Xmas 2012: 9 days of riding through KNP

Xmas this year was a Sutton-family affair and also a bit of a dream of mine: a supported ride. 7 people, 5 bikes and 2 cars meant that everyday there'd be people driving to ferry the camping gear to the next night's camp. I'd worked out an itinerary beforehand which mixed up some varied and interesting rides, short drives and simple logistics.. and it all started with Po and myself riding from Lyneham..

Day 1: Lyneham to Blue Waterholes 112km / 2330vm

Originally we'd planned to take 2 days to get to Blue Waterholes, but as Xmas shopping and packing always takes 5 times as long as you'd think, we decided to minimise the stress, leave a day later and get the ride done in a day. This meant we had to do the sneaky and cut through the Bimberi Wilderness area on our bikes. Despite the bullshit which is Murray's Gap FT, the day was awesome, although very hot (nudging 40 degrees on the Garmin).

Po thinking about braving the Coldblue Waterholes

From Canberra we zipped down along the bikes paths to the edge of Banks, and then on the road down to Orroral Valley, with only minor stoppage for a play on the flying fox in Kambah and a swim in Orroral River. It was nice pedalling through Orroral Valley and over past Cotter Hut. It was not nice up, over and down Murray's Gap, but I've already mentioned that:) Arriving at Blue Waterholes campground we met the others and were rewarded with a cool thunderstorm which cleaned the air.

Day 2: Blue Waterholes to Kiandra 60km / 1000vm

For the ride to Kiandra we were joined by Gail and Graeme. The day started out easy enough with a nice cruise along Pockets Saddle FT and Tantangara Rd past Tantangara Dam. On the map theres a straight looking FT that appears to neatly join Tantangara Rd to Kiandra, so it was logical to give it a bash. Turning off the all-too-smooth and obvious road was where things got a bit interesting.

Progress slowed to quite slow with a pretty faint track across a grassy plain for a few kms, before picking up the better looking Nungar Creek FT. That's about when the heavens decided to open and tried to make us shit our pants from lightening-induced fear. We arrived at Wolgals Lodge in Kiandra soaked, muddy and with a few lightening-singe hairs. The next day was Xmas day and a rest day so all we had to do was eat like our lives depended on it, and play scrabble.

Day 4: Kiandra to Bradley's Hut 60km / 1000vm

Po and a tree near Bradley's Hut

Graeme with that 6-fish-in-a-day swagger

Po and I were joined by Cec for this beautiful little coffee-interupted cruise down past Selwyn and Cabramurra (3 flatwhites thanks), to Bradley's Hut. Riding down, over and back up from Tumut Pond was easily the highlight. I couldn't quite believe I'd never seen this stunning little dam before. Although Bradley's Hut is right next to the road, we had the whole place to ourselves and it proved to be a fantastic place to while-away an afternoon.

Day 5: Bradley's Hut to Island Bend 63km / 1400vm

In my mind, this ride is an essential outing for everyone who rides mountain bikes. Starting from Bradley's Hut we rode the length of Round Mountain FT past Derschkos Hut, turned on to Grey Mare FT to Grey Mare Hut, and then finally on to Valentine FT past Valentines Hut to Schlink Pass Rd. From the pass itself it's a quick blast downhill to Munyang and then on to our winter home, Island Bend. Dave joined us for this awesome day on the bikes and everyone else drove (the longest transfer day) - so to them I say thankyou!

Day 6: Island Bend to Geehi Flats 69km / 1400vm

Team Ride365 representing in the river with ciders

This ride was Gail's suggestion and was promised to us as 40km of downhill. Hard to say no to that! To get to the downhill we first had to climb back up to Munyang, and then up to Schlink Pass at 1804m. From there it was largely downhill all the way to Geehi Flats at about 440m. There were a few little ups in there towards the end (at around about Geehi Reservoir), but we were distracted by stunning views of the Western Faces which kept the smiles on our faces. Gail and Graeme were straight in to the Geehi River with full kit and ciders, and Po and Soph weren't too far behind.

Geehi Flats campfire by the river

Day 7: Geehi Flats to Ngarigo 54km / 1700vm

The kids rode yesterday, so it was Dave and Cec's turn today.. and me: a straight forward rode cruise up to DHG and down to Ngarigo. Funnily enough I'd never done this ride before so I was happy to get in to a rhythm and punch out a truly great climb (albeit on the 29er so I'll have to come back with the roadie soon). Blessed with another amazing river to camp beside, it was swims for all once again. Day 8 would largely be a rest day in Thredbo, with a bit of singletrack exploration on the side.

Bugger carrying all your gear - chuck 'im in a ute!

Day 9: Jindy 8hr or "Race to Lose"

The last riding day would be a pretty social one with the Jindy 8hr. Strange rules meant you could have all riders in the same team on course at the same time, so, as you'd expect from sweet trails, it turned out we pretty well did. The only catch being that we had 7 riders in a 4 person team (and riding on 4 bikes) so we couldn't actually do well as we were sure some people may have gotten uppity had we beaten them (as some racers tend to do these days). All was going well, we were each chucking the odd lap, having fun on the trails, until a casual check of the results at the 4hr mark - we had a 2 lap advantage over the team in second place. Damn. Time to bring out the strategies to lose. Well it turned out to be a pretty basic strategy: have a shower, have a nice lunch, go in to Jindy for iceblocks, etc etc.. Did it work? Yep, we smashed it and didn't place. Winners!