Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

dalai47
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Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby dalai47 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:45 am

Further to the recent Goldfields track topic, I am on the lookout for Vic ride suggestions.

Primarily looking for potential 2-7 days off road routes suitable for MTB bikepacking.

Goldfields Track- viewtopic.php?f=14&t=85364" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mt Beauty to Falls Creek and return via Fainter and Timms Spur viewtopic.php?f=14&t=85364" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Found a few interesting circuits on http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mallee loop around Wyperfeld / Murray Sunset National park 625km http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... mallee.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Davies Plains 160km loop http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... davies.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Wonnangatta loop 222km http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... ngatta.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Snowy river loop 286km http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... _snowy.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Espresso_
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Espresso_ » Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:36 pm

Me too - especially quickie overnight or two night rides nearish to Melbourne and accessible without a car.

Subscribed and keen to see what pops up.

E

dalai47
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby dalai47 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:27 pm

Loops or point to point with access to trains would be great!

Like Espresso, also keen on local to Melbourne overnighters including potential S24O rides...

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby tooslowtorace » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:38 pm

Also interested - and subscribed.

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il padrone
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby il padrone » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:19 pm

Train to Rosedale. Ride:

Day 1 - Heyfield and Licola.
Day 2 - Licola to Guys Hut
Day 3 - Guys Hut to Mt Howitt car-park and Macalister River bridge
Day 4 - Climb to King Billy. Walk out to Mt Magdala and Hells Window
Day 5 - Down Brocks Rd to Jamieson River Hut
Day 6 - Over Mt Sunday to Wrens flat
Day 7 - To Jamieson
Day 8 - Rest day
Day 9 - To Eildon and the Cathedral Range
Day 10 - The Acheron Way to Warburton then the Warburton Trail to Lilydale

A bit more than your ideal duration (and it does all rely on the Macalister River bridge still being extant), but it was one of the most challenging tours that I have ever done - mostly because of the terrible weather around Jamieson River and Mt Sunday..... in January !! Only the middle bit (from Licola to Jamieson) was real rough-stuff touring. And there was no food supplies at all for this section of 5 days.

Recommend to wait until at least November before doing this one.

Also anything in the Grampians is really great. Once you get out over the ranges to the Victoria Valley, or north around Mt Stapylton, there are many kilometres of great quiet roads to explore. Do watch out for the soft sand and loose surfaces though. This brought me unstuck last September (busted collarbone :( ). Sept-Oct are the best time to explore here as the roads are at their firmest, and the wildflowers give a great display.
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nezumi
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby nezumi » Thu May 12, 2016 12:39 am

Thread necromancy!

I'm looking to organise a 4 day trip to take advantage of the AFL grand final or Melbourne Cup long weekends.

Current remit is to have the route and travel be through national park/state forest/etc, with camping having flush toilets, water and, where possible, showers (do caravan parks allow you to pay to just use the showers?). Half the group intend to be self-sufficient and cook at the camp site each night, with the others happy to pop into a nearby town for dinner each night.

Terrain wise, most will be on CX bikes, so leaning to gravel roads and firetrails or smooth single track, not something to the level of the Goldfields Track. I will likely not have sufficiently light/compact gear to be properly bikepacking so may resort to panniers - others will likely be doing the same, or cobbling something together.

I rode Ballarat to Bendigo as an overnighter with a friend, camping at the Maldon Historic Reserve and having dinner in the pub, which worked pretty well.

Does anyone have any good route suggestions that could be a match to this?
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Hildalgo
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Hildalgo » Thu May 12, 2016 9:49 am

Grand Ridge Road is a tourist road in Gippsland & 135km in length & 98% gravel. I've ridden half of it & one of the most amazing gravel roads to ride in Victoria. There's a couple of towns along the way that you can stay at and is closeish to the Taralgon V-Line route if you want to use public transport to do it. The road finishes at the Tarra Bulga National Park which is easily one of the best rainforests to ride through in Victoria, & there is also Mount Tassie at the end which is an incredible 15km climb from South Taralgon.

http://www.lavelocita.cc/la-velocita-ri ... dge%20road

http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/ ... d+ridge+rd

BenGr
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby BenGr » Thu May 12, 2016 10:34 am

I did the Gippsland Gold route a few weeks ago as an overnighter. http://www.melbournerandonneur.org.au/m ... sland-gold

It goes on Grand Ridge Rd for a bit. Was a great ride, just have decent volume tyres as a few sections are rough.

