Is OBR suitable for novice riders ??

[leeroy_83]

Just wondering whether the Old Bathurst Road area is a suitable place for someone new to mountain biking to be riding. Are there lines with massive jumps etc. Do the regular riders/builders mind others using the area?

Thanks.

[roasted]

As far as I know, there are no massive jumps, and most you can roll around.

And I dont think that the builders mind others riding. It is a fairly public trail.

[6UL DV8]

But I would suggest just doing woodford to Glenbrook or something. You should think about respecting others work and what affect the extra traffic and risk of your liability riding there will have on others. It is quite technical for a novice and I would not recomend it. Like the title says it is a free world where you apparently have the right to do as you choose no matter what the affect on others or the environment may be

[No Skid Marks]

Harsh but sort of true. Walk it and decide for yourself. If your not really going to ride it properly you may as well ride elswhere and leave it to your skills are better. The locals don't really dig lots of riders cruising through and if you did hurt yourself you would risk its closure. Also you will just encorage(by using) extra pussy lines that are not needed.

[nickz]

I hardly think one person is a traffic issue. There are some fun sections that are possible to ride by a novice.The majority of it is tech and rocky and a novice would find it very difficult. If in doubt just walk it. I'm sure as long as you don't ruin the trails in any way ( ie alter kickers ) the people who build there shouldn't have a problem. The regular riders became regular by riding there a first time too. I'd try something less full-on first and then go there once your confidence/ability is ready.

[Blue Balls]

Nickz your last line agrees with the other two. and I think they were referring to local residents not riders by locals. Ther really is plenty of other challenging stuff to ride but for sure go check it out.

[nickz]

No Skid Marks posted the same time as me so I couldn't see what he wrote until I posted mine. The penny just dropped over here, I wrote about trail traffic not cars clogging up residents streets type traffic, my mistake. Traffic is a problem for sure as there can be lots of vehicles parked in that little dead end street. A problem also is people hanging out at the end of the trail on the street there.

[leeroy_83]

Thanks for the replies, I'll wait a while before heading down there.

[Grip]

Guys, I reckon ANYONE who bothers to take the time to ask the questions Leeroy did should be encouraged and welcomed to ANY riding spot. It's good to see a respectful approach to riding a new area. Good on you Leeroy.

[nickz]

Great attitude Leeroy, riding new areas is one of the best things about riding bikes I reckon.

[deadparrot]

Hey leeroy,

I reckon the best advice is, to have a look at the OBR tracks. Really the very first time I rode a mountain bike (3years ago) at age 32, I rode OBR together with three other novices on ridgid (cheap) mountain bikes. Granted we fell off many times, but we had an absolute laugh. One of the best days I have ever had on a mountain bike. Thing is with any track that you do not know, take it easy until you get to know the tracks, and please respect the quiet neighbourhood, so keep the noise to a minimum and have a go. As for getting in the way of others, mate they all had to start of slowly, so don't be put off by that. After all it's about having fun.