We got into Derby from Launceston in just over an hour. The place was buzzing with people and bikes so after a quick coffee at The Painted Art Cafe, a good amount of sunscreen and organising bikes etc we were ready to ride just before 10:00am. The official opening was set to kick off at 11:00am so we thought we'd get in a ride to the Cascade Dam before heading into the new Blue Derby trails.
The ride to Cascade Dam started off on Krushka Street straight off the Tasman Highway then onto none other than Cascade Dam Road. We followed Cascade Dam Road up (lots of ups here in Derby but always rewarding with awesome downs!) which starts off sealed bitumen and turns into a dirt road, then further up into more of a fire trail - perfect MTB terrain! Heading up Cascade Dam Road we came across signage for some of the new trails that pop out onto Cascade Road then back into the bush down to the Blue Derby trails below. We continued riding along toward the Cascade Dam which was fairly well signed all the way down.
Below - The view from Cascade Road Dam:
Continuing up Cascade Dam Road the scenery becomes beautifully Green and Ferny with some nice shady line options.
Once we reached the top of Cascade Dam Road we had a short rocky descent down to the dam which kept you on your feet trying to pick a nice clear line. Not unrideable by any means just a matter of choosing the speed you want to go down and keeping an eye out for bigger rocks. The view and serenity at the Dam are definitely worth the climb!
Looking at our maps for this ride we had on a smartphone app we attempted to make our way back down to Derby and thought we might end up doing a river crossing along the way. After a short climb up we followed down a much rockier fire trail which lead us to an extremely rocky and somewhat unrideable (unless you have a wheelbarrow to carry your balls down with you) track - if you could even call it that. We got off and walked/stumbled our way to the bottom of this track which lead us to a junction of trails which are part of the Blue Derby trails. We stopped here and had a snack as it was around 11:30am and we appeared to be the first riders at this point of the trails.....oopps.... So no river crossing but luckily enough a fairly quick but somewhat sketchy route back down the hill!
BYO wheelbarrow...
After our stop we decided we'd ride some of these new trails back to the start of the Blue Derby trails. The first trail we went over was 'Devil Wolf' which is a pretty unique track that looks like it is destined for even bigger things which includes some huge but not overly high granite boulders that have had a trail jet carved/sprayed into them - take a look at this Video from World Trails to get an idea. Over these boulders and continuing on Devil Wolf leads you into some nice dirt and more ferny scenery and another trail junction where you can choose to ride either 'Krushkas' or 'Rattler' or continue on Devil Wolf. This time around we skipped both and stayed on Devil Wolf heading back toward the start of the trails.
Devil Wolf turns back onto a Green trail called 'Sawtooth', with an option to head up to another Blue Trail called 'Berms and Ferns'. Berms and Ferns gives you an opportunity to take in the scenery from a monument that was erected by one of the mine managers at Derby around the late 1800's.
The monument is really a stop off on the Berms and Ferns trail so its just a matter of turning back around and heading back onto Berms and Ferns for the fun part! It takes you down through some nice big ferns with some super quick berms and you pop out onto a pretty well looked after gravel road. From here you can go onto 'Rusty Crusty' which is another Green trail which is nice and fast and has some really cool sections throughout it - as well as some fairly steep drops!! This takes you back to the trail head/beginning of the Blue Derby trails.
This place is truly a mountainbike haven and the guys at World Trails have done an outstanding job of the trails so far. It's hard to believe that this is just Stage 1 and there are still around 50 km's of trail to be finished and opened. The opening day was spot and the weather couldn't have been better, there was a good vibe from everyone that was there and I think Derby and Tasmania have something truly special to offer with the Blue Derby trails. It was great to meet Glen Jacobs too who was only too happy to stop and chat to us. I can not wait to get back out there and ride these trails again (and possibly more).
Below are some more pics I snapped along the Blue Derby trails...
One of the more infamous sections of the Blue Derby trails is this awesome snake like switch back climb on the Green Loop:
Part of the trail on the Green Loop - nice, smooth, fast flowing trail!
Cant quite remember where abouts this was taken - I suspect somewhere between I think I busted a lung and oh yes yep I did bust a lung...
