Brisbane Valley Rail Trail – Linville to Toogoolawah

It was Red Dog’s fault that I didn’t really enjoy the first seven kilometres of my ride from Linville to Toogoolawah on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT).

Linville to Moore (7 Kms)

Linville is a charming village just off the D’Aguilar Highway with a beautiful pub and an attractive station with a number of old railway carriages waiting to be restored.

Red Dog joined me just a short way down the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail when I passed a farmhouse.

It would have been all right if he had only kept to his side of the track. But no, he kept crossing just in front of me, causing me to jam on my brakes and lose momentum.

Added to this, there were a few steep gullies to negotiate.

Try as I did, I could not get rid of Red Dog. Sternly I told him to go home, but he had no intention of doing that. I thought a cattle grid that I crossed might stop him, but he flew over it like Superman.

Fortunately, as the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail approached the town of Moore, Red Dog got distracted by the dogs of the town. I lost him just before I pulled into Pol’s Cafe at Moore. Hopefully he made his way home safely.

Moore to Toogoolawah (27 Kms)

I had been looking forward to trying out the new section of the BVRT between Moore and Toogoolawah. Having followed the BVRT Users Association Facebook Group for some time, I  was thrilled when I realised the new section would be completed  by the time I arrived in the area.

Other cyclists I had passed on the previous day during my ride on the BVRT from Yarraman to Linville, had commented that you could ride a road bike on the new surface. I’m not sure that I would do that, but the well compacted surface was excellent.

The first steep crossing I came to was at Sandy Creek.

The lower, flood-prone section of the path was concreted.

A little further along the BVRT I came to Emu Creek. The exit from this ford was very steep and I had to walk. Suddenly, a voice yelled from behind “Who put that hill there?”

Without too much effort, a man dressed in green passed me with a cheery smile.

A few kilometres further down the track, a group of three riders were blocking the trail. I stopped to see if I could assist.

It turned out that an ABC photographer was getting some footage of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail and the recently completed Jimmy Gully Bridge. Apparently she felt that a fourth rider would complete the picture. I was happy to oblige.

Jimmy Gully Bridge

When the signal was given we set off in pairs, converging into single file as we approached the bollard at the beginning of the bridge.

The sub-structure of this significant bridge has been restored and decking and hand-rails built on top.

After crossing the bridge, I stayed to chat for a while with Paul, Karen and Andrew. They were bike-packing over three days from Nanango to Fernvale on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. They had made their way from Nanango to Yarraman on the Nanango Stock Route and had camped overnight at Linville station. That night they were planning to stay at Esk Caravan Park. When they reached Fernvale, Out There Cycling would shuttle them back to Nanango.

Harlin

Saying good-bye, I continued on towards Harlin. There was a steep climb to a new lookout with an attractive view of the Brisbane River and then a roll down through the small town of Harlin and across the Brisbane Valley Highway.

After Harlin, I found myself slogging up another steep hill. I reached the crest and saw the man in green from earlier making his way up the other side.

He told me that the worst of my hills were over and that the climb to Yimbun Tunnel had an easy gradient.

Yimbun Tunnel

When I arrived at Yimbun Tunnel, which is the only tunnel on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, I was disappointed to find that there was an (unlocked) gate across the entrance.

Fortunately, at this point, Paul from the bike-packing trio rode up. He was kind enough to hold the gate open for me so I could get video footage of riding straight through the tunnel. (See my short video below.)

Andrew and Karen caught up with Paul on the other side of the tunnel.

I rode with them all for a while, but eventually they out-paced me and I continued solo for the last few kilometres into Toogoolawah.

Derek joined me for lunch at the Coach House Cafe opposite the station.

My ride on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail from Linville to Toogoolawah had been interesting and very enjoyable. All together I had cycled 34 kilometres and climbed 384 metres.

Here is my 60-second video of highlights of the ride.

Recommendations

I found the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Guide available for purchase online ($8.00) from Organised Grime very useful for planning my rides on the BVRT. As well as the elevation guide available on the first page, the detailed maps indicate Creek Crossings, Deep Creek Crossings and Gates. All of these features slow your progress on the trail, so this information is very helpful when you are trying to work out how long you are likely to take on a particular section.

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail extends 161 km from Wulkuraka near Ipswich to Yarraman. With surfaces varying from concrete to gravel, sand, dirt, grass and railway ballast, you will be most comfortable on a fat-tyred bike. Another factor to consider is that most of the original bridges are now gone. This means you have to cross a number of gullies, some of which are steep.  For me, as an intermediate rider, I found it best to plan 30 km trips rather than 50 km as I often do on other rail trails.

If you don’t have a support driver as I do, you might like to consider this self-guided tour by Tour de Vines.

The BVRT between Yarraman and Linville is also a wonderful ride. Another lovely (but shorter) rail trail in Queensland is the Hervey Bay Rail Trail.