Mount Ainslie loop

The first of the three rides will be a Mount Ainslie loop on Saturday morning at 11am.

Here is a bit of a course description:

Around 13km for a lap, this loop takes you around one of Canberra's three peaks. There are great views to be had along the top of Hackett Saddle and the descent after the rollercoaster at he back of the course.

The first half is quite hilly (pinchy, as all of these courses are) and rocky. The fireroads start off fine and become quite rocky in patches. There are probably two or three spots on descents out the back of Ainslie where there is no line that enable you to avoid rocks larger than golf balls. The descents are steep and loose with one sharpish right hand corner that still jumps out at me, and I've ridden it many times. There are water bars out the back that do their best to buck you off... all very good fun if you're a capable rider but can be a bit dangerous if you've not encountered that sort of thing before. Some of the (short) climbs are also rocky but shouldn't slow the skinny tired folk down much.

Overall, you need good brakes and a bike that you can move around on to get through the first half of this course quickly. Suspension will help in spots, but not a great deal. Tires over 45mm are definitely going to be the fastest to half way through this lap.

The second "half" of the lap starts at the end of the descent after the rollercoaster (which you cant really see on the elevation chart, but its there and it will sap some strength each time). From here, the course flattens out considerably and the gravel is a lot finer and faster. Bring on the narrow tires and big gears. There is a tiny bit of connecting trail that is at times double track and at times single, but always quite do-able on road bike, if push came to shove. The front of course takes us along the back of the inner northern suburbs of Canberra, and there are often walkers along these undulating, screamingly fast gravel roads. A bell will help out a lot. I rode along this section in a pretty big gear (42/13 or so) the other day and it really is a great ride. Again, there are some drains that cross the roads at points, but these are usually either hoppable or easy to find a smooth line through.

The lap ends with a really rough right hand corner and a 100m sprint to the line. Still very flat but the corner throws up one last challenge, and chance for differentiation.

Here are some photos of the course.

Early climb. There are two or three 20 or 30 second effort climbs before the rollercoaster.

Hackett Ridge. Views to Black Mountain, this is also a good example of the surface in the first half of the loop Some large features, but mostly avoidable.

The rollercoaster. 5 or so minutes of sharp ups and downs.

Typical of the front half of the loop. Undulating to flat and very quick.

And finally, the map and elevation profile for the Ainslie loop
www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/28119328