I've been thinking of using some of their other routes as multi day trips, no idea on facilities though.

Uncle Just
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Uncle Just » Thu May 12, 2016 10:35 am

I've done this alpine ride over the Cup weekend a couple of times. Once as a 6 dayer leaving Beechworth via Stanley Myrtleford to Mt Beauty. Day 2 up Falls and down to Anglers Rest before the road was sealed then to Omeo. Day 3 up the back of Hotham to Dinner Plain. Day 4 to Dargo turning off at Mt Bernard. Day 5 to Maffra and finished on Day 6 at Traralgon. Another time we rode Wang, Harrietville, Dargo, Sale in 3 days. Plenty of good dirt roads.

A four day suggestion is to take the train to Wang and ride via Eldorado and the dirt back roads to Beechworth. Day 2 to Harrietville partly along the rail trail. Day 3 climb Hotham to Mt St Bernard down to Dargo via the good dirt High Plains rd. Day 4 you climb out of Dargo and take the fantastic dirt Freestone rd to Briagolong and end up in Sale for the train home.

Be prepared for any weather at that time of the year. First time was hot, second time we had very cold, wet muddy conditions on the high plains.
Last edited by Uncle Just on Thu May 12, 2016 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Leaf T
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Leaf T » Thu May 12, 2016 3:04 pm

Yikes! Was just looking at ride with gps route from Dargo to Dinner Plain and it shows 32.9% in places! :shock:

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby BenGr » Thu May 12, 2016 3:21 pm

Leaf T wrote:Yikes! Was just looking at ride with gps route from Dargo to Dinner Plain and it shows 32.9% in places! :shock:
One reason i want to give it a go, loaded. http://theclimbingcyclist.com/wiki/Dargo

I'm guessing the 32% is overestimating it though.

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Uncle Just » Thu May 12, 2016 5:49 pm

That's why we've always ridden down to Dargo from Mt St Bernard. :wink:

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby RonK » Thu May 12, 2016 6:20 pm

BenGr wrote:
Leaf T wrote:Yikes! Was just looking at ride with gps route from Dargo to Dinner Plain and it shows 32.9% in places! :shock:
One reason i want to give it a go, loaded. http://theclimbingcyclist.com/wiki/Dargo

I'm guessing the 32% is overestimating it though.
Hehe - you're a real mountain goat Ben. :lol:
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby BenGr » Thu May 12, 2016 7:08 pm

RonK wrote:
BenGr wrote:
Leaf T wrote:Yikes! Was just looking at ride with gps route from Dargo to Dinner Plain and it shows 32.9% in places! :shock:
One reason i want to give it a go, loaded. http://theclimbingcyclist.com/wiki/Dargo

I'm guessing the 32% is overestimating it though.
Hehe - you're a real mountain goat Ben. :lol:
I'm heading over to North America next month, planning on going along the Rockies, I think i could use the practice!

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby RonK » Thu May 12, 2016 7:52 pm

BenGr wrote:
RonK wrote:
BenGr wrote: One reason i want to give it a go, loaded. http://theclimbingcyclist.com/wiki/Dargo

I'm guessing the 32% is overestimating it though.
Hehe - you're a real mountain goat Ben. :lol:
I'm heading over to North America next month, planning on going along the Rockies, I think i could use the practice!
As I understand it, the climbing in the Rockies is generally not so steep but very long ~ 20kms fairly common.

Have you checked when the passes will be open?
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby BenGr » Fri May 13, 2016 12:37 am

RonK wrote:
BenGr wrote:
RonK wrote:
Hehe - you're a real mountain goat Ben. :lol:
I'm heading over to North America next month, planning on going along the Rockies, I think i could use the practice!
As I understand it, the climbing in the Rockies is generally not so steep but very long ~ 20kms fairly common.

Have you checked when the passes will be open?
Doing the Great divide MTB route. Walking is apparently fairly normal in some parts.

I'm actually starting in Alaska, so I won't be near any big passes until July/August. From what I've heard the snows been melting early, hopefully not too early! I want to see some!

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby RonK » Fri May 13, 2016 1:14 pm

BenGr wrote:
RonK wrote:
BenGr wrote: I'm heading over to North America next month, planning on going along the Rockies, I think i could use the practice!
As I understand it, the climbing in the Rockies is generally not so steep but very long ~ 20kms fairly common.

