Touring the region on two-wheels

THE Great Dividing Trail and Goldfields Track are about to become the backdrop to an introduction into the unique sport of bikepacking.

Lewis Ciddor has been riding the trails for over seven years, and has helped establish an unofficial route, the GDT400.

As part of the GDT400 riders travel, often over three days, from Bendigo Station to Castlemaine, Daylesford, Creswick, Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh, through Lerderderg State Forrest and back up to Daylesford to finish at Castlemaine train station.

Ciddor said bikepacking is a rapidly growing sport.

“You can probably pinpoint about 2005 as the shift towards what’s now known as bikepacking, which is bicycle touring on a mountain bike,” he said.

“It’s about accessing more rugged terrain, some single track, going into more remote places off the beaten track. It’s more akin to bushwalking than bicycle touring.

“You go into these remote places and access gorgeous stretches of bush at a speed quicker than walking so you can see a lot of terrain, and you can often see the ecosystems changing as you go in a matter of hours which is really amazing.”

Ciddor said the route along the Great Dividing Trail and Goldfields Track takes you through small historical towns like Vaughan Springs and sees you riding over aqueducts and past old mine shafts.

He said while the network provides great riding opportunities, it could do with a more formalised track between Mount Buninyong and Bacchus Marsh.

Due to the storms late last year, some of the tracks are still closed, particularly in the Wombat State Forest south of Daylesford, which means there will be less group rides this year.

“You’ll still see a lot of individuals getting out and riding it, but they’ll probably pick and choose their own ways to divert around those areas,” Mr Ciddor said.

Ciddor once held the record for the GDT400 route at 22 hours, but most people will take multiple days to complete the trail.

“I think there’s such a social element to bikepacking, a lot of people choose to do it in a group or often just departing at the same time,” he said.

“In some ways that element of knowing other people are tackling it at the same time gives people some motivation, encouragement and a sense of security.”