La Larr Ba Gauwa Park, Harcourt. Any info??
- Thread starter wkkie
- Start date
Boom King
downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
Only whatever you can find in town. Should be a bakery, probs dig up some doughnuts at the roadhouse....
wkkie
It's Not Easy Being Green
Fairly fitting given the crew that's riding...
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Ironic that you're bitching about having to ride your bike....
Cafe open Thurs-Sun (hopefully adding Weds soon if the punters keep coming).
Servo open every day.
General Store closed for renovations. Hopefully open in a month or so.
And that’s it for Harcourt! Plenty open in Castlemaine Mon-Weds, just 10kms down the road.
Miguel75
Likes Dirt
I went out for a ride there on Sat 10/03 and my thoughts closely align with Duckmeister's. I rode trail 7 and 8, hiking the downhill sections on 8 a few too many times... I thought there were some weird rollers/water courses right before berms and I found my flow was a little off because of these. My flow may have been impacted by my lack of skill, regardless, there were a few "interesting" berms and lots of interesting/techy uphill sections. I'm excited for a bit of rain and lots more time in the saddle up there...
Daniel Hale
She fid, he fid, I fidn't
went & rode it this morning -was qute fun although the climbing can be technical& brutal -its good as we have not had any berm/flowy stuff NW of melb, rode 7,11,10,8 then 4&3. -fiished with 2, [almost took the right hand line which leads to a 12ft gap jump].
don't think ill ever make it up the climbs on 8, the thick dust is already a problem & trk3 already seemed to have braking bumps
overall very happy & ill be there in winter when its cool & the dust has settled -it needs some rain i reckon
its a pity the cafe doesn't open early sat, nowhere to get drinks/cofffee b4 u head off..warning take plenty of water -i ran out after doing 30 km's, thankfully the run to town is down hill
don't think ill ever make it up the climbs on 8, the thick dust is already a problem & trk3 already seemed to have braking bumps
overall very happy & ill be there in winter when its cool & the dust has settled -it needs some rain i reckon
its a pity the cafe doesn't open early sat, nowhere to get drinks/cofffee b4 u head off..warning take plenty of water -i ran out after doing 30 km's, thankfully the run to town is down hill
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KellysBikeaus
Squid
Thinking of heading up on the weekend, how would a hard tail go there?
Miguel75
Likes Dirt
My 150mm hardtail likes it
Smithgrind
Squid
We rode there on Sunday (after the rain) No dust and loads of grip loads of fun
wkkie
It's Not Easy Being Green
I rode there on my hardtail. It was certainly doable, but next time I'll be taking the dually.
The downhills were a lot smoother than the uphills, so if climbing is your thing the dually will tackle the tech climbs better than the hardtail.
I went for a ride out at Harcourt today and loved every minute of it... well ok perhaps the bike path climb to the park wasn't great but it definitely was a warm up. I took track 1 out and then up 2 to clear out the cobwebs, then a loop of 4 followed by a loop of 3. 4 took me along a decent descent with quite a few table jumps and berms before climbing back, 3 was a similar drop down into the valley except with fairly big berms, a couple of decent gap jumps and some interesting rock features on the climb. I then took the downhill section of 2 back to the start.... wow 2 is a monster. Biiig jumps and at one point 3 line choices.. the C for chicken line straight down or a line with 2 half meter rock drops dumping you into a berm or a line with a fucking wicked gap jump onto a rock then dropping straight off into the berm. Wow.
So that was the north section mostly checked out, I'll have a look at the black loop next time. I'm a shit jumper and it would be good if there was a bit more progression with jumps in these loops... I think 4 had the tamest ones with small to medium tabletops, 3 was a bit hectic for me with larger gap doubles and 2 was for people with actual skills.
Back to the shelter and I hit out on 7 which was hard work but awesome... climbing out of the quarry (?) the huge square slabs of granite looked amazing. This track was basically a climb up then loop back down and it was pretty cool, I think the hardest aspect was that there were a few rather pinchy climbs but nothing massively technical, probably simpler than Junction track at the Youies for example. I was hoping to go from 7 to 9 then back via 6 but the signage at the South junction was a bit lacking so I missed where to go and just ended up following 7 back to the shelter. Again lots of rock features and mostly quite rollable.
OK I was pretty rooted at this point, the car reckoned it was 21 on the way up but with the mid-arvo sun beaming down it felt a bit hotter... yeah let's blame it on the sun and not my fat couch potato arse... but I wanted to try 6 and 9 so I headed out up 6 and encountered a couple of more tricky rock features than I'd seen on 7. Still, the climb along the side of the valley was really cool as you could look down on the historic oak plantation and the campers below. This time I did find the sign to 9 and took that loop, it felt similar to 7 in that it was quite XC but did a really nice job of rolling up, down and around. The last kay of 9 was a bit of a struggle as I was stuffed and looking to get the hell off my bike but no relaxing yet as there was still a fair bit of climbing.
Yah! Found the junction and back onto 6. Great. This was mostly pretty great downhill and felt quite like Lactic to me.. being knackered I just sat down and rolled most of it, fortunately the rock features were quite rideable and soon enough I was back at the shelter. Jumped straight back onto the trail into town and hit up the cafe for a snack. Bummer that the kitchen closed at 4.30 and the band signed off shortly after, the weather was perfect and I'd have been happy to chill in the gardens for a while. Next time perhaps.
All in all I'm massively impressed and grateful for this park coming to fruition, the loops I rode are beginner to intermediate and were really good. Yes it's quite XC which is why I found track 2 a bit odd, the jumps are Hero Trail big. I'm not sure what it is but I find Dirt Art tracks a bit more aggressive and less 'welcoming' than World Trail stuff, they're very good but I think you have to ride them confidently and aggressively to get the best out of them. Having said that the town was pumping, there were people of all ages riding so it seems to be a bit of a hit. Just curious, there seems to be plenty of space still, is there any plan for more tracks in the future?
