Collie Kaneang wiilman Country
We all know this meme: dressed in a blue sweater, a man sets up a desk at a university. Coffee cup with his name on in hand, he sits there holding a sign with some one-liner on it asking people to change his mind. We’ve been asked if pineapple goes on pizza, whether Jenny from Forrest Gump is a terrible person, and whether a bee should be able to fly, to name a few. I’ve been and ridden in Collie more than once before this trip and while the trails have been enjoyable, inside I feel I’m that guy in the meme. Inside I’m sitting in the main street of town at a desk with a sign “Collie’s just OK. Change my mind” So with that in the back of my mind, we leave Dwellingup, one of my favourite towns in Western Australia to ride, for
Collie.
Our early afternoon departure from Dwellingup means that we get through the hour twentyminute drive with plenty of time left in the day to check into the Black Diamond Lodge where we are staying. The motel has recently had a full restoration and caters well for whatever size group you are in with many room options, a well set out communal kitchen, coin laundry, outdoor BBQ and fire pit area. A small, but possibly best addition, is the inclusion of a hose reel long enough to reach the grassed area out the back. Perfect for washing bikes.
After checking in, we put some fresh riding kit on and roll down to the local bike shop. Crank’n Cycles‘n Toys has to be seen to be believed.
Eric, a tall, lanky, pink Croc wearing kid at heart is living every boy’s dream. He has bikes. Lots of bikes, and not just a bike shop full of nice bikes for sale. Hanging from the roof there is a collection of old bikes. Lots of BMCs, Cadel Evans’ replicas, an old BT track bike, a bamboo bike, and many more. But wait, there is more. His bike shop is also a toy shop. One wrong turn in the store and you go from looking at the latest in mountain bike technology to Lego. Genius! This stop could quite easily make a large dent in the bank account. Having perused to the point that it feels like if I stay any longer, I should buy something, we meet locals, Archie, Ben and Brad. They are here to show us the Waygl Biddi Trails, located right on the edge of town.
The Wilman Trail is an easy green trail that follows along the side of the Collie River from Soldiers Park, in the heart of Collie, out to the Wagyl Biddi trail network. It’s a compact network, with about 8km of trail if you count Wilman Trail. Lined by one of the meanders of the river, there isn’t a lot of elevation to be had, but what is there has been used well. The trails have plenty of berms, rollers and small rock gardens, and if you are inexperienced in riding pea gravel, this is a great place to hone your skills. It is cool to be riding trails right in the centre of town. They’re perfect if you’ve driven in late in the afternoon and want a quick spin to get some stiffness out of the legs.
After the Wagyl Biddi trails we roll around town looking at the sights, Rod falling back into his role of tour guide, with snippets of information about upcoming developments, as we visit the disused outdoor velodrome and call back past the bike shop. We had to buy something.
ONTO THE TRAILS AT COLLIE
We meet at the Wellington Dam kiosk early the next morning. Dave Willcox and Gerran Turner of Common Ground Trails are there to show us what the team have been working on. Archie and Ben rejoin us for Collie round two. It’s school holidays so why not!
On a short fireroad climb as we head out to ride Big Dipper, memories from years gone by flood back to me; the first National XC Round I ever raced went up this climb. Names like Woods, Sharples, Rowney and Eva float around in my head. Welli Dam was always a cracker. I’m keen to see what’s on offer. We rider Big Dipper, a fun green flow trail with lots of berms and rollers with a hint of the ubiquitous WA pea gravel. It, along with the following blue flow trail Whip’n Hollow, are the perfect warm up before you slog back along the Jabitj fireroad, Noongar for running water, and into Lichen This.
Lichen This is pretty special. In an amazing piece of forest, it climbs up through granite boulders with a few crossings of a watercourse as it goes. At the top, Dave peels off for a quick work meeting. It’s not all riding and building as a trail builder, I guess! We head back through the carpark and north to ride Van Dam. This green trail is graded for adaptive use, but it includes off-shoots that are blue rated. Towards the bottom the trail straightens. The gradient is mellow, and we find ourselves pushing faster and pedalling harder. We hit a series of berms, possibly too fast, but doing so just adds to the enjoyment. Then we’re straight into a series of
jumps to finish. We cross the road and ride through the Potters Gorge campsite on the side of the dam.
As we ride back to the to the cars to on the Sika Trail, Dave’s meeting has finished, and he joins us for a third loop. Into Pipe’n Hot we go. In the top half, our tyres crunch as we carve through the pea gravel. The trail has a lot to give, with sneaky gaps to be had off rocks on the side and rollers to be doubled if you are carrying enough speed. Then we cross the fireroad and it all changes. We drop into a natural half pipe, and trail name is apt. We’re surfing a wave of hero dirt. There is plenty of grip here to let your brakes go. At the end we slog back up the fireroad to get to Dam It. We ride the top half with a quick push up to grab a few rocky sections of Firetail before stopping when the bush opens to what is probably the best view of the Wellington Dam mural you will see.
Not far past this is the turn off to Wam Bam. The filter at the top gives us a good idea as to what to expect. It’s janky. Looking at it, I can see the best line, but am I strong enough to ride it? I zipper my way through. It’s not the best approach but it gets the job done. I’m happy to get it blind. The rocky roll at the bottom just before you re-join Dam It is so sweet! We stop to session the berms at the end. Dam It, these are good trails! Back across Jabitj and up Lichen This and we’re done for the morning.
WHAT’S UP FOR WELLINGTON?
Sitting around at The Kiosk at the Dam while we eat lunch, Dave and Rod can’t help but talk shop. It’s a great insight as to what is yet to come for the Wellington National Park trails. With approximately 15km of trail constructed in stage one, it's exciting to hear that there are another 45km to be constructed in stages two and three. Dave draws alignments on a map, explaining what is to come. He’s excited about the good country that the next stages are in. He talks about how much more fall the descents will have in the next stages. “This black trail - there is this gully with this big creek line through the guts of it, waterfalls and boulders as big as this house that you are weaving through.” He points at the kiosk, “that’s
the gem in the network” he says. Good country indeed.
We call past the Collie Bike Museum and browse through the old bikes, look at images from past races, and newspaper articles showing Collie’s rich cycling heritage. Sue, the curator, talks about how the town of Collie, with its long history of coal mining, is having to change to maintain its relevance. The new trails and the boom in mountain biking in the region couldn’t have come at a better time for Collie.
I think about the guy at the desk as I leave the museum. The things that made Collie “just ok” for me have been replaced by something awesome, and the trails that are coming in the next year or so will take it to a world class level. My mind has been changed. I’d suggest you get down there soon and change yours, too.