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A riding trip with the family is the dream for every mountain biking Mum and Dad. Out somewhere beautiful, seeing new trails, new scenes and everybody is smiling, having a ball and making memories.
A big riding trip with your kids can also take a sharp left turn, with tears, tantrums and if poorly executed, it may well be your last for a while.
So, for a style guide on how to build the best family vacation, we set the Leach clan loose on Victoria’s High Country with Flow’s Friendly Giant, Paul Van Der Ploeg, tagging along to see how it’s done.
David Leach, his partner Michelle King, and their two kids, Alice and Angus, spent a week exploring the high country, riding Beechworth, the Indigo Epic and Mt Buller, and they’ve shared tidbits of wisdom about mountain bike travel with the family they’ve picked up over the years.
Come along as the Leach family and Vandy explore Victoria’s High Country
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How to select your destinations?
Being based in Melbourne, the obvious place for the Leach family to go was Victoria’s High Country. With ten bike parks all within driving distance, the world is literally your oyster.
However, as Michelle points out, you need to have realistic expectations about what every member of your family can handle.
“For us, somewhere like Bright is a bit harder to keep both kids entertained because you have two levels of riders (because we have to split up.) We’ve got Alice, who doesn’t ride as much as Angus,” she says.
Typically the Leach Family picks one spot and camps out there for the entirety of the trip. Michelle says this works if it’s a destination with lots of variety within a short distance of the trailhead. While adding in multiple destinations adds some complexity, it keeps everything fresh so that even trails which may not be of interest to more skilled riders on a second or third pass will still have some mystique and that unknown fun factor when you only have time to hit them once or maybe twice.
“As a family we tend to go somewhere and stay in one spot for a week, and we hadn’t really done a road trip to multiple locations. It was really enjoyable to do that week across multiple locations. It’s definitely something we’ll be doing again,” she continues.
Beechworth
With Vandy at the helm, the first stop for the Leach family was Beechworth for two reasons.
“There is a little skills park where you can sort of assess what level everyone is at and help to choose what trails you pick in the park. But also Beechworth Mountain Bike Park is a good place to go especially after you’ve driven five hours from the Peninsula, just stretch your legs and make sure the bikes are working,” Vandy says. “But you’ve gotta remember, there’s a skatey surface and big granite boulders. It keeps things interesting, but you can get yourself into trouble if you’re not used to that sort of thing.”
Beechworth is well-signposted, and it’s easy to find your way around if it’s your first time. You can pack a fair whack into an hour or so.
The Leach family is a mish-mash of ages and skill levels. David and Angus are your black diamond shredders, always up for another lap. Michelle is more of a trail rider, while capable of riding what the boys do, she’s still progressing. The youngest Alice’s true passion is basketball, but she still loves riding — especially descending, but not so much the climbing.
“What worked really well for us was the fact that you could just do a lot of that bottom section of stuff without having to do too much climbing. It had little bits for everybody, especially that skills bit. I found that part really great because it warmed us up a little bit. It was a good challenge for Alice at her level. I think Angus and David would have gotten a little bit bored if we stayed (in the skills area) for too long, but we could do a great loop and not be too far out,” Michelle says.
And then, of course, there is the town itself. Like stepping back in time to the days of the gold rush and ol’ Ned Kelly with the facade of the buildings kept in that classic style. From the old Beechworth Gaol (jail), the Honey Store, Beechworth Sweet Co, Ghost tours of the Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum and finishing off at Bridge Road Brewery for beer, soda and pizza, there is a cultural experience for every member of the family.
“I’m pretty keen on side activities, and on our riding trips, I will always schedule a day where there might be a hike or research what’s in town or the surrounding suburbs beforehand,” says Michelle. “That way, if one of us doesn’t feel like riding that day, we can go and do this instead,” she says.
David continues that these side activities are key to making it feel like a holiday and adding novelty bits that aren’t just riding bikes.
“You can’t just say, ‘We’re going to ride today, and then have lunch and then ride more. And then tomorrow we’re going to ride all day, and the next day.’ I love it. I could quite happily do that, but not everyone in my family is like that. If we did do that, it would probably be the last riding holiday,” laughs.
Indigo Epic
Opening in March 2023 and ridable year-round, the Indigo Epic is the much-needed official connector between Beechworth and Yackandandah. Designed to be an IMBA Epic trail, the beauty of this 56km route is with the helix shape, it can be divided up into smaller loops, or better yet, shuttled.
The Leach Family and Vandy jumped on a shuttle from the Old Beechworth Gaol to the top of the Homeward Bound Descent, which goes from the high point into Yackandandah.
As David explains, this is the ideal situation for their youngest, Alice, who they are careful not to put too far in over her head.
“She rides well for her age, but she’s never going to be a cross-country athlete, and she’s not into pushing herself to ride up a big hill. It’s not her, she’s just not programmed that way. But, she loves to go down hills, and when she gets tired, she wants to go home,” says David.
