I love riding my bike. I love riding it on bike paths around the Central Coast. I love riding it to work on the quiet back roads. I love riding it on fire trails at Kariong and up Kincumber Mountain. Every ride is great and a natural high. But now and again none of these rides quite do the trick. I just have to hit some single track!!

And the best single track round here is at Dubbo Gully. I only had till 10am to ride and, Dubbo Gully being half an hours drive from home, I had to be committed and get going pretty early.

A beautiful sunny spring day had dawned by the time I had the bike out of the car and ready for the track, but in Dubbo Gully the sun rises an hour later – the Gully is invariably filled with low lying cloud till the sun gets beyond the hill tops.

Donney track to the right and up the hill – the shortest route to Single Track

Enduring the pain of a frozen face for the 2.5 k downhill start for a short period you enjoy the uphill of Donolly. The next 5.4 k is predominantly uphill but your reward for the climb is the start of the Single Track – The Old Great North Road.

Part of Donney’s track

I had enough time to soak up just over 25 k of Single Track – 12.6 out and the same back. Heading out I was in a “ride as you feel like” mode – I wasn’t going to push it and go like a hairy goat – I was just going to enjoy the environment, my bike and the Single Track.

At the turn around point I had a short break then remounted the Ibis Ripley and turned for home. But something “clicked” during that U turn moment. Now my legs felt fresh, now the bike seemed to want to fly and duck and weave and jump. The track felt inviting and invigorating. It was an absolute blast. The suspension soaked up the bumps and rocks, the geometry of this amazing bike kept telling me to toss it into the bends with confidence, the lightness of the front end had me lofting the front wheel over rocks and water bars. The tree debris strewn across the track crunched and cracked as the Specialized tyres rocketed across the sticks and leaves. A young lyre bird scurried across the track just a metre or two in front of me, squawking in protest at our close encounter. A large goanna lizard scurried down the track in front of me then made a hasty B line up the trunk of a gum tree. The Ripley kept ripping along, slowing down for no man, creature or obstruction.

Big goanna made a little nervous by a fast moving Ibis Ripley

It was a forty minute hoot back to the fire trail – and I loved every minute of it.

Simpson’s Track

So, here’s the equation: 1 hour’s drive + 25 kilometres of fire trail riding give you 25 kilometres of pure Single Track. In any mountain bike riders book, that’s a very good deal!

[Editors note: if you’re looking for picture of the single track you won’t find them on this post – I couldn’t bring myself to stop!]

[Editors other note: I did this ride back on Sept 20 but for some reason didn’t press the “Publish” button. Whoops! Anywhere, here it is!]