I’ve had this thing about unicycling ‘in town’… I never have, preferring to ride in the forest near our home. Today I finally got over it and man, what a blast of an afternoon!
The Twin Bridges loop starts at the picturesque Central Springs park at the base of Lake Daylesford. The track then splits into two, cut into the hillside on both sides as it follows Wombat Creek, varying from walking track, fast smooth single track, technical rocky single track to dirt and wooden steps and other man made obstacles – GREAT off road unicycling! The track on the shaded side is damp and slippery, and the track on both sides narrows at times with a steep drop down to the creek on one side. Awesome!
The Twin Bridges loop is part of a popular mineral springs walk and as such is best ridden at off peak times i.e. weekdays during the day.
I really enjoyed the buzz and challenge of riding somewhere new, of not knowing what is around the next corner, and rode multiple laps of the loop in both directions until I ran out of time. There were sections I couldn’t clear on the 29’er, especially the large dirt/wood steps cut into the hill and ultra narrow large rocky sections, but it was a great opportunity to practice and try stuff out on the 29’er that previously with the narrow rim I probably would’ve walked. I’ll return on the 24″ and the 20″ to work on clearing those.The flow of the track when ridden in the clockwise direction is just fantastic, a great mix of terrain.
The KH Freeride 29’er with the new wide rim now fitted with a new WTB Stout 2.3 was a blast to ride today. I’m super happy with the wide rim, with it the 29’er is a great feeling off road machine. After obsessing about crank length on the 29’er I swapped back to 150’s which really suited the ride overall. View the GPS replay of the ride
The Twin Bridges Loop would also make for an awesome evening/night ride – that is now on my list of rides I’ve gotta do this winter!
The dirt walking track around Lake Daylesford is an easy fast cruise – would be a hoot on a 36’er – following the edge of the lake the whole way around. I’ve often thought of unicycling at Lake Daylesford as not only is it scenic, but there are numerous man made obstacles to practice on that you just don’t come across in the forest.
Now that I’ve broken my ‘in town’ voodoo and ridden at the lake and springs area I’m sure I’ll return many times with 20, 24, 29 and 36 uni’s especially to improve my technical skills on man made obstacles as well as exploring more of the trails that offer great riding for all wheel sizes. NICE!
I’m wiped out, that was a great ride today. Thanks to Eric the Red for putting me onto the Twin Bridges trail!