Mountain Biking Melrose, SA

Melroseis enticing mountain bikers to their tiny rural community with a terrific network of trails and some big plans for the future. We all love to ride new trails. It doesn’t have to be the most thrilling or spectacular trail—simply being ‘new’ is enough in many cases.So when holidays arise, many keen mountain bikers venture out in search of new trails. For some it may be a driving holiday with the family that just happens to include a few cool riding destinations along the way, those less encumbered may be after a full blown MTB road trip!

MelroseinSouth Australiais looking to tap into this burgeoning market of ‘mountain bike tourism’ and is a great place to visit. It is a small rural town three hours drivenorth westofAdelaide. You’ll find it on the road betweenClareValleyand Wilpena Pound—two ofSouth Australia’s most renowned travel destinations.Melrosenestles in the foothills of Mt Remarkable. At 960 metres above sea level, the mountain sits almost 600 metres above the town and is the highest peak in the Southern Flinders Ranges. With bushwalks, wineries and a number of historic buildings,Melroseis a tourist attraction in its own right.

Of course the attraction for us was the network of purpose built mountain bike trails.Melrosehas attracted tons of MTB press lately, but when you hear stories of the State Minister for Tourism, Jane Lomax-Smith making a special appearance to open 15km of new singletrack, you begin to pay attention. Many towns inAustraliarefuse to acknowledge mountain biking as a legitimate recreation while here they have a state minister travelling three hours fromAdelaideto open a new trail!

This 15km of new trail supplements the existing 35km of singletrack and many kilometres of management trails in the greaterMelrosearea. In fact, their master plan is to have 200km of MTB singletrack by 2010!

Town with a Vision

Initially you’d assume that a well funded mountain bike club or a large local MTB population must have pushed these developments through (perhaps with a little bribery to sweeten the deal). However this couldn’t be further from the truth. Richard and Alastair at the recently opened ‘Over the Edge’ bike shop are keen mountain bikers but the local MTB population is pretty thin on the ground. In most respects,Melroseis a typical country town; with a population of 200 it has two pubs in the main street and wool is their main local produce.

So how didMelrosewind up with this trail network on its doorstep? Their mountain bike story began back in 2000 when Bicycle SA was looking to redevelop the Mawson Trail; an isolated 900km trek from Adelaide to Blinman. They wanted to draw more visitors into the communities along its route and singletrack trails were recognised as one way to entice people off the main Mawson Trail.

Then CEO of Bicycle SA, Peter Solly, was one of the instigators of theMelrosetrails. At the time there were only a few poorly designed walking tracks but he recognised the potential that the area held. On this visit, Peter befriended Mike Pearce a local who was keen to do something positive within the community. Mike saw an opportunity to do something that other communities were not. Peter recounted, “Mike reluctantly got into politics as it was the only way that the project was going to get off the ground. Now he is a local councillor and really helped with the planning and funding of this project.”

“Aside from Bicycle SA there were no cyclists involved in the early days. It was really the local progress association that pushed this project through—it was simply a group of people with a vision of doing something good for the community. TheMelrosecommunity was just so supportive.”

Funding was also sourced from the Office of Recreation and Sport and eventually through the South Australian Tourist commission. “In early 2000-2002 there were a few people in various government departments as well as myself in Bicycle SA who were passionate mountain bikers and wanted to see the opportunities expand for mountain bike tourism. It was just a stroke of luck that we were all in the right place at the right time” Peter said. Now there is a $70,000 ‘master plan’ that maps out the future of cycle tourism for the Southern Flinders Ranges.

The Fruita Connection

Interestingly, theMelrosecommunity has drawn much inspiration from a small town inColoradoand an American with a big personality—Troy Rarick. Bicycle SA was investigating other examples where MTB tourism had made an impact on small communities and they stumbled across the once small town ofFruita.

