[Grade: 3][2 Day] Loch Sport Sand Tracks #6

Loch Sport Sand Tracks #6

A repeat of the infamous MADCAT Loch sport ride, get into the sand for the first time, or further tune your skills! See more general information below.

Make your own way down: On the freeway, it takes about 2.5-3 hours to get to Loch Sport from Kilsyth. It takes about 2.5 hours from Kilsyth. Its all made roads if you follow your GPS. Once you turn right at Rosedale, please keep your eyes out for Wildlife, particually Kangaroos.

(Its quite literrally 2 houses up the road from the one we stayed at last time).

Accommodation:  On Friday and Saturday night, we will be staying at holiday house accomodation hosted by Camilla, a friend of fellow MADCAT and Ride Committe member Andy Macey. at 9 Marina Drive, Loch Sport.

The information I have about the accomodation is: “There are 2 queen beds, a bunk, a king mattress, a couch that folds down and an ottoman which pulls out as a single bed. Only the queens and the bunk have linen though. It’s 2 storey but we are keeping upstairs just for us, downstairs has full kitchen and bathroom though! And it’s a double block if people want to swag outside”

So, Bring a sleeping bag and a pillow, and a camp mat as you may need to just roll out somewhere on the floor. There is ample space for camping outside, so if your able to do that, that is also an option.

Payment:

To be advised closer to the date.

More about the riding at Loch Sport:

There is about a 50sq Km area of tracks bordered by Lake Reeve to the south, and Lake Victoria/Lake Wellington to the north, with the Loch sport road running through the middle. The tracks generally have a hard base with a thin layer of sand on the top, however, there are sections of deep sand in places that will present a challenge. The will follow a zig zag of tracks working from the easier tracks to the more challenging ones.

The great thing about this place is, we’re never any further than 4km from the made road, so its a perfect place to test and fine tune your skills for the bigger trips. There will be plenty of opportunity for us to stop and compare techniques to traverse the terrain, and get some good photos and footage while we are at it.

Overall, this is very flat country, but there are two locations that have steeper sandy hill climbs that we can attack later on the Saturday. One track in particular “Waverley Track” has a 2km section of deep and undulating sand with a small dune at the end which would probably be close to what you would find in the Simpson Desert.

There are a couple of GPX files and a mud map in the members area from the first ride which gives you an idea of where/what the tracks are.

Saturday night I will book the lakeside bar and grill for dinner at 6.30PM.

On Sunday, make our way home, or do follow me doing the Friday route in the opposite direction.

You will need tyres in good condition with at least a 50% off-road bias for this ride.

Check out the videos on the facebook page of the previous rides if you want to see what to expect.

This ride is generally graded as a 3, but in places it can be a 4 for short stretches.

That having being said, there is always going to be someone to give you a hand.

GRADING
DESCRIPTION
RIDER SKILL LEVEL

3

Medium
• Narrow gravel roads and twin dirt tracks

• Loose rocky surfaces with likelihood of ruts

• Shallow creek crossings

(less than 300mm – boot deep)

• Some minor obstacles

• Possible steep slopes with varying surfaces

(gravel, rock, mud)

• Medium level of fitness required

• Difficulty can increase significantly in wet conditions
Competent – Expert

Recommended ADV

Motorcycle:

Small / Medium / Large

(experienced rider)

GRADING
DESCRIPTION
RIDER SKILL LEVEL

4

Difficult
• 4WD tracks with long steep hills with varying surfaces

• Poor traction surfaces with sections of rutted track

• Many obstacles that are difficult to avoid, such as sand, rocks, logs (300mm diameter) and river crossings up to knee deep.

• Medium level of fitness required

• Difficulty can increase significantly in wet conditions
Proficient – Expert

Recommended ADV

Motorcycle:

Small / Medium

(experienced rider)

GPX Files provided for this ride.

On Saturday, we will be riding tracks in “MADCAT Loch Sport Ride Sand Tracks.gpx” – This is a complex file containing multiple colour coded tracks and waypoints and may not work with some software. What we do on Saturday has no set plan, we ride the tracks as appropriate for the group.