Flow Mountain Bike acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Mogo and the surrounding area, the Yuin peoples. We recognise their connection to lands, waters and communities and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
New beginnings | Riding the new trails in Mogo, NSW
Sardined in the back of an old 1980s Land Rover Perentie with a Shingleback swinging off the tow hitch, eucalyptus lapping at the side of the truck en route to the top of the new Mogo Trails Mountain Bike Park, we learned a little bit of the story behind the hero trail Big Dog’s Bones, we were about to ride.
“Yeah, funny story behind that trail name. One of the big bosses ended up breaking a coupl’a ribs on this track during an early test run. Not for the faint of heart!” says Mogo Trails Manager Shane Spicer.
Spicer, the owner of a dog named Neil, and very handy on a bike (or so the locals have inferred), was our faultless tour guide for a few days. The sunrise ride session was in full swing, and Spicer was already getting us acquainted with what to expect from the new Mogo Trails mountain bike network. With 130kms planned and 70kms or so ready to ride, there was a lot for us to see. And we hadn’t even eyeballed the black jump line yet!
Come along as we go go to Mogo!
Related:
Mogo is located three-and-a-half hours south of Sydney and two hours from Canberra and is the little — or by scale, large — gem in the crown of a trio of new mountain bike parks developed recently on the NSW South Coast.
Doing the maths in the car en route from North East Victoria, a cheeky 8hrs from Mogo, Nick asked,
“Wait, how many times have you guys been back to the South Coast this year?”
The answer was five times in six months to visit Narooma and Eden, and surprisingly not for the ocean, but for the bikes! Or perhaps, some unique, blissful mix of the two that the southeast coast has in spades. Mogo Trails has likely solidified that this trend will only continue to occur.
On our latest coastal escapade were a few of the Flow crew gathering from near and far. Murray the Muzzler/Murraytini Farrell, drone lord Pat Farrell, seaweed man Lyndog Lee, tech queen Lia Ladbrook, notorious gear guy Mr Nicholas Martin and yabber mouth Em Chadwick were keen to get around the riding, kayaking, just a sprinkle of donkey feeding, and cocktail sipping on offer.
Quirky with a side of tech flow
The striking thing about Mogo Trails is the network seems to replicate the quirkiness and character of the town itself. Unlike a lot of bike parks that have one trail hub, the Mogo Trails network is spread across four trailheads with a multitude of tech, flow and laaaarge jumps. It feels like a labyrinth of playful, changing fun.
Having three brand new trailheads in the works means everyone can spread right out across the network, and it also offers diversity in style, dirt and backdrop.
Poking out the bottom of one descent, Lia asked,
“Wait, there are more trails up that way, too?” looking up towards three trails converging like the end of a maze.
The trailheads have each been intentionally established for a distinct rider group and style of riding. The Mogo Town trailhead near the township welcomes beginner riders with green and blue flow trails to get started and a wild amount of retaining rock acting as a clear feature guiding you into the park. As the network extends, the trail difficulty increases the further out you ride.
The Curtis Trailhead is on the east side of the network and is the ideal entry point for folks pedalling in from their accommodation on the beach. The Botanical Gardens is another trailhead that helps to link up the broader network and offers a good spot for a quick coffee or wildflower peruse before a pedal.
Up the hill, there are a heap of named trail hubs like Mogo Trig and Wombat Soup Junction, which is home to jump city for those who are just learning to get tyres off the ground, as well as those with a lot of air time under their belt.
The trailheads might not be as fancy and established as other locations, but there is a no-frills genius to how they have been curated to offer something different at each spot. And hey, the end of the fire road feel brings the place back to an authentic mountain bike style.
This thoughtfulness and consideration for potential future use has been crafted by Rocky Trail Destination. With a background in Fox Superflow and Rocky Trail Academy events across Australia, this experience in the event space must have heavily informed the master plan. If one trailhead is closed for an event, there is still plenty for everyone else to explore, and each location could offer a hub for a different style of riding or event format.
You can stay in one region or spend your time linking the whole network in a day and ending up at the beach, the Botanical Gardens or the Wildlife Park. This foresight lends itself well to future plans in the works for Mogo Trails to host Sea Otter in 2025. Historically an event that draws maaaaasssssiiiiivvveeee crowds, with a mix of disciplines from cross country, to gravel and downhill, each trailhead is geared well for this kind of variety.
Whilst the crew are only working with 110m of elevation, they have really leveraged volume in these areas, with one up track leading you to three or four descent trails each time. I cannot wait to see the final Trailforks upload with so many different lines to choose, in such a condensed area.
The flow trails seem to feature jumps that all have a bit of hip and play to them. Marcelo Cardona of Next Level Mountain Bike, described the feel of this style of riding well.
“On certain trails like Compression Session we have really tried to create variety and something that slaps you in the face and forces you to focus. These trails are all about movement, pumping and changing direction. You will absolutely be exhausted at the end of the descent, but it means you are really active on the bike, which is a lot of fun,” says Cardona
The jump lines we saw includes a blue jumps trail with gradually progressing pop, right next door to a big step up to the black jump line. Nick had a bit to say about it after hitting the first line blind.
“Those are huge jumps but they feel so safe to ride, I wasn’t even worried about getting bucked,” he said still giggling.
With a jump line that falls away on the escarpment with an outlook to Mt Wandera, there is something pretty specky about the trail features and alignments chosen. I am sure that this is by no means an accident by the trail crew.
