A few months ago, after the sad loss of our wonderful dog (Angus), my partner and I took a trip to Tasmania to grieve, find some peace, and ride big on Australia's small island state.  Tasmania has a lot to offer cyclists, from epic road rides with serene views to whooping descents and gnarly singletrack to keep you occupied for days on end.  Tassie also has rail trail offerings, beautiful countryside, quirky pubs and welcoming locals to ensure you end each day on a high, grinning from ear to ear.

We chose to start our trip with a half-day tour taking us from Hobart/nipaluna up to the top of Mount Wellington/kunanyi, a fantastic vantage point to orientate ourselves above the city – but, be warned, it can be a lot colder on the top that you might suspect standing down on the bright city streets.

After a look around the summit and time for some gorgeous photos, it was time for the group to get on the bikes and take an exhilarating ride part way down the summit road to a meeting point where the trails started.  

Here, our group split into two – most of the group were booked onto the guided bike tour descent which took the easier trail down the rest of the mountain to the bottom and back to base. 

My partner and I had opted for the self-guided descent which saw us say goodbye to everyone else and head off down the intermediate 'North-South track' back to the city.

Surprisingly the trail to descend the mountain was sometimes pretty flat, sometimes even uphill with, of course, downhills in there, but nothing too hairy.  Having said that, the trail does have some more challenging features on side loops, like log rides (pictured below), drops and jumps.  We had both rented dual suspension e-bikes and the Avanti E-Hammer LT2's did us proud - they were fantastic to ride over all the terrain.

At the end of the track, we dropped out into the Glenorchy MTB Park, which was a super nice flowy end to the descent.  After the MTB park, it was a lovely city ride back to base, on the Intercity Cycleway to South Hobart that took about 45 minutes.  We really enjoyed this bit as well, but were glad we had e-bikes.

After Hobart/Nipaluna, we journeyed to Derby, the Mecca of mountain biking - in Australia as well as Tassie.  Derby was a brilliant way to spend several days exploring the trails and we managed to find some high points and joy at a painful time for both of us.

Thank you Tasmania, we will be back!
 

Multi-Day Tasmania Bike Tour

For those looking for a longer organised ride, check out this guided 9 day cycle tour taking you from Launceston in the north to Hobart in the south: