Nannup PIBELMAN Country

On day one of the road trip looking at the features Three Chillies Design had built at the Goat Farm we were in awe of the size and scale of construction. When we comment on this, the resounding response from the trail builders was, “This isn’t that big. You should see Nannup.”

With that bouncing around in the back of my mind, we pack up, check out of the Black Diamond Lodge, and head out of Collie on our way to Nannup. We grab a quick meal at Wagon 537 as we drive out of town, which was well worth it. My muesli, berries and yoghurt hit the spot, and the coffee was superb.

Following Rod, we detour out to see the new suspension bridge that has been constructed as part of the new 65km Wiilman Bilya walk trail. 65km seems like a lot of walking to me, but Rod’s enthusiasm for the trail is contagious, and as he shows us a new style of stair tread DBCA are now using, I start to think of packs, Trangia stoves and the like, before coming to my senses. I remember that buying multi-day hike equipment is like walking into a bike shop and passing the credit card to the sales assistant and saying, “What do I need?”

ONWARDS TO NANNUP

We meet at the Tank 7 Trailhead. Pete, Dave, Mitch, Heath and Craig from Three Chillies Design are there to ride with us. The project here is quite a unique one, with elements coming under the jurisdiction of three governing bodies; DBCA control the land, the Forest Product Commission manage the trees, and the Shire of Nannup are responsible for the trails. Nannup has always had the potential to be a great riding destination, but there haven’t always been a lot of people riding here. Now investment in the Nannup Trail Town Project aims to transform the area into a destination renowned for its trails. Starting with $700 000 in 2019 to create over 35km of trail in the park, broader plans will see an expansion of the trail network and a freestyle jump park, amongst other things.

We hit the trails to get a taste of what the park is about. First up we ride Easy Tiger, which,

combined with Stairway to Seven, makes a fun blue loop. We descend through the pines, flowing through large berms and tabletops. Trail builders all seem to have their own distinct style and have a certain feel to them, and Three Chilliesbuilt trails are no exception. Hitting the first few berms in Easy Tiger, the feel is there. This is a Three Chillies trail. It is reassuring, and although I haven’t ridden the trail before, it seems familiar and finding flow is easy. I push, to no avail. The skill of the builders way exceeds mine and I’m dropped quickly. So, I focus on the turns and trying to land smoothly on the down ramps of the tabletops.

Towards the bottom with light rain misting through the pines, we regroup, and the cameras come out. Spurred on by the cameras, a series of berms are ridden and re-ridden with intent. Who can get through them the fastest without rolling a tyre or crashing? Mitch, showing full commitment in the first run, goes beyond the limit of grip on the rain slickened final berm and ends up turned around 180 degrees facing the direction he has come from. This doesn’t dampen the spirits of the rest of the crew, and so berms are slapped again and again. Climbing back Stairway to Seven I’m relieved the pace isn’t fast. The riding this week is building up in my legs. This climb has steeper switchbacks at the bottom and the top and an extended more mellow middle section.

BLACK, WITH EXTRA BLACK

Moving on, we drive across to the Galena Trailhead and roll from there across to Man vs Machine. “This one is Double Black,” we are informed. “There is a step down just off the fire road. You can walk in to shoot it.” These statements can be taken as a challenge or a warning. I believe I know my abilities on the bike well enough so accept it as a warning. I walk to the gap jump. The trail is steep, initially slightly off camber before straightening out and opening to the jump. It is the type of trail I like, until I see the gap. There is no trail between the lip and the down ramp. There is no B-line, and the gap is huge. Pete, Dave and Mitch hit it no problem. The trail continues, it is packed with massive features, step-ups, double rock drops and berms large enough to park a small car on. All of them are handled with steeze by the Three Chillies trail crew.

Conveniently, on either side of Man vs Machine there are two black trails that they want to show us. Black Ice, named for the slickness of the tread when wet, is a tight rocky natural trail following a creek to the north of Man vs Machine. And the second half of The Local to the south. We ride sections of both trails, The Local being very steep and rocky in places. Black Ice has a British

Columbia feel to it. “Steep and deep” springs to mind.

On the long fire road climb out, Brett talks about how impressed he is by the construction of Man vs Machine. “It is hard to build a trail like that with massive features and have the speed right. Every run carries you into the gap jumps perfectly. If you have the ability all you have to do is roll in.”

We ride on, heading along Folly Farmer, an open blue flow trail, to get to the steep rock section at the bottom of Blackwood. The enormity of what the trail crew has built since December 2020 is beginning to become apparent. 38km of quality trail in around 20 trails is a big build on a hill this size.

We ride back to the Galena Trailhead, climbing part of Weitj Awhile on the way. With dark clouds in the sky looking ominous, we drop into Eagle Eye. It starts with plenty of fun rollers to pop off as it traverses through established pines along a ridge heading north from the Galena Trailhead. Crossing a fire road, we drop off the ridge and into a young pine forest, the trees thickly packed as they haven’t been thinned yet. The trail is still cut wide, so the visibility is good when it is straight and level, but as it drops into a series of steeper turns, the ability to read the trail and make quick judgments become key.

We pop out of the pines and over a rocky outcrop, off the edge and back into more steep turns and back in the plantation. This is the type of trail I’d happily lap daily. The rain comes down hard as we ride back to the top before go to finish with the top section of Cheap Thrills. It’s green. The gradient is mellow, just right to have a lot of fun. Three Chillies trail crew double, manual and flow through it in a demonstration that not all trails need to be hard to be enjoyable.

We drive the five kilometres into town to clean up before dinner. The muddy bikes get a wash, and we shower and head to the newly opened Nannup Brewing Company for dinner. As we eat, we chat about the progression in trails and trail building in the state over the last few years. One of us mentions what we on the road trip have been thinking for a while: it feels like there is a friendly rivalry between the local builders. They see what another crew are doing and in response step up their game too. Peter Smythe has a different perspective “At Three Chillies, we’re finally getting the opportunity to build the trails we want to ride.” At Nannup they have been given a very big opportunity. They have taken it, and delivered.