So that was the north section mostly checked out, I'll have a look at the black loop next time. I'm a shit jumper and it would be good if there was a bit more progression with jumps in these loops... I think 4 had the tamest ones with small to medium tabletops, 3 was a bit hectic for me with larger gap doubles and 2 was for people with actual skills.
Back to the shelter and I hit out on 7 which was hard work but awesome... climbing out of the quarry (?) the huge square slabs of granite looked amazing. This track was basically a climb up then loop back down and it was pretty cool, I think the hardest aspect was that there were a few rather pinchy climbs but nothing massively technical, probably simpler than Junction track at the Youies for example. I was hoping to go from 7 to 9 then back via 6 but the signage at the South junction was a bit lacking so I missed where to go and just ended up following 7 back to the shelter. Again lots of rock features and mostly quite rollable.
OK I was pretty rooted at this point, the car reckoned it was 21 on the way up but with the mid-arvo sun beaming down it felt a bit hotter... yeah let's blame it on the sun and not my fat couch potato arse... but I wanted to try 6 and 9 so I headed out up 6 and encountered a couple of more tricky rock features than I'd seen on 7. Still, the climb along the side of the valley was really cool as you could look down on the historic oak plantation and the campers below. This time I did find the sign to 9 and took that loop, it felt similar to 7 in that it was quite XC but did a really nice job of rolling up, down and around. The last kay of 9 was a bit of a struggle as I was stuffed and looking to get the hell off my bike but no relaxing yet as there was still a fair bit of climbing.
Yah! Found the junction and back onto 6. Great. This was mostly pretty great downhill and felt quite like Lactic to me.. being knackered I just sat down and rolled most of it, fortunately the rock features were quite rideable and soon enough I was back at the shelter. Jumped straight back onto the trail into town and hit up the cafe for a snack. Bummer that the kitchen closed at 4.30 and the band signed off shortly after, the weather was perfect and I'd have been happy to chill in the gardens for a while. Next time perhaps.
All in all I'm massively impressed and grateful for this park coming to fruition, the loops I rode are beginner to intermediate and were really good. Yes it's quite XC which is why I found track 2 a bit odd, the jumps are Hero Trail big. I'm not sure what it is but I find Dirt Art tracks a bit more aggressive and less 'welcoming' than World Trail stuff, they're very good but I think you have to ride them confidently and aggressively to get the best out of them. Having said that the town was pumping, there were people of all ages riding so it seems to be a bit of a hit. Just curious, there seems to be plenty of space still, is there any plan for more tracks in the future?
Jpez
Down on the left!
I rode there today. If there is such a thing as hardcore xc this place is it. Brutal climbs for little descending reward. I started with track 8 not knowing any better as there are no trail descriptions at the trail head. It was nothing but a brutal techie climb that was far beyond my climbing abilities. Like Lactic on the up on steroids.
There were some nice little segments here in other parts of the park and the descent part of track 2 was a stand out as it was the fastest track there. I did that twice but again the climb back up nearly killed me. Can you sense a theme here?
There were a heap of folks there today so it’s pretty popular but it’s not for me.
There were some nice little segments here in other parts of the park and the descent part of track 2 was a stand out as it was the fastest track there. I did that twice but again the climb back up nearly killed me. Can you sense a theme here?
There were a heap of folks there today so it’s pretty popular but it’s not for me.
Spike-X
Grumpy Old Sarah
That looks amazing!
Daniel Hale
She fid, he fid, I fidn't
no more plans for any additions ot trail - they only have the sml amount of room on the side of the hill, there is a koorie site they have to avoid also
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Hipstar
Likes Dirt
From what I've seen it'll hold up similarly to the You Yangs.
Well.
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Went back for another spin last weekend (well, as with before was in Bendigo for something else, so threw the bike in to go for a play while I was up there). Prediction from my earlier post was spot-on; after some winter rain the dirt is nicely stuck down & heroically grippy, so get yerselves up there before it dries out & gets loose & skaty again!
Rode the north loop this time, 'cos that's the bit I didn't do before. The Track 2 climb is less techy than the south loop, particularly 7, climbs, but more of a lung-buster (especially apparent the day after a 9-hour HPV race). The 3 & 4 loops are pure XC fun, with a few pinchy little rock slab climbs to upset the rhythm - my favourite trails in the park. Didn't ride 5, mainly due to feeling pasted from the previous day's race, so took to the 2 descent. Well-built bit of dirt - comfortably rollable and still a lot of fun if you're like me & like to keep your wheels close to the ground, but plenty of scope to go nuts off the jumps too if you're that way inclined. Finished off with a 6/9 loop, much grippier than before, but even when you have a slight clue of the terrain, the features still fuck with your brain.
Rode the north loop this time, 'cos that's the bit I didn't do before. The Track 2 climb is less techy than the south loop, particularly 7, climbs, but more of a lung-buster (especially apparent the day after a 9-hour HPV race). The 3 & 4 loops are pure XC fun, with a few pinchy little rock slab climbs to upset the rhythm - my favourite trails in the park. Didn't ride 5, mainly due to feeling pasted from the previous day's race, so took to the 2 descent. Well-built bit of dirt - comfortably rollable and still a lot of fun if you're like me & like to keep your wheels close to the ground, but plenty of scope to go nuts off the jumps too if you're that way inclined. Finished off with a 6/9 loop, much grippier than before, but even when you have a slight clue of the terrain, the features still fuck with your brain.
