Megalong Valley ride

The iconic Six Foot Track is one of the most popular bush walks in the Blue Mountains, three days of trekking from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves. The end of its first stage, the Megalong Valley cemetery is the destination of one of my favourite bike rides in the mountains.

The ride starts in the village of Blackheath, home to at least ten coffee shops and the Victory Theatre... no movies, just antiques and crockery from your Grandma�s house. To reach the start of the ride, you cross the train tracks and immediately turn left. The signs point to Shipley Plateau and Megalong Valley. Before the sweeping seven-kilometre downhill ride to the valley floor, I always warm-up with a short pedal along the plateau, past suburban houses, the occasional mock-Italian villa and Logan Brae apple orchard, still selling fresh fruit and juice, and sublime apple jelly. At the Shipley Plateau Volunteer Fire Brigade, a life-like white cockatoo sits glued to the street sign, obviously on the lookout for bushfires? You can continue along this road to reach Mount Blackheath, with distant valley views, but it�s time to return to Megalong Road and start the descent.

The first few kilometres of the downhill are bumpy with occasional patches of gravel, but it soon smoothes out to a lovely four kilometre sprint through the rainforest. Filtered sun rays, the sound of rushing water, green mossy rocks, hobbits foraging in the undergrowth... or perhaps that�s just a lyrebird? A pity it all passes in a blur with the 7% percent downhill here. Don�t worry, you�ll have lots of time to admire the forest on the return climb.

The road gets bumpy again for the last few kilometres of descent before spitting you out into the valley. And what a sight... a narrow patchwork of farms and horse-riding enterprises, surrounded on all sides by sandstone cliffs and native gum forests. Keep pedaling for ten kilometres and just past the twenty-student primary school, there�s another spine-shaking downhill to the Coxs River before a short sharp uphill to the Six Foot Track crossing, our destination as the road turns to gravel beyond here. The nearby cemetery is the resting place of local indigenous people and early settlers. The name of the valley is thought to have derived from an indigenous word meaning �valley under the rock�, appropriately.

You can ride along the Six Foot Track west for a kilometre to the Dryridge Estate Winery, open on the weekends. They have door sales, barbecues and bench seats. On the adjoining ridge is the Megalong Valley beef farm, who�ll sell you steak to go with the wine.

But, enough indulgence. It�s time to start the slow climb along the valley floor. This section affords views back up to the escarpment and the faded Hydro Majestic Hotel, now sadly closed, awaiting an art-deco rebirth. At its peak in the twenties, the domed casino room hosted performers such as the great Dames - Nellie Melba and Clara Butt. Today, its fenced exterior gazes forlornly to a Mazda dealership and railway station.

Just before tackling the final climb, you�ll see a white line and stencil of a bike painted on the bitumen. This is the start of the time-trial up to Shipley Plateau. The record, I believe is just under twenty minutes. Not bad for a seven-kilometre climb, Category 2, averaging 5%.

But when the sun is out and there�s no traffic, I prefer to take it easy, especially on the smooth section through the rainforest. When our children were young, we�d bring them here to walk in the enchanted forest to the Mermaid�s Cave. No mermaid, no bushrangers. But, always time for Dad to echo �cooooeeee� off the sandstone cliffs.

Today�s time-trial? A weary thirty-two minutes. At the white-line finish, I have to decide whether to turn left and head to Logan Brae for some restorative fresh fruit and juice. Or right, to Blackheath... caffeine and cake. Uuuummm...

For a YouTube video of this ride, visit here

Garmin details here