Tips and advice for cycling trips in Australia, plus eight of the best routes

On a busy afternoon at the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Nice Ocean Street, I am the solely individual not struggling parking angst. As four-wheeled motorists hunt for areas, I am wheeling my bike down the paths in the direction of one of Australia’s most well-known views.

I am three days into a motorcycle trip throughout one of Australia’s most iconic touring routes and virtually 90 kilometres into my cycling day.

On a spectacular highway corresponding to this one, a bicycle opens up the views and the expertise. Pedalling west from Geelong, I am all however poised over the drop into the sea and I can cease wherever and each time I prefer to soak in the surroundings. It is the freest kind of highway tripping I do know.

It is a related story on roads and tracks throughout the nation – there is no view or immersion like that from behind the handlebars of a motorcycle.

Twenty years in the past, I cycled round Australia’s entirety – a 20,000-kilometres lap – and in the intervening years, issues have solely continued to get higher for cyclists. However lately you do not essentially have to go to such extremes, except, of course, your coronary heart wishes.

Rail trails and mountain bike networks have proliferated throughout the nation and, as bike gross sales confirmed throughout the pandemic, there is a fast-growing quantity of individuals on two wheels.

As we speak in Australia, there is a trip and a mode of bike journey to go well with any bicycle owner and here is a step-by-step information, based mostly in half on my new e-book, Final Cycling Trips Australia, to indicate you saddle-up from begin to end.

STEP ONE: ON YER BIKE (BUT WHICH ONE?)

All bikes aren’t created equal. The bike you need for a trip throughout the Nice Ocean Street is a universe away from the bike you may have to pedal a mountain-bike path.

The choices are manifold – highway bike, touring bike, mountain bike, hybrid bike, e-bike, gravel bike, recumbent bike, tandem bike – and there is a stunning quantity of issues round even simply selecting which bike best fits a trip.

As the identify suggests, touring bikes are the best all-rounders, constructed with lengthy cycle excursions in thoughts. At a look, they resemble highway bikes, with drop handlebars to offer your arms a number of positions.

They’ve wider rims and tyres than highway bikes, together with eyelets in the body for attaching racks for panniers, and extra spokes in the wheels to offer further power below loaded weights.

Street bikes supply the quickest method from A to B – at the least on sealed surfaces – however have much less capability for carrying gear, so are sometimes unsuitable for lengthy excursions.

Hybrid bikes slot into the center floor between highway bikes and mountain bikes – their tyres are wider than highway bikes, however narrower than mountain bikes. They’re a superb alternative in the event you’re driving on roads or rail trails, and you desire a bike you’ll be able to comfortably tootle about on again at dwelling.

The second you propose to depart the sealed stuff, a mountain bike comes into its personal. The four-wheel drives of the bike world, their vast tyres, suspension and upright driving place are constructed for tough journey.

A newer upstart on the grime is the gravel bike, formed like a highway bike however with the coronary heart of a mountain bike. They’re nice for unsealed roads and long-distance off-road rides.

E-bikes are the new black in cycle journey with these power-assisted bikes accounting for round 5 per cent of all bikes gross sales in Australia (and a whopping 50 per cent in the likes of the Netherlands). They cross genres – highway e-bikes via to mountain e-bikes – and ease the pedalling burden. You continue to must work for your kilometres, nevertheless it’s extra like informal labour than full-time employment.

STEP TWO: MOUNTING TENSION (OR GETTING READY TO RIDE)

Should you’re setting out on a multi-day bike trip, the subsequent bit of enterprise is deciding how you are going to carry your gear. Modern knowledge favours two set-ups: panniers and bikepacking.

Panniers are luggage that grasp from racks over the wheels of your bike – usually, two panniers at the rear or, in the event you’re needing extra gear, two at the rear and two at the entrance. An additional handlebar bag is sweet for carrying valuables and small gadgets you need to entry as you trip.

A slicker method of transporting your gear is what’s generally known as bikepacking, which does away with panniers and as an alternative makes use of a quantity of smaller luggage puzzled round the bike – a saddle bag hanging from beneath the seat, an extended roll of gear hanging from the handlebars, a triangular bag cosy into the bike body, and maybe luggage secured to the entrance forks.

