Page 64 - AMB Freelist

The Wilman Trail is an easy green trail that follows along the side of the Collie River from Soldiers Park, in the heart of Collie, out to the Wagyl Biddi trail network. It’s a compact network, with about 8km of trail if you count Wilman Trail. Lined by one of the meanders of the river, there isn’t a lot of elevation to be had, but what is
there has been used well. The trails have plenty of berms, rollers and small rock gardens, and if you are inexperienced in riding pea gravel, this is a great place to hone your skills. It is cool to be riding trails right in the centre of town. They’re perfect if you’ve driven in late in the afternoon and want a quick spin to get some stiffness out of the legs.
After the Wagyl Biddi trails we roll around town looking at the sights, Rod falling back into his role of tour guide, with snippets of information about upcoming developments, as we visit the disused
outdoor velodrome and call back past the bike shop. We had to buy something.
ONTO THE TRAILS AT COLLIE
We meet at the Wellington Dam kiosk early the next morning. Dave Willcox and Gerran Turner of Common Ground Trails are there to show us what the team have been working on. Archie and Ben rejoin us for Collie round two. It’s school holidays so why not!
On a short fireroad climb as we head out to ride Big Dipper, memories from years gone by flood back to me; the first National XC Round I ever raced went up this climb. Names like Woods, Sharples, Rowney and Eva float around in my head. Welli Dam was always a cracker. I’m keen to see what’s on offer. We rider Big Dipper, a fun green flow trail with lots of berms and rollers
with a hint of the ubiquitous WA pea gravel. It, along with the following blue flow trail Whip’n Hollow, are the perfect warm up before you slog back along the Jabitj fireroad, Noongar for running water, and into Lichen This.
Lichen This is pretty special. In an amazing piece of forest, it climbs up through granite boulders with a few crossings of a watercourse as it goes. At the top, Dave peels off for a quick work meeting. It’s not all riding and building as a trail builder, I guess! We head back through the carpark and north to ride Van Dam. This green trail is graded for adaptive use, but it includes off-shoots that are blue rated. Towards the bottom the trail straightens. The gradient is mellow, and we find ourselves pushing faster and pedalling harder. We hit a series of berms, possibly too fast, but doing so just adds to the enjoyment. Then we’re straight into a series of
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