Winter has arrived, the days are shorter, so it's time for a bit of a classic Namadgi day trip. The intended route is drawn here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Mt-Clear-Loop

On foot, this circuit involves a fair bit of firetrail slogging, which renders it much better as a mountain bike trip. The plan is to drive out to the Mt Clear campground and head south along Grassy Creek. From there it is a few ks of climbing to Long Flat, and some more uphill stuff to Tea Tree Swamp Flat. The next stop is the summit of Mt Clear & some Namadgi views. From the summit, there is a speedy brake burning 500m descent over 3ks down to Hand Creek. The gradient eases off after the descent, and there are some undulating trails leading to Horse Gully Hut. If we have spare time, we can head up North along the Naas Ck fire trail to do some exploring. From Horse Gully hut, we'll follow the fire trail back to the cars via Demandering Hut.

The trip involves at least 35ks of riding with a bit over 1200m of climbing (500m of that is getting to the summit). The trip is rated as medium-hard, indicating you'll need a decent level of fitness and a non K-mart mountain bike. Contact me in advance if you are unsure. As a guide, you'll need to have done something of similar or greater distance with some good hills (or enjoy XC racing on singletrack etc etc).

If someone can beg, borrow or steal a stash of dry ice for the trip, it will come in handy...