Homeward Bound into Yackandandah is a lovely blue flow descent, albeit with a few climbs near the bottom. However, the Leach family came prepared with a big bag of Allen’s lollies and their secret weapon, the Kommit Tow Rope.
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“Alice was so positive the whole way down, and when we got near the bottom, there were a couple of climbs. We just chucked the tow rope on her. Just being prepared and accounting for the different skill levels and ages that you’re going to have different speeds.
We had a really fun time, it’s a majority downhill trail with a couple of climbs and you still get a fun approachable trail for a lot of different abilities,” says Vandy.
Broken up into sections, the Indigo Epic can be approachable for all kinds of riders and skill levels, and especially the descent into Yack is one of our favourites. It goes and goes and goes and goes. So much flow, so much speed, it’s a trail you can ride at full speed totally blind because it’s well built and predictable.
HOWEVER, do not try to do Beechworth to Yack if you have young or inexperienced riders. From Beechworth to the high point is all climbing, don’t set yourself up for failure, grab a shuttle from the Beechworth Gaol, and make sure the whole family makes it to Yack with a smile on their face.
Michelle notes that the key to their success is planning lots of stops to look at flowers or ferns or anything else along the trail and, at the same time, making sure that your kids are taking on food and water because they will forget. But there is one critical factor to their success on these big days out.
“Never put the teenage boy on the front of the group,” she laughs.
Mount Buller | Gravity, with a side of gravity
It wouldn’t be a High Country road trip without an excursion above tree line, and so the alpine finale to the Leach Family’s vacay was Mount Buller.
With the resort’s entire trail network having been revamped, the trails have been reimagined and modernised over the past couple of seasons, but there are still oodles of variety with big XC adventures and, of course, the gravity trails.
According to Vandy, the gravity trails are running as well as they ever have.
“Copperhead is more approachable than ever before. It had really well-built corners, with dirt in them, so you could actually get some lean on our bike and not lose the front end. ABOM was better than I’ve ever seen it as well,” says Vandy.
Vandy did say if you haven’t ridden ABOM in a while, maybe take a sighting run before you commit to all the jumps, as he nearly had a hugey on a surprise gap over a fern.
Knowing Alice’s penchant for descending, a day of shuttles with Blue Dirt was the obvious choice. Fortunately, that was not too hard of a sell for the rest of the family either.
However, even with shuttle-assisted riding, some teamwork is required with the different skill levels.
“I know I’ve probably got about a two-hour window with Alice before she needs to stop for lunch and a big rest. Then you might get another two, maybe three laps out of her, and then she’s done for the day. Whereas my son might do 10 laps without blinking,” says David.
In this situation, David says having accommodation close to where you’re riding is a boon, and equally sharing responsibility and managing everyone’s expectations is key.
“You have to share the responsibility of looking after the youngest member of your crew. So it’s not just myself and my son tearing around all the time. My son and partner will go riding together so they can have that time as well, and I might go to the swimming pool (or something else) with my daughter once she’s done riding,” says David.
Buller is usually pretty quiet during the summer, but in the past few seasons, the offering up the hill has been steadily growing, with restaurants popping up. At the bottom of the hill, the Mirimbah Store is a classic for a cafe feed, to pick up essentially or a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread. In the village, the Alberg House is newly open all summer with a full dining menu.
There’s also frisbee golf and a new Via Ferrata Route that goes off the back side of the summit.
Buller is transitioning from snow to green season as we speak, with the trail network opening progressively starting in November, with the whole enchilada — including shuttles — available from December.
Tips for a riding holiday with your family from the pros
All in all, this particular trip with the Leach clan went off without a hitch. There was one flat tyre, but no broken parts, big crashes — despite Vandy’s best efforts on ABOM — or major meltdowns.
At this point, the Leachs are seasoned family riding trip pros and have some helpful hints for parents looking to pack up the Wagon Queen Family Truckster with the kiddos and bikes for the first time.
Manage your expectations
David put it best when he said, “It’s not a dream riding trip with your mates. It’s a trip for everybody to have fun somewhere different on their bikes.”
He says it’s about finding the balance so that it’s enjoyable for everyone. Part of that comes from knowing what every member of your family is capable of.
“Don’t go in with a jam-packed schedule of a certain amount of riding you want to do or a certain amount of trails you want to get done. If you burn all your fun tickets at once, you will get them saying, ‘I don’t want to go back.’ Or the next day, they won’t want to go, and eventually, nobody will want to go with you again,” he says.
That’s not to say that you can’t encourage everyone to progress and get a little out of their comfort zone, but be realistic.
“There have been times when we’ve probably pushed the kids to keep riding when they’ve been done, just because you’re there. That is always a mistake,” says Michelle.
“It’s all about accounting for what the whole group can enjoy, while still keeping your eyes peeled on the maps and things for a sneaky little jumps trail, or other options where you can send a couple of people down another trail and meet back up at the bottom. Do your research before you get there, but also understand what everyone is realistically capable of,” says David.