Around 13 years ago Fruita was a bankrupt town.Troywas on his way toMoabwhere he was going to manage Poison Spider Cycles (a very famous bike store). He stopped at Fruita and changed his plans as he saw the potential that that area held. He bought an old warehouse and turned it into a bike shop. At that time there were no trails and nothing there—few people had ever heard of Fruita!

Troystarted building trails with his mates and the rest is history. Fruita has gone from having no trails and no cyclists to being the second biggest mountain bike destination in theUS. The town currently has multiple supermarkets, three major hotel chains and a McDonalds—all built on the back of mountain biking.

Bicycle SA built a relationship withTroyand introduced him to the community ofMelrose. He inspired the town andMelroseis keen to follow the example of Fruita, albeit on a smaller scale due to our sparse population. Now there is even talk of FruitaColoradoandMelrosebecoming sister communities.

The Land

All of the singletracks aroundMelroseare on private property but they are open for anyone to ride. This is another fine example of their community spirit. The main trail network leads straight out of town and contains 25km of singletrack that is all on land owned by local farmer Don McCallum. The Bartagunyah property, owned by Rob and Christine Smart, also has around 25km of trails in place. Bartagunyah is a working sheep farm and winery located 5km out of town. A small fee of $10 allows you to ride there. This simply covers insurance and trail signage for the Smart family; buy a bottle of their fine wine and they’ll typically waive the fee!

These people have been happy to open up their land to mountain bikers because they can see some real economic benefits for the community. This ‘good will’ has been helped along by government assisted insurance packages to ensure that the land owners aren’t publicly liable for accidents on their property.

Melrose Trails

Enough about how it happened; what are the trails like? My initial impression came from the main trail network atMelrose. I thought that these trails were surprisingly challenging and ‘edgy’. It is ‘real singletrack’; only a foot wide and often off-camber—it really keeps you on your toes.

The trails may not be overly rocky, loose or rough but the narrow and twisty nature of the riding will definitely make you think. This is not long travel or DH rig territory; riding well on these trails is more about finesse; looking where you want to go and sticking to your line. ‘The Edge’ trail is a prime example of this—veer off line there and you’ll be off a cliff! Similarly,HiddenValleywill make you pay attention, although the consequences are not so dire if you slip off the side. Throwing Copper traverses near the old copper mine and offers a slightly rockier adventure. A few of the originalMelrosesingletracks are a little wider, faster and flow beautifully. Greener Pastures is particularly grin inducing with jumps, natural half pipes and gullies. If anything there is a lack of easy family oriented rides on Mt Remarkable but you can always head for the local rail trail and the showground riding loop.

Most of theMelrosetracks are well marked and there are maps posted in information shelters located in town and at the trail head. A grading system is used with green, blue and black signifying easy, intermediate and advanced difficulty levels. Why did I say ‘most’ of the tracks are well marked? To begin with, some tracks are so new that they are not on the maps—that’s why it is best to drop in on a bike shop for the latest info. In the case of Dodging Bullets, the signage and trail work was there at the start but died out mid-way through, leaving you wandering aimlessly on sheep tracks. It was very new when I visited and needed more use to bed it in. I am told that more markers have since gone in making it easier to follow.

Bartagunyah

The Bartagunyah trails offer a distinctly different riding experience. Much of the riding there follows sheep tracks; as they follow the contours (and each other) the trails tend to meander nicely. Rather than twisting and turning in ever diminishing circles, you feel like you are on more of a journey. Riding there gives you a good sense of how big their property is and the 680 metre high point on Scared Rabbit Lookout will provide views out to Port Pirie on a clear day. Be warned, you need a copy of the trail map and your directional sense when riding at Bartagunyah. The signage is sparse in places and the tracks are not as clearly developed as the trails closer toMelrose. Bear this in mind and hold off on the wine tasting until after the ride as it may fog your navigational prowess! Bartagunyah also offers accommodation and camping opportunities if you desire.