Have you checked when the passes will be open?
Doing the Great divide MTB route. Walking is apparently fairly normal in some parts.

I'm actually starting in Alaska, so I won't be near any big passes until July/August. From what I've heard the snows been melting early, hopefully not too early! I want to see some!
Yeah, I'm aware if the GDMBR route, and it certainly interests me.
Why don't you start a new thread and tell us about your plans? :)
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby BenGr » Fri May 13, 2016 2:13 pm

RonK wrote:
BenGr wrote:
RonK wrote: As I understand it, the climbing in the Rockies is generally not so steep but very long ~ 20kms fairly common.

Have you checked when the passes will be open?
Doing the Great divide MTB route. Walking is apparently fairly normal in some parts.

I'm actually starting in Alaska, so I won't be near any big passes until July/August. From what I've heard the snows been melting early, hopefully not too early! I want to see some!
Yeah, I'm aware if the GDMBR route, and it certainly interests me.
Why don't you start a new thread and tell us about your plans? :)
Will do, have been meaning to for a while... Time to stop derailing...

dalai47
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby dalai47 » Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:34 pm

dalai47 wrote:Found a few interesting circuits on http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mallee loop around Wyperfeld / Murray Sunset National park 625km http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... mallee.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wonnangatta loop 222km http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au/iconic4wd ... ngatta.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Was thinking initially about riding the Wonnangatta loop over 4 days (Cup long weekend) accessed by train from Stratford. But when I try to search on the Journey Planner for a train on Cup day it says there are no public transport options that day!?

Therefore second option could be driving out and riding some or all of the Mallee loop bike packing on my mountain bike. Has anyone here ridden out there? If so could you please confirm if these tracks are passable on a mountain bike in dry conditions?

Hildalgo
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Hildalgo » Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:32 pm

Could ride from home ;-)

Who needs sleep :)

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby dalai47 » Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:46 pm

I like your thinking Hildalgo. :lol:

Just off the phone with Vline - as the Tuesday is a public holiday it will be running on the Saturday time table and there are trains running. Now just need to get the knee sorted in time!

Has anyone ridden part or all of the Wonnangatta loop?

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby Marx » Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:18 pm

First time biketourers & bikepackers, check out the Murray to Mountains trail(s).
http://www.victoriashighcountry.com.au/ ... ail-trails
I'm just back from Wangaratta to Beechworth: it's entirely off-the-road smooth sealed surfaces. Lots of options for everything from MTBers to elite roadies out that way too.
Trains from Melbourne>Wangaratta $29, takes bikes in their luggage car at an end of the train.
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby il padrone » Sun Oct 23, 2016 6:52 pm

dalai47 wrote:Has anyone ridden part or all of the Wonnangatta loop?
Did you really mean Wonnangatta loop ??

Just that that area is pretty hard-core expedition touring. You will need to carry food for 4-5 days depending on your exact route plans, and will face descents and climbs of 15-20+%. Wombat Spur or Hearne Spur getting out is the worst of the climbing. Be prepared for a 2-3 stage bike and gear shuffle - near-as-damn unrideable when loaded. And with the weather this spring, and all the rainfall we've had, it is very likely that you will face some deep river fords. On the road south of Talbotville towards the Kingsville Bridge (Crooked River) there are two crossings of the river at least that could well be thigh deep and fast-flowing. You can of course do the climb out to Grant, but that is another big 'un.

[edit]Just looked at that link above; an extreme circuit - my advice would be to stay well away from Billy Goat Bluff Track. I have not ridden it, but it is even steeper than Wombat Spur, and it is a bit of a 4WD challenge test, aka lots of traffic likely, especially over Cup Weekend. Going UP Billy Goat Bluff would be pure insanity :shock:
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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby dalai47 » Mon Oct 24, 2016 3:44 pm

il padrone wrote:Did you really mean Wonnangatta loop ??

Going UP Billy Goat Bluff would be pure insanity :shock:
Yes, I did really mean Wonnangatta loop and Billy Goat Bluff track sounds right up my alley. :wink:

Will hold off for a quieter time than the long weekend. Tore my MCL back country alpine touring only 7 weeks ago so better I wait a few more months.

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Re: Potential Vic Bikepacking routes 2-7 days?

Postby il padrone » Tue Oct 25, 2016 9:41 pm

About March - April would probably be the best time for that area - after the heat of summer, during the crisp mornings of early autumn, before the winter rains have set in. BUT it can snow any time of year up on those peaks.
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