Put all of your riding stuff in one place
Nothing puts a damper on a riding vacation faster than arriving with one shoe or no helmet. Michelle says after a few incidents like this, they have devised a system that all but eliminates the dreaded forgotten gear.
The first step is to assume that your kids are going to forget something, so before any riding kit goes into a bag, everyone in the Leach family lays it all out in the garage.
“That way it’s in one space, and we can eyeball it and go, yep, you’ve got all your kit,” she says.
The second step is to put all of the gear into one bag rather than spread it through individual suitcases.
“We have this massive Fox bag that all our shoes, helmets, pads and protective stuff goes in, and the actual riding clothes go in individual bags. We can just shove that Fox bag into the car, and then if you’re driving to the trails, you know that as long as you put your helmet back in the (Fox) bag, it’s going to be there,” she says.
Pack sugar, and LOTS of it
Sometimes it’s hard enough to keep yourself fuelled out riding, let alone your kiddo, who is overstimulated in a new environment.
A lot of junior bikes don’t have space for bottle cages, and if they do, sometimes they can’t hold a bottle large enough to be of any value.
“You’ll need to find little Camelbaks and things like that that will actually fit smaller kids, so they can keep their own lollies and their own bit of water and remind them to use it. They don’t really understand how important that stuff is when you’re being active,” says David.
This is also the time to let your little ones indulge their sweet tooth out riding. Carbs are fuel, and Snakes and Party mix are packed full of carbs. Chips are covered in salt, which is composed of two key electrolytes that will help your kids retain more of the water they drink. Kids love to eat both, so save the healthy snacks for after the ride and bring the good stuff out on your ride.
If you have a cycling computer or a Garmin or Wahoo watch, you can set up eat and drink reminders to go after at set intervals. This is great for ensuring you and your mini-shredders are stopping regularly to take on food and water so that everyone finishes the ride without a hunger flat.
Preparation is key
Jackets! David tells us the biggest mistake they have ever made is not having enough jackets, so now that is always at the top of their packing list.
But that packing list doesn’t just include jackets. It’s spares for all your bikes.
“You’re not just looking out for yourself, you’re now the mechanic for your whole family. We have four different wheel sizes; we need tubes for each. One bike might be 10-speed and another one uses Transmission. Make sure you have all of these parts, especially if you’re not familiar with the place you are going because you might not know where to go to get brake pads on a Sunday afternoon in Yackandandah,” he says.
As we’ve alluded to, doing your homework to know a little bit about the trail network and what other activities are around is a good idea so that you get the most out of the riding for everyone, and also have something locked and loaded for when the kids call time.
Investing in things like tow ropes can make sure your mini-shredder doesn’t have to burn all the matches they have left to get up a nasty little pinch to have none left for the descent. But also, make sure their brakes work, and they are set up on a good set of grippy tyres, not the plastic K-Mart special.
“Certainly on the more beginner bikes, tyres that actually grip and good brakes that are easy for them to use. If they don’t have that control, they don’t feel safe. If you feel like you’re about to crash the whole time, their confidence goes down, and they won’t want to do it any more,” explains David.
But even just making it easier for yourself by foreplanning things like meals and supplies on the way in and out.
“One of the things I’ve started doing is doing click and collect if it’s available in the town or on the way. I’ll pre-order supermarket stuff so we can just pick it up. Or even something as simple as pre-booking dinner, so it takes that extra decision-making out of the equation when you get there. We used to always go shopping or figure out where we were going to eat after we arrived, and this way, it just eliminates that whole other job you have to do,” says Michelle.
Don’t forget to enjoy yourself
Things are going to go wrong. Your kid is probably going to have a melt down. Things break, flat tyres happen, shuttles are missed — in short, shit happens.
You’re out with your family, riding bikes — be present to enjoy it, and don’t sweat the little setbacks.
“There are so many little jokes that you get being out there with your family. Then there are those little scenarios where you’re looking at your kids, and you’re like they’re doing so well, and you get that real pride in their abilities. They’re out there, doing new things, and they’re learning something new, or they’ve just done something they’ve never done before,” says Michelle.
“When we started doing riding trips, my youngest was five or so, and my oldest was maybe nine. They were on 20in hardtails, and we could manage maybe half-an-hour, to an hour, and then we’d tourist the rest of the time. Now my son is faster than me. My partner and my daughter are flying down tracks, and it’s really good to see that progression each time and seeing them enjoy themselves,” says David.
“When they say I can’t wait to go back to Beechworth or when can we go back to Mount Buller — that’s just awesome,” he continues.
School holidays are coming, and the weather is getting warmer. It’s time to start planning those summer riding trips. Where are you headed? Let us know your favourite spot to check out with your mini-shredders, or somewhere you’d love to take your kids riding.
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