Bike Buller launches the Epic Trail

In early 2013, news came out that an IMBA Epic trail was coming to Australia. Long, gravity assisted, remote… a pretty awesome proposition in any mountain biker’s eyes.

And after months of teasing, with videos of the build, photos on social media and on the internet – the trail was opened on a drizzly Saturday 6th December!

With the success of well established trails like Misty Twist, Gang Gangs, Stonefly, Corn Hill and more, it makes sense for such a big investment to happen at Mt Buller. All told, World Trail have counted close to 6000 man hours for the build.

Speaking to one of the machine operators, (and our guide for the day) Ryan De La Rue, he was excited about the opening, as it’s something they had worked on for so long, with the chance to create something that could take riders through some really special places in the Victorian High Country.

Ryan explains how the Epic trail has used some existing trail, and plenty of new purpose built singletrack.

More than that, he and his co-workers were stoked to be finally able to ride it all in one hit! This is a trail that has been built for many reasons. In the making for six years, the planning and funding process was long and drawn out – but being able to deliver such a long, purpose built trail was a worthy goal.

Looking back to Mt Buller village, part way through the Epic journey.

Speaking to Ryan, it’s easy to understand the passion he and his World Trail colleagues have for the project. Ryan talks of the pygmy possums on the mountain, the struggle to preserve and maintain their habitat, and the challenges they faced in building the trail. While some of it uses pre-existing forest roads that have fallen into disuse, a lot of it – including the stunning 7km final descent, has been painstakingly cut into the valleys. Sometimes in places where few people would have trodden before.

Riding the Epic Trail 

The trail is started in the village of Mt Buller, and we head out along the classic Gang Gangs, Corn Hill and Wooly Butt until we arrive at Howqua Gap and the start of Stonefly. For those who haven’t visited Mt Buller, that stretch alone is some iconic mountain biking in the Victorian High Country, with benched trails and berms through snow gums and other local flora on a slight descent all the way to the gap.

Stonefly is a classic trail in its own right, but the Epic trail uses it to gain some elevation. It’s no walk in the park. You could cut along the Circuit Road at this point – but if you’re fit and prepared… you wouldn’t. Stonefly is a climb for the part that is used, with a couple of fun descents. But best of all, the trail is now a few years old, and looks like it has been there for far, far longer than that. It’s settled in, and traces a line through the sub-alpine flora so natural yet precise, it’s like something an artist might make with a deft flourish of their brush.

From close to Bluff Spur Memorial Hut the trail veers left, and down a forest road that allows for immense speed, unchecked grins and some of the highest speeds of the trail. Whoever says mountain biking must be singletrack to be fun is just plain wrong. We loft over slight water bars, jump some fallen debris, and generally feel like kids on the descent to Telephone Box Junction.

Brew stop!

With a cafe popping up at TBJ, many Epic riders will relish the chance for a coffee and park up before the next climb. But that is part of the Epic trail – it’s long, and while generally gravity fed it’s not a free ride. You’ve got to pedal. This is no gentle coast downhill, and the climb up Stonefly will have taught you that.

The climb is comfortable enough on a trail bike, and Ryan makes short work of it maintaining conversation while pedalling his Specialized Enduro. We follow more old roads, where the trail crew have cut a good line in. This is great, as if you gaze out back to Mt Buller and get a bit off line, you’re not off the mountain – just maybe into something rougher.

Soon enough you’re back into some purpose built trail, called Blair Witch. Ryan says it was so tight through here with the amount of growth in the forest, that the creaking trees and eerie sounds spooked them a few times. The name stuck.

We crest the final climb on a service road, and park up as some drizzle (aka mountain weather) hangs around.

But there’s little to say for the next 7km – save for a promise from Ryan that I probably won’t have to pedal except for maybe 100m.

We take off. Ryan hits gaps that are sneakily built into the trail for the experienced riders. I take the lines for the less experienced riders, flowing through the tall trees and brushing the undergrowth with my elbows as I try to maintian as much speed as possible to stick with Ryan – even though he’s riding at my pace! The expertly crafted berms come one after another, stacked up on the descent as we rapidly lose altitude.

Soon enough we’re cutting across in front of a cliff, and elbows are pulled close. Just like a cat’s whiskers, I pull close to the centre line of the bike – just in case I don’t fit. But I do, and everyone will. It’s a machine built trail, even the widest of handlebars will fit. But at speed – it feels tight and exposed! We turn into the other side of the valley, and can see the trail ahead of us traversing a fern covered slope.

The desire to stop, to capture the moment in a photographic memory, is so strong. But in these moments, the desire to keep riding, to maintain the flow that you have can become overbearing. We ride on. Pushing through corners, knowing the trail is fresh, clear, and even a little tacky. This trail was built just for us. Just for mountain bikers.

How to sum it up? Imagine Chase the Dog at Forrest. Make sure it’s all gravity fed, and a little more predictable, maybe without that one corner and pinch that you hit so fast you think you’ll wash out into the creek. And now make it much, much longer. And that’s just the bottom part.

There are more than a few features to keep advanced riders entertained.

This is the reward of the ride. If you love mountain biking, none of it is hard graft. It’s a journey from the village to Merrijig. And the final kilometres of trail sweep along the river, up stream back to the park and the shuttle pick up point. It’s a quality ride, that might be a day out for some, a half day ride for others. But it’s a big loop from the village down to the valley, taking in some of the best built trail in Australia.

Is this really Australia?

The Epic trail is the new jewel in the Bike Buller crown. It’s worth the trip to Mt Buller to ride the trail, and stay a little longer to ride all their trails. With the Australian Alpine Epic, Mt Buller now has enough trail to keep even the most avid mountain biker entertained for a whole weekend, with plenty to come back for next time.