Newsroom

Tassie bike news bites
Send us your solo ride photos

Lots of us like sharing the experience of a bicycle ride with friends, and let’s face it, most rides in Tasmania are scenic and worth sharing.

So with the COVID-19 restrictions stopping our group rides, send in your photos of your solo rides and we’ll publish galleries of you and your bike, your bike in a beautiful location, what you see along the way or just the view!

Bicycle Network staff working from home

Like so many organisations, as of this week, our staff have been working from home.

As we adjust to this new way of operating, we ask that our members and friends please be patient.

If you need to get in touch and it's not urgent, send us a message via the Contact Us section of our website or via social media and we’ll get back to you.  

MTB closures

Maydena Mountain Bike Park, Wild Mersey Mountain Bike Trails, Penguin MTB Park, St Helens MTB Trails, Clarence MTB Park, West Coast Council MTB tracks and the Blue Derby trails have all announced they are closing to the public.

Maydena is planning on re-opening on 26 September and is taking bookings for the opening day and beyond, with staff working on trail upgrades in the interim.

Blue Derby has announced it has closed its trails due to large numbers of people continuing to congregate in the area. 

Other trail networks are closing following Premier Gutwein's restrictions on sporting and recreational facilities. 

Wild Mersey sets up for summer riding

Kentish Council has awarded the contract to build the final 55 km of the Wild Mersey Mountain Bike Trails between Railton and Sheffield in the Badgers Range to TrailScapes.

Trailscapes have already been involved in the Wild Mersey, building the Railton pump track and the existing Green Hornet and Railton Express tracks.

The first trails are due to open by the end of this year, with the full network to be finished by mid-2021 but this schedule is likely to be disrupted by the COVID-19 restrictions.

Hollybank riders bridge the gaps

Good news for northern riders with new bridges open in Hollybank Forest on the Tall Timbers MTB trail.

The Launceston Mountain Bike Club received a grant to help build the bridges but about 15 of their volunteers were also critical in getting materials in and moved.

The new bridges mean riders can cross Butchers Creek regardless of the water levels and will also help less confident riders.

Latrobe mayor muses on pathway extension

As work continues on the north west coastal pathway, Latrobe’s mayor Peter Freshney has floated the idea of an extension to the Hawley–Port Sorrell areas using a potential pipeline corridor.

However, it would depend on whether TasWater decommission a sewage plant at Hawley, if they did so the mayor believes a new pipeline to East Devonport would create the potential for a shared path to be built on top of it.

But before you get too excited, the mayor said that such a project could be a decade away and without it an extension is unlikely as bird colonies and sea level rise mean an extension along the coastline is unlikely.