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Surges Bay weekend away for new tourers

With Bike Week coming up on 1–8 March and the summer weather, we’ve got a bunch of social rides on offer including a weekend away at Surges Bay.

The Surges Bay Touring Taster is the first social ride to come out of the new Bicycle Network Tasmania bike touring group (if you are interested join the Facebook group).

The ride on the weekend 15–16 February will start at 10.30 am from Surges Bay (south of Hobart) and extend for about 25 km and returning the same way the next day.

This will be a gentle ride for bike touring beginners that enjoys the scenic and low-traffic environment of the Esperance Coast Road to Dover.

Depending on who comes along, we may split the group so some people can tackle a more challenging route via forestry roads and higher climbs.

We’ll spend Saturday night in Dover with a BBQ on the foreshore for dinner – there is an IGA supermarket in town that shuts at 6 pm or you can bring your own food. You will definitely need to bring your own lunch and water for the first day.

There will be a group camping, but it’s up to you whether you want to camp or stay in a local house.

The Esperance Coast Road is sealed and the forestry roads are good quality gravel so you will need suitable tyres, at least 32 mm wide and low gearing;  suitable bike types for both routes are touring, mountain, hybrid and touring style e-bikes.

If you are a newcomer to cycling touring we have some volunteers available to talk to you before the weekend about the type of gear to bring and setup of your bike.

If you are interested please RSVP via the website, the number of the ride leader is listed and you'll need to call him to register your interest. 

Upcoming rides & events

Social rides are featured in each edition of In the Loop, but if you want more notice visit our social rides calendar, which is regularly updated.

The strength of our social rides program depends on members volunteering to lead rides. Leading social rides is a fun way to "give back" to the riding community, and to help us to get "more people riding, more often".  

Bicycle Network Tasmania accredits Social Ride Leaders, and requires anyone interested in leading rides to be accredited. If you would like to be one of our Ride Leaders, please volunteer here and we'll let you know when the next Ride Leader Skills Development Workshop is scheduled.