The Brisbane Valley rail trail extends 160km from Wulkuraka in Ipswich to Yarraman. A disused rail corridor repurposed thanks to the commitment and vision of a small group of people who managed to convince the state and local governments it was a worthy investment. They were right and the trail which was pretty rough has been subsequently gentrified in places to make it more accessible to a wider range of people. The towns along the way have prospered from the horde that come here to ride, eat and stay. The trail is still pretty wild in places, spectacularly magnificent, always an adventure. Its been a big win all round.
I’ve managed to travel its length over a number of rides and thought it worthwhile to collect them here. In November of 2022, I bought Harry the gravel bike experiment. In December I felt it a good idea to join the BVRT sunset ride down the range from Yarraman to Linville, about half that distance in the dark. I’d not been on the BVRT before at all so headed out to Moore for lunch ahead of the main event later that day to see what the fuss was all about.
Initially I found a smooth gravel trail. Subsequently the trail dived down deep gullies, and I wondered what I might have got myself into. Turns out I spent the evening journey utterly focused on staying upright in the dark which I managed successfully. I was hooked.
December 27, 2022, I rode with Tim to Toogoolawah from Moore and return. Only 60km, but insanely hot and led to an extended outage under the only tree for miles around. In March 2023 I returned to ride a brevet from Lowood to Esk and return, about 70km. I was unable to finish owing to the heat only 2km from Lowood and you can read about that here. I returned in 2024 and kicked its butt. In April 2024, Lowood to Toogoolawah completed the missing piece. In April 2023 I did ride from Wulkuraka to Lowood out and back from Fernvale as well. Below a gallery of images taken along the way.
