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Short_Description: Good "My First Mountain Bike Ride" Track
Region: Wellington
Location: 10km North of Upper Hutt
Singletrack_Rating: * * - Poor
Overall_Rating: * * * - Average
Author: Tama
This track is much maligned by "serious" mountain bikers. It is technically a total cake walk and I've seen kiddies on little 16 inch wheeled bikes pottling along behind their parents. However I still find myself doing this ride 3 or so ttimes a year. It is an excellent ride to do if you've been off your bike for a while (through injury or apathy) and feeling like a totally unfit blob butt. It is also a really good bike ride if you have someone who wants to get into mountain biking. Anyway, enough of the blurb - onto the description.
The Incline Track has three very distinct sections as it crosses the Rimutaka Ranges. The Upper Hutt/Wellington side is an exceedingly gradual 10km climb along a river valley on a gravel road. The scenery is pretty and if you feel like it you can really motor. There is one (easy) river crossing and one short tunnel on the way to the summit.
At the summit stop and have a snack, there's a shelter with some information on the Incline, which was the way trains used to get from Wellington to the Wairapa until they got wise and put one big rail tunnel through the mountains.
A couple of hundred metres from the summit on the Wairapa side is the beginning of longest of the rail tunnels. At 600 metres it's a good plan to take a light. The condition of the track is rougher and steeper on the Wairapa side, but still shouldn't pose any problems to novices. For more excitable riders it's a good time to shift into big ring on the front, small on the back and try and beat each other to the bottom.
There are 4 things to watch for on the way down. On the way down you will encounter two short tunnels. You can navigate through them without lights but entering them at speed is heading for a gravel slide with perhaps a grinder along the wall. The other slightly technical section is known as Siberia, where the track has been swept away by a river leaving a small gravel gorge to cross. It is easy to push your bike but attempting to ride it is possible and a lot more fun. The third gotcha is totally hidden in the grass on the side of the track. If you swing wide to pass someone watch out for small steel posts protruding perhaps 2-5cm from the ground on the outside of the track. Running over one of these is an instant flat. Finally, there is a gate at the bottom which I found almost closed on one sphincter clenching experience. Generally it is open but be aware that letting your mates go first around 4.5km from the summit is a good survival tactic.
At the bottom of the main track you will get to a grassy clearing called "Cross Creek" where they used to bugger around with the trains. Again there is some information about the Incline which is worth checking out. If you follow the signposts to towards the carpark there is a short styling bit of singletrack. The singletrack is a definite for average to experienced mountain bikers and is a worthwhile addition to the whole trip.
At the carpark (or Cross Creek) simply turn around and retrace your steps. The whole trip is about (an easy) 35km return. While this is an easy ride it has to be mentioned that on the Incline I've managed to brake my toe by inserting my foot into the front wheel while pulling air (er, showing off) and Jono has managed to break his arm pulling a dodgy passing manoveur at speed on the Wairapa side and having his ultra light handlebar sheer off - Man we're idiots...
