Australian cycling stalwart and born and bred Queanbeyan man Andrew Blair believes Queanbeyan and neighbouring Canberra have some of the best mountain biking opportunities in the country.
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In fact, he said you couldn't live in a better place for the sport.
"I do like riding around here, it's pretty incredible and it's partly why I live where I do," said the ACT resident.
"Queanbeyan is really handy because there are some good trails around, Jerrabomberra has some excellent trails and there is also Kowen Forest which is very close as well."
He shared some of his top spots for mountain biking, both sealed, unsealed, well-known and secret.
"Behind Greenleigh, the ridge east of Queanbeyan, there are a lot of fire roads up there and it's pretty rugged with lots of big climbs."
Blair is an expert source and has been exploring the region and it's endless variety of trails since he was 14 years old and joined a mountain biking club that was run out of the now-closed Hammer 'n' Cycle bike shop on Crawford Street.
"I had a pretty crappy mountain bike and used to ride in the club and really enjoyed it but never really thought of taking cycling seriously until the ACT Academy of Sport came to Queanbeyan High and said 'you might be alright if you get into cycling'," he said.
"So they gave us the road bike and the coach, and then I just fostered my development and focused a bit more on performance rather than just having fun because at that point I was pretty young and I was just enjoying myself."
Despite the adoption of a more serious approach to the sport, Blair's enthusiasm for the bike never waned and the subsequent effort paved the way for two national marathon championship wins amongst a deluge of other victories, culminating in a 2014 Commonwealth Games selection.
The 36-year old still rides competitively for Specialized Racing Australia and will be defending his 2015 title at the Snowies MTB Festival Stage Race, before competing in both the Australian Cross Country Championships in Victoria, and the Australian Marathon Championships in Tasmania.
But Blair believes that cycling's popularity lies not in its elite nature but in its accessibility, and the fact that everyone can engage in the activity, regardless of their level of expertise or fitness.
"I think everybody can relate to it because everyone learns how to ride a bike when they're little," he said.
"You don't have to be an athlete to ride your bike to work, and in some cases it's a lot easier because you don't have to worry about parking and it's good to be able to know you have done a half an hour ride, getting that consistent exercise without even really thinking about it,"
"It's also really accessible, and a lot of people get into cycling when they're in rehab from injuries because they have been hurt in the sport that they pursued and then found cycling as another sport to do as they're getting back on track."