JUST GET OUT THERE!

Over 18 months ago, we ran a cover line of ‘Get out and ride!’. With a couple of weeks between printing magazines and having them delivered to dear readers like yourselves, I was certainly concerned that the tag line may not be the best advice.

Still, as the majority of states have eased restrictions on movement already, it really is the time to get out and ride. Riding bikes has been a popular method of escapism for lots of riders over the past 18 months or so, and was for a long time before that as well. But I reckon with some expanded horizons for most of us, this summer is the time to stretch our legs and see where we can go – especially in Australia’s unique alpine regions.

We’ve got a compilation of some of our favourite descents in Victoria’s High Country in this issue, but if you’ve ridden there much you’ll know this barely scratches the surface. What about Fainters? Or the Hero Trail? How could we miss so much at Mount Beauty?

You’ll just have to ride some more trails yourselves to fact check our hit list.

Our intrepid explorer Will Shaw also put together his must-ride list for a trip to New Zealand. Use this is a serving suggestion for planning a visit across the ditch. There’s a bunch of great riding over there, much of it in some epic alpine scenery.

Our feature on Fox Creek Bike Park stands out in this issue, as it’s a good news story of sustainable forestry not just working with mountain biking, but embracing it. Mountain biking and timber plantations have a long history in Australia, but this partnership sets a new benchmark and is creating a worldclass trail facility at the same time.

So get out and ride this summer. Go somewhere new, and take some friends. And if you’ve never been to some of the alpine areas in Australia, now is the time to go and visit and ride the trails away from the crowds. Enjoy the issue and wherever summer takes you.