Page 69 - AMB Freelist

What to expect: A varied network of well-constructed trails a short ride from town with a bit of everything for everyone. Expect to see a large proportion of riders shuttling, but there are some good climbing options for riders who want to earn their turns.
Where to stay: The Experience Nannup app has a range of options including camping, farm stays, bed and breakfasts and the Nannup Hotel.
Best coffee: Melo Velo
Best place for a meal: Nannup
Brewing Company
Don’t miss: The Weitj Nature Playground at Marino Tomas Bicentennial Park is worth a look if you have kids in tow.
Columbia feel to it. “Steep and deep” springs to mind.
On the long fire road climb out, Brett talks about how impressed he is by the construction of Man vs Machine. “It is hard to build a trail like that with massive features and have the speed right. Every run carries you into the gap jumps perfectly. If you have the ability all you have to do is roll in.”
We ride on, heading along Folly Farmer, an open blue flow trail, to get to the steep rock section at the bottom of Blackwood. The enormity of what the trail crew has built since December 2020 is beginning to become apparent. 38km of quality trail in around 20 trails is a big build on a hill this size.
We ride back to the Galena Trailhead, climbing part of Weitj Awhile on the way. With dark clouds in the sky looking ominous, we drop into Eagle Eye. It starts with plenty of fun rollers to pop off as it traverses through established pines along a ridge heading north from the Galena Trailhead. Crossing a fire road, we drop off the ridge and into a young pine forest, the trees thickly packed as they haven’t been thinned yet. The trail is still cut wide, so the visibility is good when it is straight and level, but as it drops into a series of steeper turns, the
ability to read the trail and make quick judgments
become key.
We pop out of the pines and over a rocky outcrop,
off the edge and back into more steep turns and back in the plantation. This is the type of trail I’d happily lap daily. The rain comes down hard as we ride back to the top before go to finish with the top section of Cheap Thrills. It’s green. The gradient is mellow, just right to have a lot of fun. Three Chillies trail crew double, manual and flow through it in a demonstration that not all trails need to be hard to be enjoyable.
We drive the five kilometres into town to clean up before dinner. The muddy bikes get a wash, and we shower and head to the newly opened Nannup Brewing Company for dinner. As we eat, we chat about the progression in trails and trail building in the state over the last few years. One of us mentions what we on the road trip have been thinking for a while: it feels like there is a friendly rivalry between the local builders. They see what another crew are doing and in response step
up their game too. Peter Smythe has a different perspective “At Three Chillies, we’re finally getting the opportunity to build the trails we want to ride.” At Nannup they have been given a very big opportunity. They have taken it, and delivered.
AMB’s must ride trails
Eagle Eye: Fun, fun, fun. A great blue trail, pumpy rollers, some rocky bits, steep sections and corners. Just a really good time on a bike.
Easy Tiger: A fun way to get started at the Tank 7 Trailhead. Full of rollers, hip jumps and heaps of 180-degree berms to finish. This is the epitome of a Three Chillies trail.
Man vs Machine: Not for the majority of riders this trail has probably
the biggest features in Western Australia. Even if you can’t ride them, it is worth having a look at just to
try and understand how well some people can ride.
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