Wheelbarrow Ridge | Options Galore

Miles From Nowhere Isn't Far

I like to start the ride from Bell’s Line of Road at Kurmond. There’s fuel at the Metro on the left, just in case you haven’t filled up, and then there’s the turn onto Comleroy Road on the right. It’s a nice run through thinly settled agricultural land; make sure you stay left where East Kurrajong Road splits off to the right. Stay left again where the road divides again and it looks as if Comleroy Road is the road on the right; it’s not. 

A little way along, the road goes to gravel and not much later, as it starts to drop to Wheeny Creek, it gets a bit rough. If you don’t like that, start from Colo Heights on the Putty Road instead. That’s where we’re going now, over the Wheeny Creek water crossing, up to the top of the ridge and then down again to Upper Colo. Yes, Upper Colo is at the bottom of the Colo River valley. Turn right into Upper Colo Road, which is tarred, for a little way to the turnoff to the Upper Colo bridge. Across that, you’re back on gravel on an old convict road up to the Putty Road at Colo Heights.

Turn right, and about 500 metres along is the beginning g of the Wheelbarrow Road Track (or Road, depending on your map). This goes to gravel quite soon after you pass a few houses, and stays much the same for the whole ride – even when it isn’t Wheelbarrow Ridge Track/Road any more. Confusing? Don’t worry. You will come to an intersection where the track going right is signposted as Wheelbarrow Ridge Trail. That’s the way you want to go, unless you’re in a hurry and want to get home. In that case stay on Wheelbarrow Ridge Track/Road, which will get you to the Colo River bridge at Lower Portland. From here you can take either the Lower Portland ferry or West Portland Road back to civilisation.

But we’re still up in the hills and about to head further along the Trail. Don’t be put off by the name; the surface is good gravel. Like the rest of this ride, the countryside is scrubby trees and bushes on Hawkesbury sandstone, not exactly pretty but so typical that I always feel especially at home here. There is another junction, this time with the Powerline Trail. Stay on the right.

After winding about a bit, mainly I think to stay on the ridge, the trail reaches yet another junction; this time it and Greens Road join up and become Bicentenary Road. Greens Road runs down to the Hawkesbury by way of a couple of nice and tricky hairpins and eventually back to Lower Portland. 

Bicentenary Road, which is still gravel, eventually reaches Chaseling Road where you want to turn left, cross the Webbs Creek bridge and turn right to reach the Webbs Creek ferry. The ferry takes you across to River Road and the small settlement of Wisemans Ferry, where you’ll find fuel, food and the impressive Wisemans Inn. The ferry, by the way, is closed on the first Tuesday of every month between 9 and 11am for maintenance. That gives you an excuse to carry on to St Albans, I suppose. Both it and the Wisemans ferry are operated by Transport for NSW, so check Live Traffic NSW for information if the river is running high. They are sometimes taken out of service.

I haven’t mentioned all the trails (and tracks) that run off Comleroy Road and the rest of the route. There are lots of these, many of them a lot of fun and with varying levels of difficulty. The only real problem is that most of them are dead ends, but they’re always different when you ride them going back. One that is definitely worth trying runs from Bilpin on Bells Line of Road to  Mountain Lagoon and on along Mountain Lagoon Trail to meet Comleroy Road.

Need to know
There is no fuel and there is nowhere to get a drink or a bite to eat except at the beginning and end of this route. Phone service may be patchy in a few places but is generally good.
The surface is easily manageable even on a road bike if you have the most basic dirt/gravel riding skills – which mostly amount to a bit of confidence. Having said that, the bike I would pick for this run is the 700 Ténéré.