Five roads every Brisbane rider should know

Brisbane is spoiled. Within an hour of the city you've got rainforest hairpins, open ridgelines and bayside cruises that riders fly interstate for. The hard part isn't finding *a* good road — it's knowing which one suits the time, the bike and the mood you're in today.

Here are five that belong on every Brisbane rider's map. Ride them all and you've got a feel for what South East Queensland does best.

1. Mt Glorious & Nebo — the classic

If you only learn one, learn this one. The Mt Glorious & Nebo twisties are tight, technical and rightly famous — rainforest switchbacks that reward smoothness and punish a lazy throttle hand. It's busy, so ride it early: a dawn run before the cyclists and the cars is a completely different road. Look through the corner, not at the bit of tar in front of you, and it flows.

2. Mt Coot-tha to Samford — the after-work blast

Short on time? The Mt Coot-tha to Samford loop is the local's mid-week fix. You're into proper corners minutes from the city, with enough rhythm to clear your head after work and be home before dark. It's the one to keep in your back pocket for when a full day isn't on.

3. Back Roads to Dayboro — the easy flow

Not every great ride is a knee-down assault. The Back Roads to Dayboro is open, flowing and genuinely relaxing — farmland, gentle bends and a country pub at the end of it. It's a brilliant ride for building confidence, or for the days you just want to roll along and enjoy the scenery.

4. Cleveland & Mt Cotton — twisties with a bayside finish

The Cleveland Lighthouse & Mt Cotton run gives you rural-feeling twisties through Mt Cotton and then spits you out by the bay. It's a great day ride, and one of the few that works just as well after dark for a change of pace. Watch for wildlife on the rural sections.

5. Tyalgum & Natural Bridge — the full day

When you've got a whole day, point south. The Tyalgum & Natural Bridge ride drops into the Gold Coast hinterland for the kind of rainforest road riders save up their weekends for. Pack water, fuel up before you commit to the long legs, and make a day of it.

Ride them prepared

A couple of these run well out of phone range, and the good corners are exactly where the gravel and the wildlife hide. Five minutes on the safety basics — fuel range, telling someone your route, the apps worth having — is the difference between a great day and a bad one.

Every road here is mapped with the corners, the stops and a GPX you can download. There are more where these came from — the full list lives on the routes page. Go ride them, then tell us which one we've ranked wrong.