THORNTON MTB ADVENTURE

Were we brave or were we foolish?  Members of the Centenary Bikeways Group recently participated in an exciting mountain bike ride at Thornton, 25km south of Laidley.

Base camp, set up on Friday afternoon, was in the Centenary Park Camping Ground, which boasts composting toilets, hot/cold shower, laundry tub, bbq, covered picnic tables, children’s playground and is free to a max of 3 nights.  And then it was off to enjoy the hospitality of Mulgowie Country Club Hotel – reasonably priced bistro style meals accompanied by self-serve salad/vegies and $7.50 bottles of wine.

Saturday dawned with overcast skies and a forecast of storms later in the day. Thunder rumbled quietly in the distance as we set out on our adventure which included three ranges, 1,500 vertical metres of ups and downs and 1.7km of un-named road.  Our guide’s commendable research included the RACQ website, Gatton Shire Council and driving the route as far as the gates would allow.

The Fab Five farewelled the grey nomads who outnumbered us in the camping ground and set out along Main Camp Creek Road to join the Bicentennial Trail which we followed for 4km.  The climb to the top of Laidley Gap was done partly on foot and was rewarded with spectacular views and a cool morning breeze.  The ride down the other side was somewhat precipitous and not for the faint-hearted however there followed a very pleasant 10km along Left Hand Branch.  18km of narrow bitumen led to Mount Sylvia then 11km of wider bitumen, passing Caffey and the picturesque Rope Hill Cricket Club where two country cricket matches were in full swing, brought us to Tent Hill where we stopped for lunch at the Tent Hill Caravan Park General Store.  The pub next door does not do weekend lunches.

It was hard to get started after lunch but the Fearsome Five remounted and back-tracked about 10km to Caffey, took Zampechs Road to Caffey Connection Road and on to Ingoldsby then up the valley to Zischkes Road and then the fun really began.  If we thought we worked hard getting up the Laidley Gap we were mistaken.  However, a friendly farmer offered a lift on his tractor that was too good for some of the group to pass up.  The steepness and surface of the road were such that riding was quite impossible and so began a long, hot climb for the others.  A shady tree at the top of the ridge provided a cool, breezy spot for the five of us to regroup before heading off on the un-named road.  Gatton Shire Council records it as a gazetted road, but it’s a secret to everyone else.

So off across the grassy ridge of Rockside we rode, the only hint of roadway being the occasional gate.  Picture if you can five mtb riders in safety yellow, clear blue sky, 360º views and fresh green trackless grass.  But our navigator held firm to his course, measuring off and calculating down to the 100m where we should be.  (GPS would have been useful at this time).  Ropeley Road was proving hard to reach so the decision was taken that any way down would do.  We set off across a paddock containing a herd of Brahman cattle which offered fabulous photo opportunities as they raced with us, rivalling scenes from “The Man from Snowy River” but alas, no camera at the ready.  The new Trek 4300 was tested on the downhill track which hadn’t seen a vehicle in many a long day.  Running very low on water we finally hit the bitumen of Ropeley Road and prevailed upon the first property owner to replenish our bottles. 

Two ranges crossed, one to go, thunder threatening, clouds thickening and daylight dimming we were dodging unfenced cattle on Ropeley Rockside Road when a ute approached.  We thought it was a farmer…the driver thought our lead rider was a farmer on a motor bike.  But it was our saviour, our sixth member who had missed his connection with us at Tent Hill and spent all afternoon searching for us.  Having missed the ride until then he decided to swap car for bike so three members, having completed 60+km, dismounted and drove the car back to camp, leaving three intrepid riders to battle the third range and the imminent storm.  At the top of Rockside Mountain Road a small glitch in the RACQ map on Berlin Road lead to the discovery of a dramatic downhill, partly dirt partly bitumen, fabulous rush, regardless of the rain stinging the face.  A mistaken left into Laidley Mt Berryman Road was offset by a wind assisted 45kph in the pouring rain, a real feat on mtbs.

On reaching the Blenheim State School, the team realised the extent of their mistake, soggy maps were now useless, these guys were just racing the dark.  Right at the T intersection with Laidley-Mulgowie Road meant that that tailwind was now a headwind however, just 3km from Mulgowie two support vehicles intercepted the saturated riders who didn’t need to be cajoled into being driven back to camp.  After 90km and a fabulous day, not even a sodden camp site and one leaky tent could diminish the spirits and it only took a hot shower to prepare us for another evening meal at the Mulgowie pub.

Lingered over a long, leisurely breakfast on Sunday before enjoying the cool and tranquility of the valley on the 26km bitumen loop south to Townson then back to camp for lunch, reluctant packing up, farewells and the journey home.

Many thanks to our guide for his unfailing willingness to plan these trips.  We look forward to the next one.