Murray to Mountains Rail Trail on a road bike with 700x25 tyres

[gnaechuca]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. So apologies in advance if the question doesn't belong in this topic. I searched and couldn't find an answer to this particular question. So posting it here.

I'm about 1 year into cycling. Usually do about 500km of road cycling a month. I am planning to do a part of the (about 80k return) Murray to Mountains Rail Trail starting from Wangaratta and was wondering whether it's a good idea to take my road bike (Polygon strattos S5d with Vittoria Rubino Pro 700x25 tubeless tyres) for this. I do carry a pump and dynaplugs but not very keen on taking an unnecessary risk of getting multiple punctures (who does!). I looked at lots of videos on youtube to see if I could get some sense of the surface. But wasn't really confident about it. So I thought I'll ask in the forum to see if someone has an idea about it. I do have hardtail MTB that I could take instead. But prefer the road bike.

Really appreciate your feedback.

Cheers,
G

[elantra]

Hi all,

This is my first post here. So apologies in advance if the question doesn't belong in this topic. I searched and couldn't find an answer to this particular question. So posting it here.

I'm about 1 year into cycling. Usually do about 500km of road cycling a month. I am planning to do a part of the (about 80k return) Murray to Mountains Rail Trail starting from Wangaratta and was wondering whether it's a good idea to take my road bike (Polygon strattos S5d with Vittoria Rubino Pro 700x25 tubeless tyres) for this. I do carry a pump and dynaplugs but not very keen on taking an unnecessary risk of getting multiple punctures (who does!). I looked at lots of videos on youtube to see if I could get some sense of the surface. But wasn't really confident about it. So I thought I'll ask in the forum to see if someone has an idea about it. I do have hardtail MTB that I could take instead. But prefer the road bike.

Really appreciate your feedback.

Cheers,
G

I consider myself a non-expert on the Murray-to-Mountains Railtrail because I did it once back in 2008
I remember it was a very civilised surface back then and I did it on a bike that I hired at the bike shop in Bright. I think it was a hybrid with 700x28 tyres.
Or maybe it was 700x32. It’s a while ago.

Up north in the rain-drenched subtropics we have a choice of 2 railtrails within a coo-we of Brisbane,
The BVRT (Brisbane Valley Railtrail) and the NRRT(Northern Rivers Railtrail)
The former one definitely requires something like 700x32 or bigger.

The latter one (NRRT) is suitable for fairly skinny 700x23 tyres. I suspect that it’s quite like the one between Wangaratta and Bright.
Hope that helps a bit. Cheers

[Duck!]

I rode the section from Smoko (between Harrietville and Bright) to Wangaratta on a MTB around 2017. The surface is sealed, although somewhat coarse, which saps a bit of energy, but is perfectly rideable on a roadie.

[robbo mcs]

When I did it, the whole thing was sealed, which is pretty unusual. You would be fine on the road bike. I did Wangaratta to Bright, with a side trip to Beechworth

[Hergest]

I ride it all the time, did Bright to Wang return two weeks ago and have just this morning gone to Lake Buffalo with the rail trail to Myrtleford and back. I ride 23mm road tyres on a titanium road bike and never have a problem. The trail surface is all paved. It can be bumpy where tree roots have lifted the path but you can see most of them in advance and towards Bright at the moment there are a lot of leaves on the trail (and dumb tourists standing oblivious of riders, taking photos of them) The section from Bright to Harrietville is all new and was opened two years ago. That is silky smooth hot mix apart from the last 4 kms to Harrietville that is the old trail of rougher road type bitumen. Very bendy and scenic for most of the way as it follows the river.

[CmdrBiggles]

The Bright and Myrtleford areas are a 40-year favourite destination for riding, first discovered on a bicycle tour from Wang to Hotham and down to Omeo in1984.

This year, I rode the Bright to Wang rail trail on January 7th, in (not unexpectedly) really terrible warm, humid then downright wet summery weather. If it wasn't the heavens opening up and drenching me, it was the humidity doing just the same thing, repeatedly!

Bright to Harrietville isn't really part of the MTMRT, though often referred to such; there is no continuation other than up...and up...and up 'The Meg' to Hotham and beyond. The problem I had at the time was puddles and water rushing over the path, a few stray stones and ... the rain! Harrietville ('Harrys") is a wonderfully calm place to rest up before the return leg (I rode back on the Alpine Way for a proverbial "change of scenery"!).

