Having previously written about Pipeline Road, a return to this great gravel road coincided with a ride up what CyclingGravel considers one of the best gravel climbs in the ACT – Warks Road. It actually would make for an epic gravel descent too…..

Getting to Warks

Heading towards the Brindabella ranges starts with the Cotter Road – a regular for CyclingGravel as part of the Cotter Uriarra loop. This road is a Canberra cycling favourite, so motorists that regularly drive this road would expect cyclists. My main tip is that there is more traffic on the weekend – particularly from mid-morning as families head to the Cotter for picnics and summer time river swimming. The descent to the Cotter offers great views.

After the climb out of the Cotter past Mount McDonald and Uriarra Village, the route turns into Brindabella Road – where the fun really starts if heading to Tumut. It is just under 5km on this sealed road to get to the Warks Road turn off.

Warks Road

Starting on Warks Road you are in the pine forest plantations – a popular place for dirt motorbiking. I’m not sure if this is everyone’s universal experience, but as a general statement I find off-road motorcyclists to be a friendly, interested and polite bunch. If a little incredulous as to why you’d choose not to have an engine on your bike….

One of the downsides of a motorcycle is that you can’t ride the full Warks Road. Before the climb starts there is a locked gate with clear signage that the route is for hikers and cyclists only from that point. Interestingly, however, this does not impact upon the quality of the road – it remains well maintained though does become a little more track-like for the 7km through to the next gate at Blundell’s Creek Road. For a significant part of the gated route Warks Road runs parallel to Blundells Creek, and this is both nice and shady and very scenic.

After the second gate the climb kicks up into the ranges but is never terribly steep. Over about 14.5km, the net climb is about 500m – you know you’ve reached the top when the road takes a sharp right bend and levels out for the remainder of the trip to Bendora Road.

Bendora Road and Pipeline

Bendora Road starts the descent back to the Cotter, and is also where the route opens back out to some great mountain views. The road showed some evidence of recent maintenance, as well as traffic (although I didn’t experience any). Pipeline Road turn off is around 4km from Warks Road, and does not have a sign-post – so look out for it.

After passing the locked gate, the descent to the Cotter gets increasingly steep. Whilst well maintained when I cycled it, the descent does require caution. You know it is done when arriving at the concrete causeway across the Cotter River.

From the crossing, the most difficult part of the route ensues. The road climbs steeply and then undulates as it follows the eponymous pipeline and the Cotter River from above. There are some fantastic views on offer, but be prepared for the “up and down” nature of the road as it runs through to the final gate – from which it is possible to take a number of different routes down to the Cotter and the ride back up to Canberra.

Hits and tips

• This route is totally fine for a gravel bike. The steep final Cotter River descent on Pipeline requires caution, and the really pinchy climbs after that may test limited range groupsets, but the road conditions are great for gravel cycling.
• I pondered a reverse of this route, but it is important to note just how steep the early climb from the Cotter River crossing on Pipeline would be. If you want to make a Warks Road descent, a climb via another route is probably preferable. Speaking of which, that is a likely plan for an upcoming CyclingGravel article….