[AUS] Canberra ebike ride - 24th or 26th of March

Hyena

10 GW
Joined
Aug 13, 2008
Messages
6,222
Location
Sydney, Australia
So it's that time of year that I head interstate for a work conference and try to catch up with fellow ES members while doing so.

Who's up for a ride around Canberra ? The closer to the CBD the better as it'll give me more time (I'm in a fairly tight schedule) but I'll let you locals decide which is the best place to go for a scoot.
Along the water?
I see trails on Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain - are they worth doing ?
Somewhere else ?
A bit of single track would be good but I'm up for whatever (I'll bring a new beta)

After lunch on Friday the 24th I'll be free until 5:30 pm otherwise Sunday arvo after 5 or on the off chance you guys are bums and not working tuesday :p I'll be free before heading home later that afternoon then too.

Those are my free times so I'll try and get in a ride in there either way - all are welcome to join me if/where possible :)
 
Count me in for the 24th. I'll knock off work early cause it's totally worth it. :D

As for location, there are 2 deciding factors.
How mobile are you? How much range will you have?

There is a good selection of single track and fire trail in and around the Red Hill area, just south of Parliment house, and if you can stretch it a bit further there's even better stuff down through Isaacs Ridge. That's where I took 9lives the first time we met up.
https://goo.gl/maps/maRXsosaW6D2

[youtube]goGQPJwP__g[/youtube]

I would vote for Isaacs ridge as there's still plenty of single track through there I haven't explored. :)

Cheers
 
Cool. I've got 1300 whrs - 18s 20ah so should be enough for a decent ride around. I'm running 6kw but obviously that's easily limited to stretch out a ride if needs be. It'll be good for 40 km of mixed hard riding so I suspect that'll be enough. If there's somewhere really sweet to ride further out of town I can always throw it in the car
 
Bruce ridge does look good also...I've never been there. Is it popular? The good thing about Red Hill / Isaacs ridge is it isn't too popular generally.
There is also a good amount of single track down that way, and I know a lot of the back routes which have barely any one else on them.
Heading south would also give us the opportunity to detour via parliament house for a few cheeky photo's. :p

Cheers
 
I haven't ridden at red hill so I guess we're even. I'm curious to see what it's like. I know the trails at Bruce well because I've ridden there a lot it's close to my home. The tracks do suit Ebikes nicely and the traffic is usually pretty quiet.
I wouldn't really care too much where the riding happens anyway, just will be cool to meet you guys and go riding.
 
Similarly, I'm not too fussed about location, so happy either way.

If we head south this is the rough route I would take us. Some sections appear to be on major roads, but that's just because google maps doesn't know about all the back routes.

https://goo.gl/maps/uifcASUXr2y
It's about 35km all up and will probably take about 1 1/2 hours or a bit longer if we attempt to get some good video footage, etc. :)

Cheers
 
Are you guys getting all that rain down there ?
It's been bucketing down here solidly for a week and the trails are super muddy and washed out.

If it keeps up and Canberra has been copping it too that might limit things a bit.
 
Apparently we will have some of that rain....pretty much all week, but not Friday.
Capture.JPG

Yeah, some of the trails might be a bit muddy, but most of the fire trails and single track have pretty good drainage around here. There might be a few muddy sections, but nothing too bad.

So where do we wanna meet and when?

There's a pretty good spot right next to a car park here:
https://goo.gl/maps/PPG8a7y6Qa62
We could meed at the BBQ area just to the west of the bridge after lunch, say around 2PMish. Would that work for everyone?

Cheers
 
Yeah looks like there will be some rain during the week but like you said CD the tracks around here are mostly well drained.
Took my alpha for a spin today and it's still running strong. Had some problems recently with motor misfiring but I think I found the problem ( loose hall sensor plug ). I really haven't done much to this bike since I finished building it.
I haven't ridden it as much as I would've liked to due to a work promotion taking much of my spare time.
Anyway im stoked to meet you guys so I hope the rain doesn't go crazy like it's been in Sydney :lol:
 
The weather here has been horrid and the trails are totally washed out - I'm looking forward to sneaking in a ride somewhere a bit dryer.
Unfortunately I may not have my beta finished in time, I only got the last of the parts I needed last night and I have to leave tomorrow morning. Worst case I'll man-handle my alpha into the car and bring that instead.
 