Cardona confirmed a lot of work has gone into developing trail features, the style of jumps and drops particularly where organic features have been lacking. They have leveraged rock retaining and metal jump forms to support the build in some of the areas that are more bare.
Murray, with his cinematic eye echoed the coming together of alignment, views and some solid retaining;
“That huge retaining drop down there, makes you feel like you are falling off into the sunset,” he says.
This creative approach working in with natural contours and some serious retaining, was aptly described by Jamie Clout the President of the Batemans Bay MTB club, who we ran into out on the trails.
“The trail-building crew are 100% the special sauce behind this project!” he said.
The cooks in the kitchen concocting that spicy sauce are Next Level MTB on the ground as the subcontractor and Rocky Trail Destination managing the whole build. Next Level has worked primarily on projects in Tasmania, including Silver City. This organic, rocky style of build is certainly clear across the tech trails in the sampling of trails built so far. Marcelo reflected on what is to come and trails still under construction.
“We are working in an area at the moment that is an extension to the old community-built trails, and we have some really large granite boulders that the trail crew have b-lined to. We haven’t had many natural features to work within the network so far, so this will round out the more challenging technical part of the network,” he says.
That and an adventure trail in the works from Mt Wandera right into Batemans Bay makes this spot a biking playground, with quite a few different flavours to choose from.
The quality of the build and master planning results from $8-million AUD in grant funding, and a lot of work from Mogo Trails Manager Spicer engaging with Forestry NSW for the development. There seem to be quite a few herbs and spices in the mix to make this all happen.
A brew or two
The NSW South Coast already has some pretty large draw cards. Beautiful national parks abound the sea, quirky little towns with fresh produce and primo pub finds. However, the town of Mogo is one of the more unique stop-offs on the old coast road. Think, old second-hand bookstores out of a timber stilted house, a plant store that feels like stepping into a secret garden glass house, and an ice cream shop right out of a 1950s drive-in.
Among the mix of quirky cool was the crowd favourite, the Oaks Ranch, our accommodation for the weekend and home to Gloria, one of our newfound donkey friends!
The unique mix of Balinese day beds within a rural Aussie backdrop had us all ordering a negroni before we even unpacked the bikes, wondering if we were about to feature in the Australiana version of the Glass Onion — minus the whole murder mystery part. Alas, we would have to meet Daniel Craig on another occasion and settle with sipping cocktails in a wildlife sanctuary watching the kangaroos munching the grass.
Cocktails aside, if you are looking for something a little more post-ride munchies vibe, the Broulee Brewhouse serves a solid feed with craft brews. Oh, and outstanding merch of black cockatoos riding bikes. How could we not invest?
Broulee Brewhouse has also been coined the birthplace of the Batemans Bay Mountain Bike Club, and word on the street is they are currently developing a Trail Crew Brew to help fund ongoing trail maintenance. Creative thinking to ensure upkeep across the network.
Land mammals take to the water
We all love extra brownie points, and whilst there is a reason most of us have chosen the mountain-dwelling life, it is nice to dip a toe into something different.
Rolling up to the kayak launch, the water was glistening, with a number of fishing boats headed out. When I overheard a little chatter about the sea life.
“What, we might see a eagle ray?”
Thinking eagle ray spotting was a thing of long-lost memories of Thailand trips to swim with these magestic beasts. It hadn’t quite occurred to me you can also do that on our doorstep!
Safe to say, kayaking was an excellent addition to the weekend, and whilst we did not eyeball any manta rays this trip, we did spot land mammal Nick Martin well outside his comfort zone. That is more than enough for me.
This optional extra can also be followed by a hearty breakfast serving at Grumpy & Sweethearts, a place aptly named after the old couple that used to own it.
A network built from community
Most of the locals we met out riding were either from Broulee or Mogo, with a few blow-ins visiting from Sydney, Canberra or, in our case, all the bloody way from North East Victoria. Are we keen to ride bikes? Perhaps!
The existing network is built in addition to 30km of community-built singletrack, making this one of the largest networks in Australia.
Catching up with a few of the locals and transient travellers who found their way to Mogo for a sneak peek, we managed to run into a particularly vibrant individual, Phil.
“I really had hoped someone would show up to ride the new jumps with me today!” he said with excitement.
I hadn’t seen a bloke this stoked to find a crew to ride with in some time! Old mate Phil showed us the ropes of the jump line, towing in the crew. A few other keen young shredders were also getting involved, heckling on the sidelines and sampling some of the green and blue trails peeling off the trail hub.
The locals expressed that the inception of the mountain bike club started with about 50 members gathering for a beer at Broulee Brewhouse (or the unofficial clubhouse). Starting at 50, memberships had already grown to hundreds before the new network even launched. It will be amazing to see what happens as the trail network continues to come online and what it will do for local kids progressing in the sport with such a maze of options.
They say good things take time. For Mogo, it has been eight years in the making and construction to bring the mountain bike community this last gem in the crown of the NSW South Coast.
Who knows what another eight years under the belt will do?
Meet the Team
- Emma Chadwick | Chief stenographer, host and all-around legend
- Lyndon Lee | Master of the air, land and seaweed
- Nick Martin | Land mammal just looking for the dirt jumps
- Lia Ladbrook | Gravity Queen who does a mean suicide no-hander when she’s not hosting
- Pat Farrell | Stills guy and Chief Vibes Officer
- Murray Farrell | Inventor of terrible driving games, but is pretty good with moving images