My lasting impression was of a friendly town. I have visited other towns with growing trail networks and in many cases the locals are cold towards mountain bikers and cautious of change. In contrast,Melroseis openly welcoming us to their little community with some fun and challenging trails as well as great hospitality. Ride there if you get the opportunity and support the town that supports mountain biking.

Over the Edge

Bike shops in small rural towns tend to diversify to stay in business—you’ll typically see ‘guns & bikes’, ‘fishing & bikes’, lawn mowers & bikes and so on. Stock may encompass kid’s bikes and very basic adult’s models. Over the Edge inMelroseis different.

They have also diversified but the goods are far from mundane; they sell merino wool gear, nice kids clothes and fine chocolate. The bicycle side of the business is the real eye opener. The shop is littered with upmarket models—Ibis carbon duallies, long travel Knolly bikes from Canada, Orbea carbon XC bikes, Spot single speeds. My initial thought was along the lines of ‘what the hell are they thinking?’ I mean, how many Ibis Mojos are they going to sell in a town of 200? Although, it would be a cool bike for ‘Little Johnny’ to ride to school on!

After a chat with Alastair, Pip and Richard at Over the Edge, I could see that there was some logic behind this seemingly over the top bike shop. They are building Over the Edge as a ‘destination bike shop’. A prospective Ibis buyer fromAdelaideor Port Augusta can drive toMelroseand hire the Mojo for a day to put it through its paces. The hire may cost them $100 or so but they get to see if they really like it. If they choose to buy a bike, their hire fee is refunded. If not, they have still had a blast on a top end Ibis on some amazing trails! Not a bad concept really.

Beyond the potential for bike sales, Over the Edge is equipped for the needs of mountain bikers who come to ride the trails, as well as those who are riding the Mawson Trail.

The shop is certainly worth a look if you are in town. It is actually a franchise of Troy Rarick’s Over the Edge store in FruitaColoradoand modelled on that famous store. While they openly admit that they have gone out on a limb with this concept store, it really adds another drawcard toMelroseand makes it feel like a true mountain biker’s town.

FatTyre Festival

Want to visitMelrosewith a bunch of like minded people? The Fat Tyre Festival could be just what you are after. Unlike most MTB events, the FTF is totally non-competitive—there’s no racing at all during this three day get together.

The festival consists of social rides around the local trails, novelty events like dragster parades around town, night rides and fun events to get the kids involved. There was even a MTB’s versus sheep dogs herding competition where bikes came out on top! Although I should mention that there were at least 10 cyclists against one poor old sheep dog (there were two dogs but the younger was busy chasing a lone sheep into a dam). Of course, sitting around a campfire sipping some of the local wine while watching MTB slides was also a big part of the weekend!

The weather was cold and damp for the 2008 FTF but the atmosphere and people were warm. The lack of racing meant that everyone was pretty relaxed and many felt that the lack of pressure made the rides far more enjoyable.

A highlight for me was the ‘Big Ride’. Thanks to the hard work put in by Alastair Smart and Richard Bruce from OTE Sports, we were given special permission from the Department for Environment and Heritage to walk through 2km of National Park trail (see National Parks Access Issues). This 2km walk allowed a group of 35 to complete a truly epic 50km circumnavigation of Mt Remarkable. Wet weather ensured that it contained some very slippery and challenging riding—all who survived felt very rewarded by their efforts and the scenery round the back side of the mountain was awesome.

If you like the sound of this and want to have some fat tyre fun, the 7th Melrose Fat Tyre Festival, will take place on the 5-8 June 2009.

National Parks Access Issues

With all of the positive action taken by the community ofMelrose, it is a shame that the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) has such an archaic policy on cycling in National Parks. Other Australian states in don’t allow cycling on narrow walking tracks but access isn’t really questioned on management tracks (i.e. gated off fire trails). Before this visit, I was completely unaware that it is illegal to ride on National Parks management tracks inSouth Australia. I imagine that many others wouldn’t be aware of this regulation but that is the current state of play inSouth Australia.

