Our September social ride will be held on Sunday 19 September and will explore the eastern section of trails in the Walmer State Forest, aka Ken's Trails.  These loops are marked orange and blue and have been used for rounds of the Victorian Enduro series in the 2000s.  The trails showcase the undulating and rocky terrain of our local area.  The ride length will be around 20kms.   The ride will commence from the Daltons Road carpark (corner Daws Road) at 9:30am.

This ride will sample the Goldfields Track commencing from the Chewton end. This will encompass a ride along Forest Creek to warm up and then up along Dingo Park Road and onto the Goldfields Track. Assemble at the Theatre Royal in Hargraves Street, Castlemaine for a 9:30 am start time. The Women’s Social rides (including trans and femme) are targeted at a beginner to intermediate skill level, conducted at a gentle pace and have a duration of approximately 1.5 hours. There will be a “no drop” policy – no one will be left behind. There will be an option to follow the ride with a catch up at a local café, COVID regulations considered. Women with advanced mountain biking experience are welcome to come along to contribute to the supportive environment. Please note this is not a skills clinic and riders must be self-sufficient with food, water and spares. You must have a well maintained mountain bike and well fitted helmet that meets Australian standards. A Rocky Riders (or other AusCycling) membership is recommended so you are covered by insurance while riding. An insurance waiver can be signed on the day if required. Please register your attendance by "buying" a ticket for this event (please note is is free). Riders will be split into groups of 10 to adhere with COVID safe policy. 

This ride will sample the Pineys Trails. Assemble at the Theatre Royal in Hargraves Street, Castlemaine for a 9:30am start time. The Women’s Social rides (including trans and femme) are targeted at a beginner to intermediate skill level, conducted at a gentle pace and have a duration of approximately 1.5 hours. There will be a “no drop” policy – no one will be left behind. There will be an option to follow the ride with a catch up at a local café. Women with advanced mountain biking experience are welcome to come along to contribute to the supportive environment. Please note this is not a skills clinic and riders must be self-sufficient with food, water and spares. You must have a well maintained mountain bike and well fitted helmet that meets Australian standards. A Rocky Riders (or other AusCycling) membership is recommended so you are covered by insurance while riding. An insurance waiver can be signed on the day if required. Please register your attendance by "buying" a ticket for this event (please note is is free).

Our August social ride will be held on Sunday 22 August and will explore the eastern section of trails in the Walmer State Forest, aka Ken's Trails.  These loops are marked orange and blue and have been used for rounds of the Victorian Enduro series in the 2000s.  The trails showcase the undulating and rocky terrain of our local area.  The ride length will be around 20kms with options to add a few kms for more experienced riders.   The meeting point will be at the southern side of the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens on Walker Street - opposite Das Kaffehaus (a convenient spot to grab a caffeine shot before the ride or afterwards).  The ride will commence at 9:00am.

Our monthly social rides continue in June with an exploration of the Forest Creek and Poverty Gully region, including some of the historic water races. This area provides a good sample of classic Castlemaine singletrack, along with some superb relics of the gold rush era.  Depending on numbers and experience of riders we may be able to break the group into two to cater for a slower paced group.   Either way you can expect a ride of 20 plus kms over some varied terrain, with a duration of around two and a half hours. The ride will depart from the Theatre Royal at 9am on Sunday 25 July. A Rocky Riders (or other AusCycling) membership is recommended so you are covered by insurance while riding. An insurance waiver can be signed on the day if required. Please register your attendance by "buying" a ticket for this event (please note is is free).

This ride will sample the Goldfields Track commencing from the Chewton end. This will encompass a ride along Forest Creek to warm up and then up along Dingo Park Road and onto the Goldfields Track. Assemble at the Theatre Royal in Hargraves Street, Castlemaine for a 9am start time. The Women’s Social rides (including trans and femme) are targeted at a beginner to intermediate skill level, conducted at a gentle pace and have a duration of approximately 1.5 hours. There will be a “no drop” policy – no one will be left behind. There will be an option to follow the ride with a catch up at a local café. Women with advanced mountain biking experience are welcome to come along to contribute to the supportive environment. Please note this is not a skills clinic and riders must be self-sufficient with food, water and spares. You must have a well maintained mountain bike and well fitted helmet that meets Australian standards. A Rocky Riders (or other AusCycling) membership is recommended so you are covered by insurance while riding. An insurance waiver can be signed on the day if required. Please register your attendance by "buying" a ticket for this event (please note is is free).

In response to an exciting number of women expressing an interest in increasing their participation in mountain biking, a monthly Women’s Social Ride (including trans and femme) has been added to the Rocky Riders Calendar. These rides will focus on creating a supportive, inclusive and encouraging environment, connecting with other women and spending time in our beautiful local surrounds. The Women’s Social rides are targeted at a beginner skill level, conducted at a gentle pace and have a duration of approximately 1.5 hours. There will be a “no drop” policy – no one will be left behind, with one of two ride leaders at the back of the group. There will be an option to follow the ride with a catch up at a local café. Women with intermediate/advanced mountain biking experience are welcome to come along to contribute to the supportive environment.Please note this is not a skills clinic and riders must be self-sufficient with food, water and spares. You must have a well maintained mountain bike and well fitted helmet that meets Australian standards. A Rocky Riders (or other AusCycling) membership is recommended so you are covered by insurance while riding. An insurance waiver can be signed on the day if required.

The trails in this network are generally flowing and less technical in nature, although some newer trails have exploited local geological and Goldfields features. This ride will introduce some new trails in a western loop through the forest. We are planning a ride of approximately 25 km that should take around 2.5 hours. We will likely split into two groups to offer both a faster-paced and a more social-paced journey. Riders with beginner to intermediate skills are welcome but must have a reasonable level of fitness and all riders must be self-sufficient with food, water and spares. The ride will commence at 10am at the historic Red White and Blue poppet head on Bells Lane Track. Head west on the Muckleford School Road, past Jeralee Boarding Kennels and continue on Bells Lane Track to the intersection with Red White and Blue Track. There is plenty of parking (but no coffee van).  

We are offering a series of three skills sessions with some of the Club's fully accredited mountain bike coaches.  These sessions will suit beginner and intermediate riders.  Junior riders are particularly encouraged to participate.  The sessions will be held on Saturday afternoons at the Baco trails in Castlemaine on three weekends in March and April.  Each session will run for 2 hours.  It is intended that you attend each session to progressively build up the range of skills being coached. Topics that will be covered are: starting with body position, gears, braking, trail awareness to body position, angulation and cornering. The first session will be held on Saturday 27 March from 3pm to 5pm;  subsequent sessions are on 10th of April and 24th of April . When registering, could you please let us know your age and experience in MTB riding.