Our "beginners" ride was a bit stiffer than perhaps we'd intended - it turns out there are some steep hills in the Blue Mountains!

We started the morning crammed onto 3 cars of an old Blue Mountains train - the fourth being out of action due to vandalism. The train driver took pity on us and stashed a couple of bikes in his cabin. Bikepackers can't wait for the new trains, which have dedicated bike spots (and proper doors!).

It was drizzly and cold when we arrived in Wentworth Falls, so we stopped in at the German bakery for coffee and pastries. We rolled out along the footpath next to the highway (sorry, "Great Blue Mountains Trail") and on down Kings Tableland Rd. It got better as we passed the old Queen Victoria Sanitorium and the road turned to dirt. The fog made for some moody scenes, as did the rumbling thunder behind us.

After lots of rolling hills we ended up at the end of the fire trail, and had lunch and checked out both of the McMahons Point lookouts. The fog was gracious and lifted temporarily to give us a better view.

Then it was back up the fire trail and onto Andersons Trail, which is gated to cars and so very nice riding. It turned into a nice downhill and then a very steep downhill to cross Bedford Creek. Did we all ride across without falling in? Hmm... no.

Of course, when you go down, you must go up, and in this case it was up a very, very steep (basically unrideable) hill on the Ingar firetrail. Some of us tried to ride but it was only a matter of time before everyone was pushing their bike up the hill.

Fortunately we eventually reached the turnoff to Ingar campground, and rolled down there to set up for the evening. Many had a swim in the chilly reservoir, and we spotted a red belly black snake swimming across as well. Tents went up, dinner was cooked, and a couple of riders even brought folding camp chairs (deluxe!).

We were in bed by 8.30pm, though the people camping closer to the reservoir had to block out the sound of the frogs (Striped Marsh Frog and Peron's Tree Frog for the herpetologists).

In the morning it was a rude climb straight away, followed by a very fun (scary?) downhill back to the creek - most walked the last, steepest section. Again, some rode across without falling in, and some fell in.

We climbed gradually up to the tops in Woodford, and had a break at the top of the Oaks firetrail.

Then it was a very pleasant mostly-downhill through the bush, made even better by the singletrack at the end. The first section was fairly flowy and easy, the second section was particularly difficult on loaded bikes but fun nonetheless!

Then it was our last pair of down-ups, this time on the tarmac: down to the causeway at Glenbrook Creek, and back up the other side.

We ate pies in Glenbrook and packed onto the train. A great time was had, and everyone's keen for more bikepacking!

If you'd like to do this ride yourself, we've written it up here.