Ride Summary

The rather lengthy 60 kilometre Licola Road ride possesses a corner ratio of 75% and corner speeds of medium or fast. The bitumen is good, with grippy areas, and the surface of the road sports occasional bumps. You are likely to encounter one car every 10 minutes.

Ride Description

Magnificent, if slightly uncanny-looking, scenery is the rule along the Licola Road, a highly enjoyable, dangerous and technical ride that starts at Glenmaggie and ends – for purposes of motorcycle riding, anyway, rather than 4WD and dirt bike riding – at the 15 kilometre point past Licola, where the paving ends. The terrain is varied, including very tall treeless hills, equally tall hills clad in heavy forest, flatland on valley floors, and cliff-face hugging sections. The most spectacular scenery is near Licola, where a blue road surface is flanked by brilliant reddish-pink cliffs crowned by vividly green trees.

The road is extremely challenging even for experienced motorcyclists – which, of course, is the source of much of its fun. Many of the corners are not only bumpy, but their radius tightens as you proceed, meaning that you should be alert and conservative until you become familiar with the route. There are numerous cuttings, high speed blind corners, and similar features as well. Licola Road is very narrow and ascends and descends capriciously. It does lack cross roads, however.

If necessary, you can get fuel and use a public toilet at the Licola general store.

Directions

Fairly distant from Melbourne, the Licola Road is found north of Princes Highway from Heyfield, and can be accessed by following the road through Moe, Yallourn North, Tyers, Heyfield, and finally Licola.

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Best Thing About This Ride

The swift, ever-changing, technical challenges of this dangerous but intriguing ride are the main feature that attracts motorcyclists. It is exciting and will leave you both tired but with a deep sense of satisfaction from a route well followed.

What Else To Look Out For

Because the road is narrow and there are no lane markings, you are likely to encounter traffic going in both directions that is using the center of the road rather than the edge. 4WD and dirt bike clubs also make frequent use of the road, since it leads to territory they are seeking, and they likewise tend to use the center of the road when there is no oncoming traffic.

You should also note that “technical” is not just an abstraction in describing the corners on this road – the blind corners, sharp turns with diminishing radius, and so forth are extremely dangerous to beginning motorcycle riders, and only expert motorcyclists should undertake a ride here.