likely to get a workout. Fortunately, Matthews knows the place like the back of his hand, eagerly showing us the best Beauty had to offer. The log drops on Jumping Jacks were a favorite from the day as were the point and pray rock gardens on Rolling Stoned, and the view from Bananarama is tough to beat.

After as many shuttle laps as we could muster and a cold shower, we strolled down to Sweet Water Brewing. Only a short walk from our accommodation, Owner Pete Hull was on the taps and stopped by our table for a quick chat—make sure you try the IPA.

DAY 3 FALLS CREEK

The next morning after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, we loaded up the van and trundled up the windy road to Falls Creek. Gaining roughly 1000m of elevation from Mount Beauty to the Village, Falls offered a much-needed reprieve from the oppressive heat in the valley.

As we neared the resort, and the trees opened to reveal the Alpine plains, the beauty of this region hit all at once.

Blue Dirt had followed us up the hill, and the shuttles were running, so not only was the temperature comfortable, we didn’t have to climb. Like the temps, the trails were also a stark contrast to the previous day, fast and flowy; you could let the bike run. Flowtown might be the most aptly named trail in the country, with each berm, roller and jump perfectly placed so that you hardly need to pedal through the entire descent. It was dry and mega dusty—the side knobblies of everyone’s tires were pushed to the limits of traction and hoots and hollers could be heard through the trees. From there it was up to the summit for lapped runs of Big Fella, Thunderbolt and Wishing Well to name a few. Snaking through the blown out gums, the singletrack higher on the resort is still flow trail but there are plenty of rock features to add some technicality.

Spirits were a bit higher at the end of the day, likely because they hadn’t sweated out through our pores, and we capped it off with a swim at the Blue Pools and a beautiful picnic the Rocky Valley Reservoir courtesy of the Diana Lodge.

DAY 4 FALLS CREEK MKII

The itinerary for the fourth day of the trip pointed towards Beechworth to ride the granite laden trails; however, temps were forecast to touch 40C during the day. With a high of 28C in Falls, we made a group decision to stay up high and check out the XC trails we’d missed the day prior.

Pedaling through town to Jumpstart, the first incline makes for a quick warm up. We worked our way around the Generator loops stopping at the summit to take in the view before descending Vortex back into town. It was a quick and mellow loop but served as a grand farewell to this alpine paradise. As we arrived in Beechworth, the check into our accommodation was a bit like stepping into a time machine, all of the buildings have been preserved and even the signage for new shops is in the old style.

Given this was the Bikes, Beers and Bakeries tour, it would have been rude to pass through town and not pop into Bridge Road Brewery. Serving up one of the most unique (and delicious) pastrami sandwiches I’ve consumed, the beers are pretty special too, especially the Galaxy IPA and Mayday Hills Sour Amber.

DAY 5 MOUNT BULLER

We woke to a lingering reminder of the sandwich and brewskis of the night before and news there was an out of control bushfire on Little Buller Spur. Helicopters and planes had bombarded the fire all night, and ground crews were hard at work to establish a containment line, but it was looking like our plans had gone up in flames once again.

When we arrived in the Village at Buller, the Country Fire Authority had taken the upper hand on the blaze, and the trails were open. Our accommodation was at the SkiLib Alpine Club, which backs onto Gang Gangs trail, so we quickly got dressed and rolled out.

Gangs took us along the spur from Buller to Corn Hill, and we stopped to watch the choppers waterbomb the remaining hotspots before heading up the tricky tight switchbacks of Medusa and Misty Twist. On the descent, things open up, and the deeply bedded-in singletrack meanders through a forest of burned out gum trees; complete with grippy hero dirt, and corners begging to be carved at warp speed on the way down.

Just before we hit Clancy’s, the rain came, a welcome cool down for us and no doubt what the firefighters were hoping for too. The torrent was short-lived, but with dark clouds bearing down on the horizon, none of us packed rain jackets, so we put in a lung splitting pace up Wombats and Split Rock to reach the SkiLib just before the clouds did.

We had a pretty mellow night, a big bowl of pasta, and went to bed early, because we knew what was coming the next day.

