About Our Club

Our club was formed in 1993 and incorporated in 1995 when mountain biking (MTB) in Australia was in its infancy. Since then the club and the sport have gained popularity through advocacy and participation. The Bushrangers MTB Club is a volunteer based organisation run by enthusiasts, for the benefit of promoting and supporting mountain biking across the region.

We do regular rides all over Sunshine Coast and SEQ from Cooloola to Brisbane, in national parks, state forestries and council parks. Check out this website for more information on events, news, and for places to ride.

Latest News

Author: Bushrangers Admin

Club Night Ride Summary 25/10/2017

Rushing home only to be sneaking out the door, bike in tow, moments later has become a monthly ritual for me and probably the others who came long on the ride this evening.

Eight intrepid souls were ready to go at just past 6pm although that would soon be seven as Boaz had a suspect wheel with a slow leak so he turned back to avoid a walk. Following the usual 10km loop around the western side of Parklands we dodged and weaved through the undergrowth trying to avoid running over the cane toads that were out in force after the rain. Cancer Tree was in top form with both creeks full of water which makes it fun to ride. It’s amazing how well the old tracks hold up to the environment but there’s a few spots that might need some attention.

The grip on the hills was good as the rear tyre of the trusty single speed stayed glued regardless of the strain I was putting on it, only coming unstuck on a ‘baby head’ rock. Personal records gained by the others was further proof of the good post rain dirt and clean rocks.

I managed to collect two orb weavers this ride, luckily for me they’re inclined the drop off you than crawl around. No snakes though, probably killed by the spiders.

Always fun riding at night, suggest everyone give it a go at least once.

Ben Johns
Club President

Away Rides for 2018

[caption id="attachment_4320" align="alignright" width="300"] Everyone loves a camp fire![/caption] Hey Bushies! As you may have read recently Cortney and I are the new away ride coordinators. For 2018 we are looking at organising around 6 away rides. In the spirit of Christmas giving (or to give you a good excuse to escape for a bit), for the first one, we are planning a camping trip from January 3rd until the 5th. We’ve cooked up a couple of options… listed in no particular order: Mt Joyce near Beaudesert. Camping will probably be at the Liliybrook Camping area. We could ride a day Hidden Vale and a day Mt Joyce. Promisedland near Bundaberg. Camping and other accommodation (for those not keen on the pleasure of an air mattress) is available in Childers. A rather nice benefit of this option is Woodgate Beach is not too far away, so we can go for a swim at the beach after a ride. A refreshing idea for expected...

Wet Weather Alternative Ride Summary 21/10/2017

Stumers Creek Pathway

It’s not often we have to activate the WDR protocols (Wet Day Ride) – I’d like to say it’s an involved process where I open up a suitcase, snap a plastic card called “the biscuit”, then two committee members have to turn their keys at the same time to open an armored vault which holds our ride options. But unfortunately it’s not – we just wait to see what the weather does, choose a nice pathway ride and then update the calendar accordingly and the automatic notifications get sent out 5pm.

Like most trails around South East Queensland, Wooroi was still recovering from the torrential downpour the week before (we’ve receive over 400mm for this month). It does have a reputation for draining quickly but no trail can shed that much water in less than a day. Thus the choice was made to put on an alternative ride on more resilient paths.

The wet day ride choice (even though it ended up being a beautiful cool day) was the Maroochydore to Coolum ride that takes us over the Maroochy bridge and along the northern beaches to loop around Coolum and then back down again. There’s a few variances on this route – this time we took Stumers Creek path south from the Coolum Peregian sports complex and around the back of Mt Coolum.

We decided to stop over at the Cuba St Cafe in Marcoola, opposite Surfair, for a coffee and a chat. Afterwards we set off again to Twin Waters. This time we headed to the Maroochy river and rode over the bridge at the mouth of the canals as the tide was cascading in. Some of us took a gamble and crossed the Paddock of Potential Puddles which was actually not that bad.

45km and 3hrs and 30min later we were back a the cars.

Thanks for the ride everyone.

Ben Johns
Club President

Maroochy to Coolum Route

8 days ’til Movember! Help us ride 10000km and raise money!

[caption id="attachment_4250" align="alignright" width="300"] Whiskers and Kilometres[/caption] Ladies and Gentleman from across the coast! Help us ride 10000km and raise money for Movember (sculpturing some artistic whiskers is awesome too, but totally optional). Follow these 3 steps and you're off and racing! Step 1: Join up to the Movember team page right here Step 2: Put some skin in the game by donating $20 Step 3: Once you've donated, sign up to the Strava club right here Then we will see who does the most distance, who raises the most money and who has the best moustache/beard/body hair etc.    ...

