On our way to Biche—oh no!
Tasmania 2023, Day 7
Today was… well… let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
We awoke after spending a beautiful night under the clearest skies, to a gorgeous sunrise on the Bay of Fires. As we packed our tent, the sun poked up with beams of light streaming through the clouds and spread across the bay, and it was marvellous!
We had a good chat to an old Tasmanian bloke, then set off. The hills were easier at 7 a.m., and we made great time. I had a huge shot of adrenaline as I started just thoroughly enjoying the tour and being out on the road, and was dancing and singing to the groovy beats of Technotronic’s Pump Up The Jam, as we careened down coastal roads past spectacular azure bays, with 360º of either beautiful water or nice coastal bushland.
A swan swims towards a yacht in St. Georges Bay.
We stopped in St. Helens for a great coffee at Coffee Away in the main drag. We also had another good chat to a few Tasmanian types.
We headed off towards Scamander. There is a cycleway that follows the water out of St. Helens towards Stieglitz and like much of the rest of this region, winds through gorgeous scenery.
When we got to the A3 Tasman Highway, and faced with a big hill out of the cove, we opted instead to follow a mountain biking (MTB) trail along the highway. This is where we became unstuck.
The trail followed the highway for a little while, but then suddenly left the highway altogether and became harder MTB: mountain biking territory: singletrack and switchbacks and ‘technical’ terrain. At the trailhead we saw evidence of the massive investment in this region’s MTB infrastructure.
The trails around St. Helens, much like the Derby trails, show signs of huge investment in the local MTB infrastructure.
We headed back to the A3 and rolled into Beaumaris and onto Scamander. My back wheel was wobbling like crazy since the MTB trail and we stopped at a park for fish and chips, and to check the bike.
My heart stopped when I saw my rim: I had pulled 9 spokes almost through the rim — the rim on each side of the spoke nipple was broken and pulling inwards.1 We were fucked. Bikes without wheels don’t tour very far.
We called Giant St. Helens and spoke to Kai and Steve. They didn’t have any road cycling stock because it’s all about the M.T.B.’s up here, but advised us to limp back to St. Helens and we’d see what could be done.
We managed it, and Danielle was really inspiring in how she battled up the pass on Artemis, and we clocked up 50 kilometres on the GPS by the time we got back to St. Helens. My wheel was wobbling like crazy2.
Kai at Giant St. Helens was a godsend. Kai is a young 18-year-old recent-graduate from high school, who’s awaiting news of an offer from Sydney University for Engineering. Fingers crossed Kai! He salvaged a rim from an old customer bike, found the one 32-spoke 29″ road rim in the shop and rigged us up a new wheel!
We checked into the Bayside Hotel and at 17:00 Kai was still going! He got it done and Steve has kindly offered to drive us on to Bicheno tomorrow. So, we’re saved for now. So fuck you NE: north-east Tasmania, you haven’t beaten us yet!
Follow the journey
- Plan
Planning our tour of the Apple Isle — and doing it this time!
So we started planning this trip a few years ago, and unfortunately events at home (and not just the pandemic!) have transpired to keep us off our bikes for the most part, with a few exceptions such as my Great Ocean Road trip, but I had to do that one solo. In that time I’ve started a new job, Danielle bought a beautiful custom Velo Orange Pass Hunter gravel/touring bike and importantly, my children have continued to mature to the point I can now leave them for a few weeks to go a‑touring!
- Day 0
Taking the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Devonport
After more than a year of looking forward to, planning, stressing and organising, we’re finally on our way to sunny Tasmania! Of course, we haven’t quite made it to Tassie yet.
- Day 1
Poppies and hills to Gravelly Beach
Our first-ever day of touring as a couple was, I fear, a bit of an eye-opener for Danielle! Not in terms of adventure, of course, as Danielle is a seasoned traveller who has roamed every corner of the world, but in terms of the physical demands of heavily loaded touring bikes.
- Day 2
Vineyards on the river, a family maritime history and... penguins!
This morning was a lovely one as we packed up our gear, and rode around to the Paperbark Café, not far from the park we’d stayed the night in. The café was new, and the breakfast — “mushroom huddle” with bacon for me; smashed avocado with Tasmanian salmon for Danielle — was delightfully delicious. And cheap! $18 without the extras in this economy!
- Day 3
He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to mow down cyclists...
We slept well last night. Maybe a little too well. We didn’t get packed up and off until late and we rolled into George Town at about 09:30. We visited the post office and mailed ahead 3.9kg of extras to reduce weight from our packs. We stopped at a café and I bought a coffee and found a free copy of Deliverance.
- Day 4
Cherries
We set off too late again this morning from Bridport and as a result rode in the peak of the heat. We only did 20 kilometres to Scottsdale but there were lots of hills, trucks and no shade nor shoulder. Scottsdale itself is atop a big hill. We rested, however temporarily, at a cemetery on the outskirts where a nice little park bench under a tree provided us shade. It was lovely.
- Day 5
The North East Tasmanian Rail Trail
Today was a lovely day. We got up before sunrise (05:00) and were on the path to the North East Tasmanian Rail Trail before the sun came up. Compared to everything we’d ridden to date, and standing alone, it was a delightful leisurely roll through rainforest, farms, granite cuttings with overgrown ferns, old growth forest and logging areas and little makeshift station memorials where we had coffee and a breather.
- Day 6
Hitching a ride to the Bay of Fires
We woke up this morning at The Dorset Hotel, and had our breakfast in the little dining room downstairs, packed our bags and bikes, and wheeled them across to the road to Bark Off Bikes. We took our fenders off in the rain then boarded the bus.
- Day 7
On our way to Biche—oh no!
Today was… well… let’s start at the beginning, shall we? We awoke after spending a beautiful night under the clearest skies, to a gorgeous sunrise on the Bay of Fires. As we packed our tent, the sun poked up with beams of light streaming through the clouds and spread across the bay, and it was marvellous!
- Day 8
Bumming a lift
We started the morning with a nice brunch at Sco. & Co. and The Lifebuoy Café in St. Helens, as we we had arranged a rendezvous with Steve at 11. I had a mushroom bruschetta with bacon and Danielle had the green eggs and haloumi. It was delicious and both dishes featured a really nice basil pesto. We finished breaking our fast and rode back to the park opposite the hotel to take off our fenders and await Steve.
- Day 9
On the road again...
We left the holiday park in Bicheno this morning nice and early, about 07:00, and stopped at the Blue Edge Bakery for a quick start coffee before heading south. The hills were very flat and rolling along was easy enough.
- Day 10
Freycinet Lodge and Wineglass Bay
A red letter day. We awoke naturally to the sunlight streaming over The Hazards and into our cabin as we nursed our hangovers from the wine and beer consumed last night. We dragged ourselves off to a breakfast of smoked salmon benedict for Danielle, and a Freycinet “Big Brekky” for myself, with two double espressos. We returned to our room for an in-room couples massage…
- Day 11
The end of the cycling portion of our cycling tour
Well, fuck. We awoke late and had a nice breakfast, then packed up, checked out and headed off. At first we made good time.
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Epilogue: Conquering the Mountain!
I’ve had such an awesome tour this year around Tasmania, but I have to admit to some small disappointments and setbacks. So when I set out this morning at 05:45 to conquer kunanyi, the 1,270m high mountain overlooking Hobart, I was very dubious about my chances of making it successfully to the summit.
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Epilogue: Kingston Beach
Danielle’s parents live in Sandy Bay, and her aunt Jan lives in Kingston Beach. The Channel Highway connects the two seaside suburbs of Hobart and lucky for us, it’s a favourite route for local cyclists, and for very good reason.