The Track

NOOSA ENDURO 2008 IS GOING BUSH!

The new track starts and finishes in Pomona, which puts us much closer to the great trails and also brings the spectators much closer to the action. The course incorporates many recognisable trails (from last year) as well as a few new and equally impressive ones added to keep you on edge.  

The 100km riders will push off at 6:30am down Station St, Pomona and under the railway tracks in the opposite direction to last year. Up the grass fire break and across Yurol Rd into Porters Rd, right onto Ringtail Ck Rd over a small creek crossing, in seek of the fruitful trails of Ringtail State Forest that lay ahead. This section will see you explore only the best Ringtail has to offer. A few climbs to make your quads feel alive, accompanied of course with some fun downward sailing. Although a little less enduring than the second 50k (Kin Kin), you had better be on your game to tackle this fast, exuberant section.  

On the return leg, the race follows fire breaks from Ring Tail Creek before crossing Yurol Forest Drive again and onto twin track and some great single tracks skirting the forestry ending with a short trip on gravel leading back into Stan Topper Park for the finish of the Intermediate 50k riders and check point (2) / refuel station for the 100k’rs.

All advanced 50km riders (start time : 6.50am) and intermediate 50km riders (new start time : 7.10am) will set off out of Pomona towards Cooran via the base of Mt Cooroora. This section has a couple of rocky steep pinches that tax the legs but are perfectly rideable. Following is possibly one of the best few kilometres of fire road in the country. It's mostly down hill and connects beautifully between water bars and the odd off-camber corner. But…it ends with a short mongrel of a hill that only the best will ride.

Turning right into Cooran sees a small stretch of black top. The good news is it’s down a massive hill with a left right switch back at the bottom just made for heroics.

Headed out of Cooran on Tablelands Road gives the legs a rest for about three minutes before a right turn into Arthys Road starts the climbing that will be your friend for the next hour or more. Arthys Road climbs relentlessly up the side of the Tablelands Range before heading bush onto 4x4 tracks that just get steeper.

Not long before the welcome Tablelands Lookout is the ‘Mother’. This hill is so named as it is the mother of them all. Not overly long, although you can’t see the top from the bottom. Not overly rocky, but you have trouble standing on it. Not overly rideable although some reckon they have!! (There are bragging rights up for grabs for those who can actually ride the thing with feet in the pedals – ya, Good Luck).
Having sucked what may seem to be all the oxygen out of the entire universe, and the ‘Mother’ behind you, the climb continues past the lookout and into Trail Three of the network headed ever upwards over water bars nick named ‘stairway to heaven’ before coming out onto Woondum Forest Drive Road. A short climb and then…

A right turn on Trail Three sends you plummeting down ‘the arm pumper’ an amazing two k section of rain forest trail into a rock garden before being spat out onto another forest road, where you will be glad to get some feeling back into those arms.

From here, except for a couple of short steep climbs it’s almost all down hill for a while. The rolling nature of the forest fire breaks in this section, and the fact we will have all the gates open on the day, mean you can really let fly as you descend on Johnston’s Lookout.

From here its down hill till you meet Pender Creek Lane and Sister Tree Creek Road for two ks leading into the third check point (3) at Kin Kin Sports Ground for a hard earned pit stop.

After a quick refuel, riders will once again head out of town via Trail three (3) and four (4) and begins with a creek crossing then through farming land. It exits onto Shepperson’s Lane before entering Shepperson’s Park and climbing the third and last of the huge ranges of the race. The track is easy to ride with a few flat sections to give the legs a rest but towards the lookout its gets mighty rocky and only the trials riders amongst the field will ride one 50 metre section.

From here the track continues up to the top of the range before hurtling down on forest tracks emerging onto Simpson’s Road at Cootharaba. It continues onto Cootharaba Road before entering a dairy. Through the yards it climbs again to join Black Pinch Road and shoots across to the orchard and descends on that nasty grass hill climb in the (07) 60k Enduro making way back to Stan Topper Park, Pomona for the finish of the Noosa Enduro 100km and the Andvanced 50k. Well Done, you have conquered one of the country’s favourite ‘TO-DO’ endurance mtb races.