The other little known track worth looking at is enjoyable burble from Bright to Wandiligong, where (shameless promo!) at the destination, the variegated treats of the Wandi Pub await (yes,I admit to spending far too much time there not actually drip drying, but being drip-fed with a rav-fav gin! )

In hindsight, a 700x25 might be getting a little on the narrow side for the bumpy bits and short unsealed/cracked bits as you approach Harry's. Everything is plainly visible though as you trundle along (unless you favour riding at night, when all sorts of hazards arise). My tyres are 28, inflated to 90, and I have no qualms about getting through most stuff lying on roads and paths (but I draw a wide berth around glass fields, wet, squashed leaves (especially on bends) and snails).

No troubles could reasonably be expected on the Bright to Wang (or VV) RT, parts of it or the whole hog, other than the fact that the path proximal to towns (Bright, Porepunkah, Myrtleford etc.) is commonly littered/cluttered with pedestrians, horseriders, pram-pushers/runners, scooters and wandering stock (particularly on the approach to Myrtleford!).

@Hergest
I recall a conversation in Bright with another roadie regarding those roots on the Bright to Harrietville trail; he suggested painting the bigger, jarring roots yellow to assist visibly targeting them while riding. And this has merit: around Geelong many such hazards are painted white or yellow on paths, or even fluoro pink for big potholes (!)

[gnaechuca]

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your replies! This is an awesome community! I was confident enough to tackle it using the roadie and I am glad that I did. I did my PB (101km) there from Wangaratta to Myrtleford and back, it was such an awesome ride I can't wait to get back there.

I though I'd post a few photos about the surface so that i could add a bit to the awesome details in this thread.

Below is how most of the road looks generally:


And this is what I would consider as probably how the "worst" part of the trail looks like.


As you can see it is not that bad at all. There were however some stray stones and uneven surface (mainly due to tree roots underneath) so I was being bit alert on the trail. I carried a pump, spare tube, small sealant bottle and some tools with me, even though I didn't have to use any.

This is my ride :


Again thank you very much for your kind feedback and motivation! Can't wait to get back out there.

And thank you to the kind gentleman who exchanged a banana with me for an oats slice!

Cheers,
G

[CmdrBiggles]

On that last photo of the bike...interesting... that the Garmin home screen layout/fields and the paused icon (2 vertical bars) appears identical in layout as my iGS630! is Per chance these computers are made in once factory in China...?

Pics of the rail trail are pretty much how i remember them. It is so much more challenging when it is raining, with high humidity and no wind, as was the case when I rode the trail in early January.

Did you also do the classic, very beautiful in autumn, ride out to Buckland Valley? For roadies the turnaround point is the Buckland Valley Road bridge, after which the grubby road would be more suitable for well-kitted gravel-grinders or MTBs.

[warthog1]

Thanks for the photos. Looks good

[Hergest]

Did you also do the classic, very beautiful in autumn, ride out to Buckland Valley? For roadies the turnaround point is the Buckland Valley Road bridge, after which the grubby road would be more suitable for well-kitted gravel-grinders or MTBs.

With bushfire recovery money the gravel in the Buckland Valley was sealed for the next 4 kms after the bridge as far as the cemetery where it returns to gravel so you get an extra 8kms or so on the ride out and back from Bright. A new bridge was put in too so heavy vehicles no longer have to cross the river by driving through it.

[CmdrBiggles]

Did you also do the classic, very beautiful in autumn, ride out to Buckland Valley? For roadies the turnaround point is the Buckland Valley Road bridge, after which the grubby road would be more suitable for well-kitted gravel-grinders or MTBs.

With bushfire recovery money the gravel in the Buckland Valley was sealed for the next 4 kms after the bridge as far as the cemetery where it returns to gravel so you get an extra 8kms or so on the ride out and back from Bright. A new bridge was put in too so heavy vehicles no longer have to cross the river by driving through it.

So they did get around to sealing that section after all.

I turned around at the bridge in January - - mostly on account of the stuffy and wet weather, but also because on previous, much earlier rides, it was gravel and I assumed it was still so! In the car, I have driven much further on to camp at Ah Youngs on the Buckland. A very peaceful little piece of paradise...at least until the weekend warriors in their ginormous 4WDs rumble in...