Musings: Rockside Mountain

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I have amazing friends. When I told them about some rugged hilltop tracks than I wanted to explore, they gladly joined me for another adventure on the bike.

Mount Sylvia has been the starting point of many exciting rides for us.

We rolled out of town on a crisp clear winter morning, past fields full of promising crops.

After a brisk warm-up along a flat road, our day of climbing began as we pushed up Zampechs Road and I quickly fell behind.

The Tenthill Valley spread out before us like a quilt, a patchwork rich in verdant shades.

After riding down the other side we briefly followed Wonga Creek along the Ingoldsby Valley up into the next set of hills.

And so began our second climb, up Ziscakes Road. Although it is designated a “No Through Road” it is on a road reserve which led over this hill and down the other side to Rockside. I wanted to know if it was possible to follow that road reserve.

It’s a steep climb with gradients exceeding 23%. We worked hard as we pushed upwards.

Becca has superhuman hill-climbing abilities. She cheerfully rode ahead and held open the gates while we huffed and puffed past her.

She then quickly caught up to us again after closing the gate behind us.

(Photo: Simon Smith)

We had difficulty following the road reserve at the top of the hill, so we did the best we could, following a steep rocky track down the other side.

We had answered my question – the track was passable, but in parts it was not rideable.

We bumped towards the bottom of the hill – off course, but with a rough idea of where we wanted to end up.

As we drew closer to the bottom, the terrain became steeper and rougher.

We lost the track again, but Simon generously offered to bash through the grass and find it. Thanks Simon!

Down…

…down…

… we eventually emerged in a horse paddock near someone’s back door.

I sheepishly walked over to the farmhouse to confess our sin of trespassing. Mick, the land owner, was surprised to see us, and most amused when he found out where we had come from.

He explained how we could escape his hidden valley, but I told him we were going in the opposite direction, over Rockside Mountain.

“I’m telling you this in case anyone wants to know where to find the bodies”, I joked.

He chuckled quietly.

And so we started the third climb of the day up Rockside Mountain Road.

This one was easier that I had anticipated and we reached the top quicker than expected for a short lunch break.

The 360 degree views at the top are spectacular.

The blistering descent was frantic.

Rockside Mountain Road twists and drops steeply down the other side. We rocketed down the hill grabbing handfuls of brake levers before the tight turns, then tucking in as we accelerated out of the bend.

I am glad there were no cars coming up the hill.

“That was amazing!” I blurted out at the bottom.

For the next eight kilometres we followed a quiet bitumen road with a gentle downhill slope from Mount Berryman to Blenheim. The kind gradient and generous tailwind pushed us quickly along the road. We were in Blenheim in a matter of minutes. I am sure it would have taken ages if we rode this stretch in the opposite direction.

My friends kindly granted me another indulgence as we took a detour to the northwest in order to “join up” this ride with the route from last weeks ride near Laidley.

After satisfying my OCD map-demons, we turned our bikes homeward and slowly ground our way up Kawaltzke Hill.

“All these German names” I mused to myself as I fell further behind the stronger riders, and thought about the German settlers who came to the Lockyer Valley to carve our farms in the nineteenth century.