Tasmanian Derby Bike Adventure

This years Shane Fairmaid’s mountain bike adventure was in Tasmania and it was a cracker for all the right reasons.

There were 8 of us all up, Shane, Starve (Steve), Moff (Steve), Bob, Jeff, Edwin (unfortunately Edwin ended up not being able to ride after the first day as he had a really sore hip), Gurney (Steve), and myself and we all rocked up with our bikes to Hobart Airport on the Friday afternoon of Nov 16th looking forward to another of Shano’s fabulous adventures. Based on the recommendation of my daughter Ruby and her partner Josh (they had 10 awesome days of riding all over Tassie in March 24) we had hired 2 utes and bike racks and headed to our airbnb to setup bikes and to get sorted for a week of riding.

I was riding my Scott Spark RC and it was the perfect bike for Tasmania, light and excellent uphill but great for the technical xcountry trails and downhills with its geometry and handlebar shock controls. My gear included Gu Chews, Gu electrolyte tablets, and Pure Electrolyte Hydration to keep me fueled and hydrated, along with a Patagonia long-sleeved MTB top, an Outside Sports custom-branded bike top,and a Patagonia R1 Hoody for layering. While I used my older Patagonia lightweight MTB wind jacket (no longer in stock), I’d recommend the Marmot Men’s Superalloy Rain Jacket as a lightweight alternative. I used a Patagonia waist bag and a CamelBak. For safety and performance, I had a POC Ventral MPS helmet, POC MTB gloves, and a pair of incredible POC MTB glasses. Outside Sports custom-branded water bottles also came in handy, ensuring I stayed hydrated throughout the rides.

The North-South Track Trail Map

Saturday morning dawned fine and clear. We rode up from the Cascade Brewery, up to and along the North South trail for a total of 4.5 hrs all up. We rode down to lunch in the town of Glenorchy then grovelled back up (some of more than others!) the North South trail, along and back down to the Brewery for a well earned pint or two and a meal. Needless to say we all slept well that night!

The actual trail was really good riding, a lot of it built on rock, almost all single track with uphill only and downhill trails. All up a really good introduction to mountain biking in Tasmania and one that I would say is a must do. There were lots of locals, young and old out riding which was great to see as well.

Sunday was a transfer day where we drove up from Hobart on the coast route to Derby. All up it was quite a long day in the utes, 4 1/2 hrs all up.

For our first day in Derby we had booked in the world famous Bay of Fires ride. We used Ross and his team at Vertigo MTB for support and for our Bay of Fire and Blue Tier shuttles and they were a great team. Lots of good local info and just good people to be around (plus they were great mechanics!).

We were on the shuttle with Ross at 9am and riding around an hour later. The first part was quite technical (after the cross country at the top) because it was greasy from the rain overnight. I managed to slip out my front wheel on one of the corners but bounced back up quickly. After that it was a lot of rock, little ups and downs, one of the best trails that I have ever ridden (we would all be saying versions of this over the next few days!). We finished at the Bay of Fires Conservation Area beach. There was a big swell running so I didn’t end up swimming (only Gurney from our group did so well done Steve!)

After that Vertigo provided burgers, sausages and a cold drink for lunch which went down very nicely.

The only downer for the day was Bob crashing at the last river crossing and hurting his left shoulder and cracking ribs which meant he couldn’t ride for the rest of the trip. Home after (1.5 hrs shuttle) for a shower and a pizza at the Hub restaurant. All up a great first day thanks Derby!

Map of The Derby Trails

Today was a cross country day with 2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the afternoon... a great day all up! We rode up Krushka’s to the top of the Kingswall trail and then back down to Derby in the morning then up and down the Krushka’s downhill in the afternoon. The afternoon was a little less technical but still great fun (including riding the famous 350m tunnel a couple of times!). Tonight the team were either at the Hub or the Derby Irish Pub.

Today we rode the Blue Tier and Atlas trails (we shuttled up to the start with Vertigo MTB again). The Blue Tier trail had just been reworked which made for a truly amazing ride, I can honestly say that it was probably the most enjoyable downhill trail that I have ever ridden! Lunch was at the old pub at Weldborough then we shuttled up to start of the next trail, Atlas. This was amazing too, just a little more technical through which kept us all on our toes.

Today for our final day riding in Derby we rode a couple of hrs in the morning up the Krushka’s up trail to Dambusters, around and then some of us rode down Dambusters via the tunnel. Steve G, Shano and Geoff rode down the black trail Trouty (named for the rock in the photo) and by all accounts to a lot of laughs and a couple of falls.

For the afternoon 4 of us (after lunch at the back packers) rode up the main up trail Krushka’s, around Hazy days (a really sweet green flow trail) then back up to the top of Kings Wall and back down to Derby. To be fair the riding was fairly average as there were some tired bodies! After bikes were packed up we all headed to Lot 41 for some well earned (and amazing!) lamb shanks at the Lot 41 resturant (https://lot40.com.au).

After a big sleep we were on the road at 6am odd, headed down through the middle of Tasmania (gravel roads courtesy of Google and to miss Launceston) to Hobart airport and the journey back home.

Goodbye Tasmania until this time next year! We’ll definitely be back!

Please note that the amazing photos are courtesy of Steve Gurney, Garth Cooper and Shane Fairmaid.