From Cairns, to Atherton and now towards Port Douglas, Flow’s tropical trail exploration continues to put smiles on our dials.
The tropical north of Queensland is a fitting holiday destination for about three million reasons, it’s wonderfully warm, delicious fruit falls from the trees above, the water is enticing (but dangerous), forests are lush and if you know where to go the mountain bike trails are a blast too. The Bump Track, which riders in the popular multi stage race the RRR takes in on the final day is a must-do trail for a good hair raising run.
Perched up in the wild mountains behind the plush resort town of Port Douglas is The Bump Track. It’s not single track, it’s not purpose built flowing stuff like what we left behind in Atherton, it’s a classic old fire trail cutting through the jungle at rapid pace.
“The Bump Track is full of ‘whoa boys’ so keep your wits about you” says a local rider, we all look at each other wondering what exactly a ‘whoa boy’ was. It took only a couple moments after we let the brakes off for gravity to push us down the fast track to find out what they were.
One of those descents that goes on for longer than you expect, the Bump Track is a classic not to be missed. It’s not an easy ride to do in a loop as such, and best accessed via a shuttle to the top, and riding into Port Douglas town from the bottom.
From the tablelands down to the rainforest at sea level we hurtled along with wide eyes dodging vines with spikes so strong they would pull you off your bike if you. We call them water bars, locals call them whoa boys, we all freaked out and we freaking loved it.
Racing side by side with our mates, we did our best to keep our wheels remotely close to the ground as we are launched by the many water bars along the way. Keep your eyes up though, the trail can surprise you with a tight turn at any moment.
After cleaning up our wounded warrior who got a bit too much ‘whoa’ over one of the whoa boys, we were treated to a part of North QLD that we liked very much. A river crossing lined with fluorescent green vegetation, so tropical the mosquitos were as big as moths and mangoes floated into our waiting hands like magic.
We really felt a long way from home at that point as we reminisced of the crazy run down the Bump Track whilst cutting open a mango with out Lezyne multi tools, and munching on the sweet golden fruit.
If the tide is right, you can take the scenic route from the bottom of the Bump Track into Port Douglas – the beach. Being such a long and flat beach, riding it is definitely an option. We missed it this time, but even riding into town on the road we were treated to high class resorts, lush streets and more mangoes falling from the sky.
The Bump Track was all the riding we got to do in the Port Douglas region, but only a short drive back to Cairns or Atherton there is more than enough. It’s a great option to plant your weary bodies for a few days holiday in absolute paradise.
From Atherton to Cooktown, with the Bump Track in the middle, good times and more to come. The final part of our Troppo adventures we land in Cooktown in time for the Crocodile Trophy to finish in town, and we even tagged along for the final stage.