10% Single Track
35% Gravel Road
35% 4wd Track
20% Sealed Road
3% Carry
Two big hills and a nice ridge traverse, on road, gravel and grass. The views from the top are spectacular.
This has to be the best mountain bike circuit on the banks peninsula. Partly because there are only a handful of off-road bike route on the peninsula. Unfortunately the vast majority of the other great looking tracks and terrain are on private land and hence there is no access.
Description
Start riding from Port Levy up Western Valley Road. The climb is long and mostly in the trees until you get near the col at around 600m.
Once up to the the col, the real fun begins as you break off east onto single track. A few climbs and descents take you past the Waipuna saddle and up to Mt Fitzgerald. The only really technical bit being the rocky single track south of point 717m. From the top of Mt Fitzgerald the track becomes very overgrown for about 300m, necessitating a bit of carrying. There is a better 4wd track that bypasses this part. To reach it head north from the summit before dropping down east below the marked path, but this may be private, its not obvious.
The track then follows decent single track to Mt Sinclair, the highest point on the ride. The descent from here is pretty fast, initially following a slightly overgrown grassy 4wd track, then across grassy meadows, before joining Pettigrews road which takes you down to Pigeon Bay. Its a good descent from 850m down to sea level.
The final hill back over from Pigeon Bay to Port Levy is a bit of a slog as it relentlessly climbs back to 500m. The gravel road down the other side is superb, you can be back at the car in 15 minutes from the col.