Mountain biking down under

Bit of an odd question but here goes, me and my family are looking at a move down under to either oz or New Zealand and I’m wanting to know if anyone knows what the mountain biking is like is oz as I know the biking in New Zealand is excellent in the two places we are considering (Nelson, near Rotorua) ive had a quick look but it looks pretty poor for the kind of riding I currently do in my home country of Scotland (tho I could be very wrong). I’m normally happiest riding natural trails or enduro sections at trails centres but I’m not afraid of the odd uplift too, what part of oz has this kind of riding, if at all? I understand Oz is a huge country but I’ll only consider a move if it suits my hobby so any location in Oz would be considered if the biking was right.

Cheers

Oz is a big place, yes I did just repeat that

Bigger than a lot of things with a huge variation of riding, I’ve only scrathced the surface
https://vimeo.com/album/2313539
https://vimeo.com/album/2311644
The 2 albums are some of the videos from Tasmania, Victoria & ACT

We don’t have the access laws that the UK does so that is a frustration, National Parks are off limits to bikes mostly and you can’t just go wandering in chunks of the wilderness.
This is a fairly comprehensive list of trails and areas
http://flowmountainbike.com/flow-nation/

Also weather & seasons play a part, down here in Tassie you can ride 90% of the year, it’s 33 today which has a feel like 40 in WA so riding is getting knocked on the head. Daytime riding in Summer in some places will be ugly so lights help. Up North it’s hot and humid so can be harder.

Rest depends on what you do and where you can work, Sydney and Melbourne are expensive cities to live in but those 2 and Canberra are great for being closer to riding. Tassie is cheaper, heaps of good riding but work is harder to come by, I’ve been down here for nearly 4 years, but I work remotely for mainland guys and travel a lot.
Probably off to do a Gravity Enduro next month on the mainland, 2 weeks in Roto in March and maybe up to Cairns fore the WC. After that got lots of other riding plans.

Any specific questions mail in profile

Stick with NZ, it’s nicer than Aus all round !

When I lived in WA riding in the summer was difficult because of the heat, winter was good though. In the summer I would try to get to the hills and be ready to ride at sunrise. Some days you just cant go out because of the heat and the bushfire risk.
In WA you will get very good at drifting your bike because of the pea gravel, there is no grip anywhere.

Thanks for the replays,

I think New Zealand looks to be very similar to my riding here in Scotland but due to my wife loving Australia more it’ll be more likely we choose oz to live in. I’m in a very fortunate position as both me and my wife should be able to find work very easily in all parts of oz, so naturally I want to live the closest to the best trails oz has to offer lol.

I’m sure the weather is in reverse to here in Scotland and riding in 35+ is hard going and will take some getting used too, but it’ll make a nice change to thermal socks over shoes and num fingers.

There’s plenty of decent riding around Sydney. Blue Mountains are not too far away for a trip too. We did a weekend in Guthega (near Canberra) too which was awesome.
I’m very jealous of your position. I’d love to go back but the wife won’t entertain the idea 🙁

Be wary of the Blue Mountains been climbing there more like a big hole in the ground than a ‘traditional’ mountain range. Adelaide ment to have good riding. East Coast Aus is silly too hot for me.

For the OP. Here is a bit of footage from the Tuesday night social ride at Lysterfield. One of easier places to get to from Melbourne city and southern suburbs. Nothing hardcore but very convenient.

Apologies for the music. Not my video.

I’m sure the weather is in reverse to here in Scotland and riding in 35+ is hard going and will take some getting used too, but it’ll make a nice change to thermal socks over shoes and num fingers.

See my first point above, big place not all the same. I think we have had one day this summer above 35c down here in hobart and you will still need thermal socks and get numb fingers out here in winter (we actually had some snow in November)
I’ve ridden on the mainland in cold wet conditions and all that.

Biggest factor for you would be work, Visa and where that will take you.

One thing to consider is that it does not take long to acclimatize. Set off for an 80k ride on Saturday and was chilly 15 degrees as we rolled off. A comfortable 27 as we returned.
Agreed that high 30s is not the best but in the woods with cover is not to bad. I just avoid the wide open exposed rides when it is hot.

The short, not STW-slightly-smug, answer is that Aus will be unlike anything you are used to in Scotland. Riding options are relitavely limited – and they will be a long way from each other. By far the best place I found for riding in Aus was Tassie. Even then, though, I had only about 5 different decent longish ‘routes’ I could call on – across the whole island! Two of them were some of the best rides I’ve ever done anywhere in the world though. But there were only 5 decent routes!

YMMV … and I’m sure a LOT of local knowledge helps too. Riding with the local Hobart MTB group helped – hello to kiwijon – here on STW 😉

By far the best place I found for riding in Aus was Tassie. Even then, though, I had only about 5 different decent longish ‘routes’ I could call on – across the whole island! Two of them were some of the best rides I’ve ever done anywhere in the world though. But there were only 5 decent routes!