The Fat Tyre Festival included a ride that took in 2km of a management track in the Mt Remarkable National Park and permission was requested to ride this short section of trail. It was assumed that the group could always walk through if consent wasn’t given. The ride was rejected by DEH and they even tried to stop people walking their bikes through! Luckily, after some desperate last minute phone calls to influential politicians inAdelaide, the group of cyclists was finally allowed to walk up this three metre wide management trail.

Special permission was granted and it was only allowed under escort from rangers. It was a bizarre sight; a group of 35 cyclists walking their bikes behind a 2.5 ton DEH four wheel drive! I’m not sure what they expected us to get up to but they certainly wanted to check that we did the ‘right thing’.

After this eye opening incident, we got in touch with DEH to see why cyclists are treated differently in South Australian National Parks. Anne Sellar, Director of Visitor Management told us that “Cycling is allowed on all public roads within parks and reserves. Proposals for cycling on park management vehicle tracks are considered on a case-by-case basis.”

She continued, “Opportunities for cycling are being considered. Cycling has been approved on management vehicle tracks in several parks in SA including,FlindersRangesNational Park(with over 60km of management tracks available as part of the Mawson Trail),BelairNational Park,ShepherdsHillRecreationParkand O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park.”

While this may seem behind the times to people from other states, the fact that they will now consider proposals for cycling is a step in the right direction. Christian Haag, General Manager Bike SA feels that they are certainly more forward looking and commented, “There has been a change in attitude within the DEH in regard to cycling. The fact that they have released a cycling strategy and are working with Bike SA is a real step in the right direction.”

In the meantime, interstate visitors should be aware thatSouth Australia’s National Parks do have some odd rules relating to cycling on their trails.

Just doing their job… Michael and Wendy from National Parks escorted our group in their 2.5 ton 4WD to ensure that we didn’t ride our bikes over this apparently fragile trail.

General Information

Getting There

Melroseis 270km and approximately three hours drivenorth westofAdelaideon B82. The closest cities are Port Pirie and Port Augusta on the coast. If you are driving fromAdelaide, the route through Clare is slower and more scenic with more chance of getting lost. You can also follow A1 as far as Port Germein and then turn inland toMelrose. In either case,Melrosewon’t register on the road signage until you are almost there.

When to Visit

Summer can be very hot in Melrose so it is best avoided. Most trails are fairly open so you may wind up baking in the sun on a 40 degree day. Winter can also be cold when you get a south-westerly change but at least you can rug up. From March through till November is the best bet.

General Supplies

• There is a general store in the main street as well as a post office two pubs and a bike shop. 

Food & Accommodation

• Both pubs offer accommodation and there are a number of bed and breakfast options in and aroundMelrose. Check out www.southernflindersranges.com.au

•MelroseCaravan & TouristParkfor camping or cabins. Phone: (08) 8666 2060

•Melrosecaters well for visitors with good food at both pubs—the North Star is a little more upmarket if you prefer.

• Bluey Blundstone’s is a historic blacksmith’s store that has been converted into a B & B and coffee shop. It is at the northern end of the main street and definitely worth a look. Phone: (08) 8666 2173

• Camping is available for a modest fee at the showground, about 2km north of town. 

Bike Shop, Hire & GuidedTours

• Over the Edge. Richard and Alastair from Over the Edge can show you the best that Melrose has to offer as well as other rides that go well beyond the established trail networks.

Website: www.otesports.com.au

Email: ote@otesports.com.au

Phone: (08) 8666 2222 

Melrose Trail Maps

There are currently two trail maps for the area; Mt Remarkable Mountain Bike Trails covers the rides close to town while Bartagunyah has its own map. Maps can be bought at Over the Edge, the North Star Hotel and from Bartagunyah. Due to the continued expansion of the trail network, not all of the new trails are on the maps, check with Over the Edge bike shop for the low-down when you are there. 

Phone Coverage

You will get mobile reception inMelroseon the Next-G network. 

SouthernFlindersRangesTourism.

www.southernflindersranges.com.au