The ‘Wallets on Wheels’ crew recently spent a week discovering the trails and tracks around Narooma on the NSW south coast. The six riders (and one crew) have now all progressed to e-MTBs which enabled the rides to include some rough fire trails as well as dedicated mountain bike tracks.
We started just outside Bodalla, where the Bodalla Bakery provided excellent coffees prior to the start of the ride. Not wanting to ride along the side of the Princes Highway, we started at Big Rock Road through the Bodalla State Forest, before riding through farmland then back into the forest along the old Cheese Factory Road and back to the start at the intersection of Big Rock Road and the Princes Highway. While only 33.5 km in length, the elevation gain of 813m ensured that the e-bikes got a good workout on some steep inclines. The pies from the Bodalla Bakery went down a treat, as did the very large servings of ice creams from the Bodalla Dairy!
Day two provided some gentle rides along the coast between Dalmeny and Narooma via the excellent cycle path. Whales were sighted just 100m off the beach along with seals enjoying the surf and sunning themselves on the rocks. After a pub lunch at the Dromedary Hotel in Central Tilba, the team followed the back road to Tilba Tilba, then the dirt track up Mt Dromedary before returning to Central Tilba.
Day three again followed the cycle path from Dalmeny to Narooma before joining the Old Highway just south of Narooma, then joining the dirt road of the Wagonga Scenic Drive which followed the Burrimbidgee Creek. A sharp turn on to Rats Head Road took the riders up the first of many steep, long and rough inclines before the welcome downhill runs along Wild Horse Creek Road and Tebbs Road, rejoining the smoother asphalt of the Old Highway and the smooth ride back to Dalmeny. Overall a ride of 54.4 km with 1,029 m elevation gain. The Merida e-MTB ran out of battery just short of Dalmeny, with the Giant, NCM and Trek Powerfly having between 1% and 9% battery left. A visually stunning and challenging ride but well worth the day in the saddle.
After the effort of the previous day’s ride, Day four was a gentle ride along the coastal cycle path followed by a round of golf at the Narooma Golf Club and wine tasting at the Tilba Wines and Ales.
Day five brought us back to Bodalla for our morning coffee, followed by a challenging ride around the rough and overgrown trails around Potato Point. While the going was tough in parts, riding alongside kangaroos and emus was a load of fun, and the views across to Turros Heads was spectacular. While only 20.3 km, the elevation gain of a steep 420 m on the dirt ensured that the pies and ice cream at Bodalla was enjoyed by all.
The tracks and trails around the Eurobodalla Shire make for great rides – as long as you have the right bikes and e-MTBs were needed by the Wallets of Wheels team! Narooma has a new mountain bike park that will be officially opened shortly, and there is a smaller but still challenging mountain bike park in Dalmeny.
Well worth the drive from Sydney for a week of good, challenging rides!