Things are changing, trying to pick out your 5 but assuming one was the blue tier?
They are finishing up a new trail down that to link with the new Derby trails
http://www.ridebluederby.com.au/
Then Hollybank has had it’s build giving a great shuttleable technical trail.
There is money going into the West coast for trail works.Which will supplement the trails that form part of Wildside http://wildsidemtb.com/
Penguin and the Dial are making some great stuff
http://www.thecrankypenguin.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Checkpoint_map.pdf
There is more XC around Hobarts Eastern shore but there is another crowd funded trail going in.
The Mountain in Hobart has some of the best riding going with enough variety to keep most happy
Bit further out there is a network of trails used for this 4 day race
http://www.hellfirecup.com/

Then there is the stuff I havn’t got to explore yet 🙂

In terms of other stuff like the UK if you are prepared to drive there are rewards. From Melbourne you can go 3-4hrs north and have a massive expanse of riding around the Vic Alps I’m off up there for an enduro next month.

But as said we don’t have the same access as the UK does and the number of footpath/bridelway type route are very limited because the concept just didn’t make it over here. That and in lot of places the bush/rain forest is just to dense to navigate without a chainsaw.

Was going to type loads of “STW smugness” but will leave it at one statement: Coming from Northumberland I know where has the better, more convenient and accessible riding. I ride more because the associated repairs, cleaning, packing for every conceivable weather scenario and faffing is virtually none existent. I do miss my UK mates though.

where in Northumberland uphillcruising? (derails thread) Also originally from the finest place in the world 🙂

I actually washed my bike once last week, first time this year. I think I might have washed it once in December too…

Langourton. Say it like a local and you will know 😉

Sold up last year as I really can’t see me going back.

You?

Living in WA is very very season dependant. It gets sodding hot in the summer which does rather limit you to dawn or night riding. Also pea gravel is an ‘exciting’ surface to ride on. Perth has some really good trails though and its getting better and better across the state with new trails planned all over the place. We do also have a ruddy massive ultra long distance cycle trail called the Munda Biddi.
It is mostly ‘trail center’ riding though. Most national parks are a bit off limits due to water catchment rules, dieback or just general lack of access. If you move here, you will probably end up road riding at least as much!

Dave

I would move to tasmania in a heartbeat if the a) the missus wasnt horrified by the idea and b) There was any work at all in my area!

Alnwick originally, but spent most of my time over the Lakes way.
29th Feb is my 4 year anniversary of moving and 3rd of March I get to put my citizenship application in.

For all the positive spin it’s still a very long way from home and depending on your family and their ages and stages of life you might end up with a lot of air miles… Been back twice in 2015 and will try and get back home again at some point this year.

The only downside to Tassie is it’s a bit far out but then again Hobart is bringing the culture in
https://mofo.net.au/
https://mofo.net.au/lineup/other-gigs/faux-mo/
At the end of a 3 day music & arts festival hit the after party which was fairly awesome.

I’ve done some good riding in Aus (especially in Tassie) but NZ is on a whole different planet. From short techy blasts to multi-day epics, it’s flippin’ incredible for trail riding.

Rotorua and Nelson both deliver on the pedalling front but if your Mrs wants somewhere a bit more lively, have you thought about Wellington? Little bit of city stuff going on to keep you entertained, with mint singletrack right out of the centre.

mikewsmith – yep – Blue Tier definitely! OMG.. Simply terrifying (out there on your own), but amazing all the same! The other was Snug Tier – I kinda managed to work out a route linking that with the North South track on the mountain, with minimal road miles inbeween, can’t remember the route now (2009). Worked out to about 5 hour of riding, with over 5k ft of climbing. It’s the wildness of the place that get you – in both a good and a slightly wary way. I could go out for a ride like that and not see another MTBer, just wallabies or the occasional tiger snake 😉

Totally different to queueing for the downhill sections at Llandegla..!

I’d move back there in a heartbeat, but there are virtually no jobs in my field – especially in Tassie – I was very lucky to be able to work out there for a year though.

… And I have seen that things are changing – there’s a series of videos on YouTube now showing the new stuff Tassie has to offer :greeneyedmonster:

Yeah moving down to Hobart was a big change in the riding scope. I’m still shocked when I take a look back at Strava to see just how much I’m riding these days. No jobs in my field in Tassie either so some remote working makes all the difference.
As I said for the OP work & Visa’s will have more bearing on where they can look at, there are defiantly places I wouldn’t move to due to weather or cost. I’m lucky enough to travel with work so I get to see lots of places, WA is just too hot in Summer for me, 5am rides don’t inspire me that much – that and it’s actually further away than Auckland.
Sydney is just too hectic and the layout makes for crap traffic, Melbourne is probably a very livable city and got a great culture and feel. Just need to the tight amount of $ to not end up in a suburb more than an hour from the good stuff.