Trail Count Update

Damaged crossing

Hi Folks,

Quick update on the counters. This afternoon I collected the trail counts for September/October making four months worth to analyse. Parklands looks like it currently receives around 550 mountain bike visits a month although it’s still very early days and we expect that to trend up and down over the seasons. Also we’ve made the weekly totals available on our trail care page with an adjustable period (click the date range in the top right corner), I’ve included it below so you know what it looks like.

While collecting the counts I checked a few of the new trails to find they’re holding up well given the heavy rain this week. There’s a few parts that have suffered damage that we’ll try and get to during trail care tomorrow (8am, Radar Hill Rd car park) if it’s not raining too much.

Trailworx didn’t get a chance to continue work at Parklands this week because of the rain so they’re aiming for mid next week if the weather is good.

“There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain

Ben Johns
Club President

The Blackall 100 Race at Mapleton

Hi Folks, A reminder for this weekend to be on the lookout for runners within and around the Mapleton Forest National Park, both the Mapleton and Cooloolabin sides. The Blackall 100 race will be starting Saturday morning at 8am with a cutoff time at Sunday 10am. The race will be starting and finishing at the Mapleton QCCC and there's provisions for spectators if you wish to go and have a look. Thank you. Bushrangers Committee...

Moustaches and Mountain Bikes 2017 – 10,000km in November!

[caption id="attachment_4250" align="alignright" width="300"] Moustache fails and hardcore trails![/caption] To raise money for the Movember Foundation we'd like to introduce the inaugural Moustaches and Mountain bikes Strava event which will be run throughout November 2017. We've set the challenge to try and ride 10,000km in November (and grow totally awesome optional moustaches). We will have prizes for the male, female and youth (<15yo) with the most amount of kilometres and a prize for biggest fundraiser and best moustache. The winners will be announced at our Time trial race/BBQ at Paul's place in Woombye in early December (more details about that event later). This contest is open to all Bushrangers, riding clubs, bike shops and local MTB riders and your entry fee is a $20 donation to a Movember page (e.g. yours, your mates, the club). Once you do this let me know your Strava name and I'll invite you to the prestigious Moustache and Mountain bikes Strava club so we can all track each...

2017 99Bikes Dingo Races

Update 18/10/2017: postponed until 4-5th November 2017 due to rain If you enjoy two legged transportation as much as two wheeled then the Dingo Duo might be your kind of event. You can choose from events that are MTB only, Run only, or both. Various distances and categories available. The event is held out at Hiddenvale so if you haven't been along to the CycleEpic or one of the camping trips out that way this is another good opportunity to ride the new trails they've been building over the past couple of years. It's on next weekend - 21st - 22nd October 2017 so you'll have to register quickly. The '99 Bikes Dingo Weekend' provides fun and entertainment for the whole family. Event options include; RIDE only (Dingo Howl), RUN only (Dingo Dash) TEAM challenge sharing the Run-Ride-Run disciplines of the Dingo Duo or tackle the full DUATHLON - SOLO. There's now also the Dingo Duo Intro and even an event just for the KIDS Run-Ride (Pup Dash) and...

#WorldMentalHealthDay2017

It's World mental health week again so it's a timely reminder to eat well, sleep well, get social and ride your bikes to get some of those feel-good hormones flowing. Your mental health is vitally important so look after it!  Also trust your gut and be sure to ask if someone is OK, that simple conversation might be just what the other person needs. On a related note I've had to go to the occasional toolbox meeting about workplace mental health issues for my job and I've always asked the question - what can I do or say? And I've never really gotten a good answer. Apparently my current repertoire of supportive things to say like "buck up li'l buddy!" and teasing them about their hair/clothes/MTB skills etc are pretty crap. So I had a look around and found this nifty diagram to give me a headstart. Maybe it might be handy for you too. [caption id="attachment_4236" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Things to say when someone's...

We have a new Away Ride Co-ordinator – Martijn (Marty) Mooij

[caption id="attachment_4230" align="alignright" width="300"] Not confirmed yet but we think this is Marty searching for the best riding trails.[/caption] Marty has volunteered to organise the club's away rides and camping trips (with the occasional assistance of his lovely partner Courtney). Marty and Courtney came to our last committee meeting for a meet and greet and we believe that with their talents and their enthusiasm they are going to be an awesome fit with the club. Ben has whipped up the email address travel@bushrangers.org so if you have any ideas or requests for away rides or camping trips then let Marty know. On behalf of the club thanks for volunteering Marty, the club has always loved it's camping trips so it will be good to get some more back onto the calendar.   Michael Johns Club Secretary ...

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