The Goat Farm Mountain Bike Park WHADJuk Country
On the 2019 Places That Rock Road Trip, we started in the Perth Hills riding some of the trails of the Kalamunda Circuit. Once again, we start with a trail network close to Perth – which is the logical launching point for any visit to Western Australia. Just 25 minutes from the Perth CBD, and 15 minutes from the Perth airport, the Goat Farm is the most easily accessible trail network in the Perth metropolitan area. As we pull into the car park at the Goat Farm, we can immediately see the effects of the new trail development that has been on going. If we had got here any later, we would struggle to find a park.
We unload the bikes from the Isuzu MUX we’ve been loaned, and meet the crew we are riding with today. It’s a big crew, with a group of trail builders from Three Chillies Design, Marg and Sam from the Goat Farmers (the community group that organises maintenance on the park), and a few other local riders that are also keen to come for a ride.
The Goat Farm has a long history with mountain biking, especially as a race venue. The early 90s saw Perth Mountain Bike Club races, with XC, DH, and even a dual slalom held here. There were also bigger events like combined State XC and DH Championships and a Downhill and Cross-Country National Round in ’99. Sometime after this, the park was given a much-needed upgrade, with new trails constructed, signage installed, a designated carpark built, and various infrastructure additions like toilets, trail maps, picnic tables and shelter sheds built. But since this midnoughties refresh, there has been no new work beyond a small amount of ongoing maintenance and trail realignments.
With the hill being sparsely treed, over time the network of trails became braided, and the demand for more technical trails has encouraged locals to build new lines and greater challenges. It got to a point that it was hard to navigate the hill, as there were cut trails and inside lines branching off the gazetted trails all over the place. A refresh was definitely in order, with new trails to cater for the advances in technical ability of riders and bikes, and a revamp of some of the older and unstainable trails.
RIDING THE GOAT FARM
We climb Wi-Fly, a green switch back climb on the northern side of the park that takes us to the top. It's an appropriately signed trail with a swooping Magpie on the trail sign. Fortunately, it’s not the right season so no one is attacked by the sky shark today. At the top, we drop into Flowtopia, and it feels like the road trip has begun for real. Here we get to experience what makes the trails at the Goat Farm so unique in relation to the rest of the Perth Hills: a lack of pea-gravel. The red earth is moist and grippy, and Flowtopia’s numerous berms and tabletops are the perfect run to start the day.
Following on from Flowtopia we head back up for a run down Legacy. I try not to bash the rear rim too often in the rock gardens, well aware that riding a trail bike lacking inserts on a genuine downhill race trail is a good way to find out the hiking capabilities of my fresh kicks. Stopping at the new bridge, Tom, Tanya along with Tarky, and Charlie and Azza from Three Chillies session it and some of the jumps on the trail it goes over. We move further down the trail. With a gravity enduro coming up many lines are stopped on and practiced. Tarky, determined to make the first highlights reel of the trip throws himself off the bike at the bottom of a rock garden near A-Klein. We go back up for more, riding sections of Blue Tongue, a blue trail, and Tipping Point, a black. Paul Neve, the head honcho of Three Chillies, shows us some of his favourite flat turns and an awesome set of steep turns and drops leading into some large tabletops.
Back at the carpark, we decide to break for lunch. A short 6km drive away at the Little Nook Café we eat; the food is tasty, and we chat under the shade of some marri trees outside. Over lunch it doesn’t take much encouragement to convince Charlie to agree to showing us some of the, then yet to be opened trail, Rampage.
RAMPAGING AT THE GOAT FARM
Back at the park, we quickly climb Bleat Street. It is a harder climb than Wi Fly, being nearly half the distance, but it gets you to the top in way less time. On Rampage we are in for an eye-opening experience as Charlie rips around massive berms to send equally massive step-ups and step-downs. We finish our time at the Goat Farm with another run of Flowtopia and then Rod kicks into tour guide mode. Bikes loaded onto the cars; we drive across to John Forrest National Park. As we casually ride the Railway Heritage Trail, taking in the views of the valley below, Rod talks about the future development of the park as an adventure trails centre. Then we hit the road for Dwellingup. The one-and-a-half-hour drive should get us to Dwellingup Holiday House with enough time to unpack and get cleaned up before heading across the road to the pub for dinner.