Have just googled those tasmania trails. Damn.

Western Australia

Heaps of riding. Munda Biddi trail is sold as one of the longest trails in the world – over 1000km https://www.mundabiddi.org.au/

Kalamunda Camel Farm, Goat Farm, Heretige trail, Jarrahdale, The Pines, There’s loads.

Hot for long periods – can you ride in 35c + with little air? Lots of dry dusty pea-gravel type trails.

Mountain biking is becoming huge here – bit slow to pick up but more and more trails being build/dug.

I like it – just too damn hot sometimes! And the risk of bushfire, snakes, ants, spiders (naaah it’s not all that bad really!)

OP as aomeone looking to emmigrate you generally don’t get freedom of choice as to where in Australia. Cities like Melbourne and Sydney may well be “off limits” as @mike suggests. WA are trying to attract and retain people. As an aside I lived in Singapore and hated the weather which is the same all year round with 25-30 degrees and 70-80 humidity which means doing things outdoors is a struggle (parts of Oz are similar)

NZ is very far away. Much more of an oitdoor paradise with winter weather you’ll be familiar with, a country full of people with Scottish roots.

Not Western Australia. Well certainly not Perth. Maybe some locations in the SW in a few years. Too hot. No hills. Crap soil (pea gravel & sand). Too far to drive to what few trails there are. Mtbiking is a fringe sport. Munda Biddi is an un-maintained poor quality (apart from the huts) tedious fire road slog.

Canberra is the city with the best cycling infrastructure and most singletrack. If your wife wants the “Australia” experience she might not like it as it gets cold in winter and there’s no beach. Although much maligned by the rest of Australia, it is a very good place to live.

But if mtbiking is your main thing then move to NZ.

in both Oz and NZ there are no bridleways, no right to roam, nothing. you ride in parks.

NZ is largely fenced off by mega-farms.

melbourne is better than sydney for riding, adelaide is surprisingly good.

Canberra has great riding culture, and is a small town in the hills where you can earn big money

the ski resorts in the alps are realising that the ski season is getting shorter and they are investing big in trails.

in both Oz and NZ there are no bridleways, no right to roam, nothing. you ride in parks.

NZ is largely fenced off by mega-farms.

Controversial…

bigrich – Member
Canberra has great riding culture, and is a small town in the hills where you can earn big money

I think a lot of the big money requires a Aus passport for anything government related.

Controversial…

can we ride over there? No

can we ride there? no

well where can we ride?

Obviously you’ve all missed the point here!

Move to Queensland!

Best weather great trails amazing surf and if you really must go anywhere flights are cheap.

Job market is good, house prices ‘reasonable’ and you’ll probably get a pool!

Just get here now!!

can we ride over there? No
can we ride there? no
well where can we ride?

Some years ago I dared to question the religious orthodoxy that NZ is MTB Nirvana, and was nearly burned at the STW stake for my heresy…

bigrich – Member
Controversial…
can we ride over there? No

can we ride there? no

well where can we ride?
Don’t ask then.
Given the choice of Nelson where I went to school & Hobart where I live now, It’d be a tough call.
Nelson would have a slight edge on riding at the moment. But Hobart is bigger & has more going on, while being more liveable than Syd/Melb.
There are plans afoot to build an Epic Trail out of Hobart, if they don’t **** it up, it’ll be great.

Oh and we might be getting a cable car in hobart 😉

& I may be living right next door to it.

Lol its hobart we all live next door to it

Kalamunda Camel Farm,

This is the only place I’ve ridden in Oz and it was great, but great in a “this is a good trail centre” kind of way. I didn’t really “see” Australia in the way a good ride round the Peak District or the Lakes shows you some of what the UK has to offer.

I have family out there who ride it regularly but in Summer any riding after 9am is off limits because of the heat. I got the impression that there isn’t the breadth of variation of MTB like you get in the UK, mainly because we’re a small island with hugely varying geography and a temperate climate.

Not sure that helps much 😆

there isn’t the breadth of variation of MTB like you get in the UK, mainly because we’re a small island with hugely varying geography and a temperate climate.

There is a massive variation across a continent that is bigger than Europe. There are loops like the peak out here, loops like bits of Wales and stuff that is nothing like the UK at all

^good point. What I meant to say is there isn’t the breadth of variation so easily accessible as in the UK. Nowhere is far away in the UK compared to the distance between places in Oz.

Gondola planned to go in just at the bottom of the hill where I live. Not banking on that one at all…..

There’s heaps of riding in WA. It’s fookin huge. There are hills a plenty. There’s urban and rural gravity enduro. We have downhill racing. Cape to Cape. Margaret River. Pemberton. But there’s no doubt it can be hot. Some days even walking from your house, to the car, your face tingles from the heat and the air is so dry you can’t breathe. Even night rides at 30c take it out if ya.