: The Newnes ride.

By: g | No Comments » |

April 13 2003.

The Riders: Neil (Holstar Rigid), John (Giant 780), Phil (Giant Iguana), Chris (Trek 6000), Lach (Avanti Barracuda). Average rider age � distinctly 40+.

The Ride: After an early start from Sydney, the two transport vehicles met up at Clarence, on the Bell Rd out of Sydney, just after 9.00 am. There was a plethora of 4WD�s marshalling for day trips and cars with trailers discharging MXer�s. There seemed very few starters for the Zig Zag Railway for which the car park had been built.

We then headed out north on the dirt road into the Newnes State Forest – a 4WD and MX playground – for about 45 minutes until the road becomes the border between the Wollemi NP (south) and the Gardens of Stone NP (north). The 4WD and MX presence thinned out until we reached Deane�s Siding, a watering point on the old railway line into the oil shale mine works at Newnes.

By about 10.00 am we had unloaded the bikes, kitted up and headed off down the fire trail which follows the old rail line towards Newnes. After a few hundred metres we reached the turn off to the Old Coach Rd, the original access track into the Wolgan Valley, and turned right to follow it for a couple of km�s of nice gradual downhill to the �no cars past here� point, where the Tiger Snake Canyon track heads off to the right. There the Old Coach Rd starts to head downhill with a bit more intent, with increasing rocky ledges and erosion problems.

The Old Coach Rd winds down through some spectacular sandstone pagoda country. The distractions of the stunning views provides an extra degree of difficulty to the riding skills required for the rocky trail base of sandstone ledges with lots of loose rock. It is rideable for those with a bit of technique and confidence, but required a few walk / carry sections for those of us who were conservative enough to want to be sure of doing the whole ride.

Once the sandstone base gives way to soil, the ride is still steep but becomes an easier downhill run, still with spectacular forest and valley views. Plenty of brakes required and on this occasion, some muddy sections from rain a few days before, just to help the braking. This section saw the first involuntary dismount, when I tried to go around the outside of a stationary Phil, got into a gutter and had a simple but embarrassing spd tumble.

The Pagoda Walking Track heads off to the left just after the end of the sandstone section, linking back up with the old railway line uphill of the Glow Worm Tunnel. The Old Coach Rd continues down until it meets up again with the old rail line downhill from the Glow Worm Tunnel. Here we turned right to follow the rail line, initially through private property where access is tolerated as long as you stay on the track. The trail straight downhill at this point leads down to the Wolgan Valley Rd. Left takes you back up to the Glow Worm Tunnel.

The old rail line from this point is a gentle downhill gradient carved into the side of the valley walls below the cliff line, overgrown and washed away to the point where it is difficult to get any riding rhythm going between weaving around rocks and trees, jumping or walking over fallen logs and clambering up and down washed out gully crossings. This section saw Neil embrace a friendly tree as an alternative to visiting the lower parts of the railway embankment and Phil misjudge a tricky double log crossing resulting in a face plant into the second log (proving the value of a cycle helmet) and some reasonably serious bruising to hip and ribs. Some rest and paracetamol was administered and we pressed on.

Eventually the rail line passes out of private land and back into the Wollemi NP and becomes a fire trail for the last few km�s into the old Newnes township. We rode past the Wolgan River crossing and along to the old oil shale works where there is a sign posted tour of the site, with old photos on the standard metal NP info plates. It is a massive industrial structure, unused for over 65 years, slowly rotting away in the Aussie bush. We marvelled at the amount of bricks which we thought must have been carted into the site until closer examination of some of the historical information informed us that there originally was a railway bridge across the Wolgan River adjacent to the shale works leading to another site where there had been a clay quarry and brick kilns.

At he bottom of the self guided tour we sat at the top of the river bank, with some golden poplars brightening the glorious autumn view across the river towards the orange highlighted cliffs on the northern side of the Wolgan Valley. Lunches were consumed greedily, as it was after 1.00 pm and most of us had had breakfast before 7.00 am.

In deference to the difficulty Phil had experienced lifting his bike over logs and up and down the wash-aways after his otb incident, we crossed over the Wolgan River so we could ride back up the main road out of the valley to the point where the walking trail to the Glow Worm Tunnel heads off to the left. I had stopped to try out one of the new NPWS �windyloo�s� between the oil shale works car park and the river crossing and when I caught up with the others at the old Hotel site, I realised I�d left my disposable camera in the toilet. So while the other four headed off up the road, I did an extra 3 km doubling back across the river for the camera. By the time I caught up to the peleton after a quick 10km, it was time to turn off the road, make the brief descent to the Wolgan River, cross the ford and begin the 100+m of altitude climb back up through the old Wolgan Colliery site to the old railway line. Maybe the log jumping and wash-away�s might have been a better idea!

Most legs gave out well before the top, so once we reached the railway line level, we took some time out to get our breath back, our pulses back to somewhere near normal and some re-hydration happening. The climb from here eased off, but it was still uphill for the rest of the day. The rail line clings to the bottom of the cliff line and becomes increasingly overgrown as it rises into the moist gully of Tunnel Creek. By the time the mouth of the tunnel is reached, the formation has been washed away for at least a hundred metres and the walking track simply follows the dark, wet, fern-lined creek bed.

At the mouth of the Glow Worm Tunnel we stopped to get our torches out to find that only Chris had followed my instructions to actually bring a torch. So it was a very close formation of five bike carrying and pushing travellers who inched their way through the absolute darkness of the curved, rocky and damp tunnel by the light of two torches. In the darker reaches, the glow worms were magnificent and we stood with our limited lights turned off marvelling at these wonders of nature for seconds at a time. We passed a bushwalking couple in the tunnel who asked where we had been riding and what it was like. Once Phil had told them how he felt about it, we had to tell them this was only a minority view.

Out the other side of the tunnel, the track improved markedly, being the main walking access route into the tunnel. Still uphill though. After Chris did a bit of a slip-slide on the steps around the only major wash-away on this section, it was back on the bikes for the rest of the trip, through the car park and up the narrow road which follows the old line (uphill), through a second tunnel (uphill), back past the Old Coach Rd turnoff (uphill) and back to Deane�s Siding, which, as it happens, is about the highest point on the old line.

By the time everyone straggled in and we had put the bikes back on the cars, had a cold beverage and started the drive back through the Newnes Forest, it was getting dark. We reached the rendezvous point at Clarence about 9 hrs after we had left it that morning.

With the drive back to Sydney, it was a long day. Everybody was pretty stiff and sore after a couple of hours in the car, but planning has already begun for the next epic.

Total distance: about 45 kms
Total time: about 7 hrs with the bikes (4 hrs elapsed riding time plus stops) and about 2 hrs travel each way in the cars.

Thanks to Flynny and Dave Noble for some website info that inspired the ride.

Lach

 

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