DAY 6 THE AUSTRALIAN ALPINE EPIC

To receive the official Epic certification from the International Mountain Bike Association, a trail needs to be technically and physically demanding, at least 32 km in length through the backcountry, with more than 80-percent of that distance being singletrack.

My Garmin read 44.83km as we rolled off the last of the singletrack in Mirimbah—Epic doesn’t adequately describe the day we’d just had. With the beginning of the Australian Alpine Epic mirroring a few of the trails we’d ridden the previous afternoon, it was all an undulating traverse away from civilization until we hit the Stonefly climb. Only a 6km climb up purpose-built singletrack, you gain almost 300m of elevation in that distance. It’s a tough ascent, and there are plenty of techy features to knock you off your line.

The climb takes you most of the way up Mount Stirling to the Bluff Spur Memorial Hut where we pulled up for lunch, though it was shortlived because the March Flies were as hungry as we were. What goes up must come down, and from the hut, you quickly lose all of the elevation descending a fire trail down to the Mount Stirling Cafe—as roughly the halfway point we stopped to top off water bottles, bladders and empty other bladders.

The route takes you back up the side of Mount Whitstanley, gaining about 200m of elevation. But, this time you’re not climbing purpose built singletrack designed to be challenging yet entertaining, no, it’s straight back up a fire road. It’s long, it’s steep, and it is miserable. You do get a short reprieve with a singletrack traverse before a final fireroad pinch to a well-defined spot at the top to refuel and recompose.

After my second sandwich of the day, we hit the infamous ‘Enjoy’ sign, which marks the beginning of a 6km descent. To date, this is one of the most magnificent downhills I’ve ever ridden, and the crew at World Trail has played a cruel trick here. Brimming with bermed corners, gaps, rock features, and beautiful scenery it makes you completely forget the suffering you’ve endured to get there.

We regrouped at the bottom, and everyone was smiling ear to ear; there were fist bumps and superlative packed recounts of features on the downhill. Once we were all high fived out, a little more fire road descending took us to a beautiful section of trail running along the banks of the Delatite River.

With plenty of breaks, stops for photos and a couple of flat tires along the way we finished the trail in 7-hours flat, arriving at the Mirimbah picnic area just as the shuttle pulled in to take us back up the hill.

It didn’t hit how much ground we’d actually covered that day until Matthews pointed out the route from the summit of Mount Buller later that evening—40km is further than you think.

DAY 7 MOUNT BULLER

With a big day of climbing behind us, the last day of the MTB Adventures tour was all about the descents. The Victorian Downhill series was in Buller for the weekend, so the North Side Express lift was spinning and with an All Mountain pass for the day, we had access to all the uphill assistance available.

What we’d see of the Delatite River Trail the previous afternoon was relaxing and tranquil, however higher up it is anything but. The top section is steep, loose and full of death cookies, willing and able to remove you from your bike. As the trail flattens out it traces the river with creek crossings, log bridges, and sweet, sweet speed. It’s downhill 90-percent of the way with a couple of pitchy inclines to keep you from becoming complacent. Our only slowdown was a log bridge that had fallen, meaning a short wade through the river.

With wet feet we turned our attention to the resort. A few runs were closed off for the race, but Copperhead was free and clear.

Named for the snake commonly found in this region of Victoria, Copperhead slithers down the resort traversing a few of the ski runs down into the gullies near the village. It’s not an overly techy descent, but the faster you go, the more exciting it becomes—with the lift running you’re back to the top lickety-split.

After a big week, we were all a bit sad to pack up the van for one final time to head back to Melbourne, and back to real life. The beauty of this tour is that once you get yourself to the starting point, the Space hotel in Melbourne, all you have to worry about is riding. Matthews takes care of all the logistics, makes sure you’re well fed, and has a cold beer waiting for you after a long day on the trail. If you’re not keen on traveling with a bike, he’ll even sort out a Specialized Stumpjumper for you to ride for a bit extra.

Even better, Matthews is out there with you showing off the best each of these trail centres has to offer. He’s someone who truly loves riding his bike, and the stoke is contagious. No matter how much research you do on Google it’s no substitute for genuine local knowledge, and that’s precisely what you get on the Bikes, Beers and Bakeries tour.