Yeah, we've copped a good amount of that rain also the last few days.
All I can say is, prepare to get a bit muddy....if you can't beat it, just embrace it. :D

Does your Alpha have the same kind of range?

The first and last 5km of our route is on shared bike paths and back roads, so we'll have to dial the power down anyway to keep it sensible, so I don't imagine range being a great issue for anyone anyway.

My missus is commandeering our SUV, so I'm gonna have to manhandle my Fighter into my Prius as well. :roll:

Cheers
 
Cowardlyduck said:
Yeah, we've copped a good amount of that rain also the last few days.
All I can say is, prepare to get a bit muddy....if you can't beat it, just embrace it. :D
Yeah I thought that may have been an issue looking at the forecast. I'm supposed to be in a meeting Friday afternoon at 430pm now. I was planning to do a quick change in the carpark and head straight in after the ride but that might be pushing my luck a little now... :lol:

Does your Alpha have the same kind of range?
Nope, it has nearly double :mrgreen:
32ah 20S

The first and last 5km of our route is on shared bike paths and back roads, so we'll have to dial the power down anyway to keep it sensible
Indeed, one of the ebike 10 commandments - Thou shall ride thine high powered ebike sensibly in public :p

My missus is commandeering our SUV, so I'm gonna have to manhandle my Fighter into my Prius as well. :roll:
Fighter isn't SO bad but my alpha is essentially a bomber at 50kg so it's a struggle.
 
Ah 4:30 is a bit tight.

How about we bring the meetup time to 1:30 with the aim to depart right at 2PM then? I reckon we can fit the ride into a couple of hours easy, but it's always good to have a buffer and I have a few idea's for camera positions/setups to make a killer video out of the ride if we have the time.

Cheers
 
Is there a carpark and open area close to where you're proposing we spend most of the ride ? If I can drive directly there I could bring my drone, but don't want to have to lug it around the whole time ideally.
 
Probably easier to stick with the current meeting place for everyone I reckon.

There's plenty of open space over the lake, if you don't mind flying your drone above water. We could easily get a bunch of shots while we wait for others to turn up if you can make it to the meeting spot by 1:30ish.
https://goo.gl/maps/Be4HBSMU4pB2
This is right next to the BBQ area I suggested we meet at.

Cheers
 
Jay if you're pressed for time I can pick you up at your hotel I have a van which carries 2 Ebikes with ease. Save a lot of time loading and unloading bikes. If you're staying at the Crowne Plaza then that's even better as that's where I work.
 
Cowardlyduck said:
There's plenty of open space over the lake, if you don't mind flying your drone above water.
I've flow it over water plenty of times :)

[youtube]--5NuJdcepM[/youtube]
That wasnt too far off shore but whether it's out 1m or 500m once it drops in the drink it's a gonner.

I've also flown it about 1km straight off a cliff in the blue mountains where it would surely be gone forever if something went wrong. When it suddenly loses signal when it's almost out of sight and you can't tell which way is home and it's just a speck in the distance - that's your heart starts to sink!



IanM said:
Jay if you're pressed for time I can pick you up at your hotel I have a van which carries 2 Ebikes with ease. Save a lot of time loading and unloading bikes. If you're staying at the Crowne Plaza then that's even better as that's where I work.
Thanks mate,
I'm staying less than 1km away so it shouldn't be a biggy either way.
The hardest part will be getting it in the car at this end (if I bring the alpha - which is looking more likely given the beta is still in pieces :(
 
No worries. Pity about the beta I was looking forward to seeing one up close. No point rushing a build, things often get missed. Only 6-10mm rain predicted today and none tomorrow most tracks should be reasonably dry, fingers crossed :lol:
 
Yeah Ian I was looking forward to finally finishing it and getting out for a decent ride and snapping a few photos. But instead we'll roll as the alpha team :)

Ducky, I have plenty of range, time is my biggest constraint.
Re: Parliament house, no biggy really. I'm free tuesday morning too so can go for a scoot around the city to explore the sights and snap a few shots.

On an unrelated note, does anyone have a solid bike lock I can borrow for a few days ? I never leave my bike unattended anywhere so have never bothered with one but I'm going to leave it chained up at the conference where I am so want something sturdy. I guess I can just buy one tomorrow but I'll probably only use it this one time.
 
Back
Top