Friday 13th February 2026, 9.00 am

Cliff Tann is planning an away ride at Ewen Maddock Dam. The ride will start at 9.00 am on Friday, 13th February from the car park at Maddock Park near the Ewen Maddock Dam wall. This is a popular and scenic ride through many different kinds of woodland with beautiful views of the dam in places.  We will ride to Mooloolah for coffee at Mooloolah Valley Bakehouse in Bray Road but there is also, just a couple of doors away, Jones Street Kitchen on the corner of Bray Road and Jones Street where coffee and food is also available. We can have our coffee at the shops or directly opposite, across Bray Road, there is a beautiful park with tables, plenty of bike racks and good clean toilets. After coffee, we will ride the remaining 5km's back to Maddock Park via the bike pathways running beside Mooloolah Connection Road.

Total distance covered is only 23km but remember that most of this is off-road cycling so, only confident riders should participate.  Please note that the ride is NOT suitable for narrow tyres.  Medium width tyres including hybrid and electric bikes are OK but the wider the tyres the better, so mountain bike is best if you have one. There are a number of large but low logs that horses have to step over next to gates.  Bikes have to be lifted over them during the ride but usually some of the blokes assist with lifting e-bikes if required.

For the benefit of those who have not done this ride before, the route avoids some very steep and scary hills.  It does include a few inclines and three small gullies.  There are no technical sections to be negotiated. As it is off road for most of the way, it is not a fast ride and will take approximately 3.0 hours including coffee.

The flatter tracks will probably be fairly rough in places with hazards such as tree roots and stones and sandy patches so you need to ride to the conditions, watch where you are going and, most importantly, don't follow the rider in front too closely in case they stop suddenly (we have had some near misses in the past).  There are some patches of soft sand and rough stones which need care.

Bring sunscreen and insect repellent as the weather is warming.  There is a small beach just below the park where in the summer we have swum to cool off after the ride, and a ramp from which to launch kayaks.  So, you are welcome to bring your togs and/or kayak if you wish but, I will leave that entirely up to you.

Directions for first timers - Fastest route: 

Bruce Highway north then take left turnoff at the Caloundra exit but go left onto Steve Irwin Way/Landsborough. After 3km towards Landsborough turn right at the lights into Mooloolah Connection Road. Follow that around until you come to the car park at Maddock Park near the Ewen Maddock Dam wall. The turnoff to Ewen Maddock Dam and Maddock Park is about 2km along Mooloolah Connection Road.  It is the first turning on the left after the sports fields and BMX track. Look for the blue sign on the left (my GPS locates Maddock Park). Ignore the new car park on the right after you turn in and follow the signs to the Day Use area car park where there are usually plenty of vacant spots as well as spacious toilets. We will only need to use the new car park if the other one is full for any unexpected reason. It is approximately a 45 minute drive from Bellara to the car park so allow enough time for road work delays and sorting out your bike when you arrive, so that we can all leave at 9.00am.

If you would like to join me on this ride, please reply to this email or phone/text me on 0488 126 136.

Hope to see you there.