Lysterfield Commonwealth Games track

Russell Lang said:

I'm a commuter cyclist, not a MTB cyclist, but I decided to have a little
fun and explore the Commonwealth Games 2006 track at Lysterfield
Lake Park. I was easy to spot - I was the one with the mudguards
and pack rack :-)

My first misconception was that the track would be muddy
due to the recent rains. There is a lot of crushed rock on the
track so it wasn't muddy and looks like it will survive very well.
I started from the Hallam North Rd carpark which was almost
full when I arrived in the morning. There was a park ranger there
doing some repair on the temporary fence protecting a new gravel
area which is probably an event control area rather than more
carpark. The fence was held up by star pickets which had been
flattened overnight by some vandals.

It was easy to find the CG track which is only a short distance away
so I headed in the direction of the arrows as marked on the "state
mountain bike course" map that I got from the Lysterfield MTB
forum on yahoo. Another way to recognise me - I was the only
one with a map :-) I rode along the track slowly (remember I'm
a commuter, not MTB rider) having fun exploring and getting off
the track whenever another rider approached. I got as far as
Granite Rock Garden which is pretty descriptive. I bailed out
at that point and returned via the easier Valley View Track
(a dirt vehicle track). Then it was across the wide Lambert and
Lake tracks to meet up with my wife and kids at the lake carpark.

I'll have to revisit the park and explore some more trails. It's only
about 15km from home, with most of that along the Dandenong
Creek trail.

Now one question. Is the CG MTB race an individual time trial,
or do they actually pass each other on the singletrack? I was
only on singletrack through the trees, so there may be more
room for overtaking further around the course.

Russell

I believe they all start at the same time and it is survival of the fittest or yee with the least amount of fear....

Mass start, then it's pretty much rider against the track, it's just that all the riders are doing the same track at the same time.

Even though the singletrack is pretty narrow, the start area would have a run into tighter going after a spell of some more open trail for everyone to sort themselves out.
Although from the MTB events I've done so far, I have been amazed where some of the faster riders pull a pass on me, even though it had been followed by a "track! " or "passing on your right/left".

I have yet to ride Lysterfield (me being on the west side of Melb it's not too local). But maybe next weekend [I'll be the rider without the map, spending alot of time under his bike].

I'm not one of the fastest ones on the track at MTB events, but being able to pass slower riders quickly and easily is very important. I love sneaking past someone on the inside of a corner, or just riding straight through a part of the track they have avoided (for example a deep puddle). Always gets strange looks from the person you are passing... especially when you stuff it up :P.

Russell Lang said:

I'm a commuter cyclist, not a MTB cyclist, but I decided to have a little fun and explore the Commonwealth Games 2006 track at Lysterfield Lake Park. I was easy to spot - I was the one with the mudguards and pack rack :-)

My first misconception was that the track would be muddy due to the recent rains. There is a lot of crushed rock on the track so it wasn't muddy and looks like it will survive very well.

A lot of work went into building the track drainage & it appears to be working.

Russell Lang said:

I started from the Hallam North Rd carpark which was almost full when I arrived in the morning. There was a park ranger there doing some repair on the temporary fence protecting a new gravel area which is probably an event control area rather than more carpark. The fence was held up by star pickets which had been flattened overnight by some vandals.

The car park can get full on the weekends. Another option is to park at the main Park entry off Horswood Rd. There are more facilities (BBQs, toilets etc) there. Some info boards with maps will soon be put in also.

Russell Lang said:

It was easy to find the CG track which is only a short distance away so I headed in the direction of the arrows as marked on the "state mountain bike course" map that I got from the Lysterfield MTB forum on yahoo. Another way to recognise me - I was the only one with a map :-) I rode along the track slowly (remember I'm a commuter, not MTB rider) having fun exploring and getting off the track whenever another rider approached. I got as far as Granite Rock Garden which is pretty descriptive. I bailed out at that point and returned via the easier Valley View Track (a dirt vehicle track). Then it was across the wide Lambert and Lake tracks to meet up with my wife and kids at the lake carpark.

You missed the biggest climb on the course 🙂

Russell Lang said:

I'll have to revisit the park and explore some more trails. It's only about 15km from home, with most of that along the Dandenong Creek trail.

Now one question. Is the CG MTB race an individual time trial, or do they actually pass each other on the singletrack? I was only on singletrack through the trees, so there may be more room for overtaking further around the course.

Russell

Passing on singletrack happens all the time. I don't get much practise at being the passer though. :o

There are many km's of trail for you still to explore on your next visit. 😄

Bikesoiler said:

The car park can get full on the weekends. Another option is to park at the main Park entry off Horswood Rd.

Or um... ride your bike there? The train station ain't that far away. It's only $2.50 from anywhere in Melbourne on Sunday too.

SomeGuy said:

Or um... ride your bike there? The train station ain't that far away. It's only $2.50 from anywhere in Melbourne on Sunday too.

:o True. You can ride from Tecoma, Upway or FTG stations on the Belgrave line. A popular trip is to start at Tecoma & ride south to Lysterfield then continue down to Hallam station on the Dandenong line.

I'll 'fess up that I drive out to the Park. My (feeble) excuse is I'm usually carrying tools for trail building.