It trims your packing and makes the bike extra compact, and it is the supreme set-up for off-road rides, narrowing the bike and limiting the drag and motion of gear.

Australia has loads of multi-day rides that may be undertaken with out the have to stuff panniers or luggage full of tenting and cooking gear, staying as an alternative every evening in cities and lodging.

In researching Final Cycling Trips Australia, I pedalled via the likes of the Southern Highlands, Sunshine Coast and Nice Ocean Street with only a change of garments and just a few bike spares in a saddle bag.

Even a four-day part (Manjimup to Northcliffe) of Western Australia’s distant, 1000-kilometre off-road Munda Biddi Path will be civilised every evening with inns and wine and whisky bars.

STEP THREE: CHOOSING A ROUTE FROM EASY TO EPIC

The Blue Derby Mountain Bike trails embody some of the most gorgeous landscapes in Tasmania. Photograph: Stu Gibson

So, the gear is sorted. Let’s trip.

Choices throughout Australia vary from highway rides to rail trails, mountain bike blasts to prolonged off-road excursions. Street rides are the conventional kind of touring although the relative dearth of minor roads throughout a lot of Australia has all the time restricted the attraction of lengthy highway excursions.

That mentioned, some of the nation’s most stunning roads and areas make for wonderful driving, together with Tasmania’s east coast, the Nice Ocean Street and NSW’s Southern Highlands.

Rail trails have changed roads as the routes of alternative for many cyclists. Following the course of disused railways, these rides promise flat(tish) driving, usually between cities. Queensland has the nation’s longest rail path, and South Australia has a thirsty choice of rail trails via wine areas, together with the Riesling Path and Coast to Vines, nevertheless it’s Victoria that leads the rail cost.

It now has greater than 30 rail trails, headlined by the Murray to Mountains Rail Path, stretching from Wangaratta to Vibrant (with arms to Beechworth, Wandiligong and Milawa), however unfold throughout the state. There is a full listing of rail trails throughout the nation at railtrails.org.au

Surpassing even the development of rail trails is the increase in mountain-bike trails. Since the north-east Tasmanian city of Derby rose to world mountain-biking prominence with the launch of its Blue Derby path community in 2015, trails have materialised in cities throughout the nation.

Amongst the most interesting networks I cycled in researching Final Cycling Trips Australia had been these in Alice Springs in the North Territory), Melrose. South Australia, Stromlo, Australian Capital Territory and Mount Buller’s well-named Alpine Epic.

Looking for the final bike problem? Australia may not have the assortment of continent-crossing trails discovered in Europe’s EuroVelo community or the United States’ Nice Divide Mountain Bike Route nevertheless it does have a pair of well-designed 1000-kilometre epics on grime: the Munda Biddi Path, stretching from close to Perth to Albany, and the Mawson Path from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges.

A shorter taster of this sort of off-road journeying by bike will be discovered on the 207-kilometre Goldfields Observe, which weaves alongside tracks and previous previous goldfields between Mount Buninyong and Bendigo.

STEP FOUR: FULLY-GUIDED VERSUS SELF-GUIDED

Logistically, the easiest technique to prepare a cycling journey is to take a guided tour, of which there are a rising quantity round Australia. Usually, every little thing is organized for you, besides the pedalling. Another that is gaining traction is a self-guided tour.

Lengthy well-liked in Europe, this fashion of cycle journey leaves you unbiased in each method however all the nitty gritty, corresponding to lodging, baggage transfers, maps and route notes, has been pre-arranged. You are free to maneuver at your individual tempo, cease as you please via the day, and detour to something that catches your consideration.

The normal – and nonetheless for many, the best – kind of cycle journey is unbiased, finding out your individual routes and preparations.

STEP FIVE: WE’RE ALL EASY RIDERS NOW

Should you’re cycling interstate, or removed from dwelling, it is lengthy been the observe to move your individual bike, which has usually meant flying with it.

To do that, it is advisable disassemble the bike, eradicating the wheels, seat and pedals and turning the handlebars. After packing this puzzle into a motorcycle field (which you’ll be able to often get from a motorcycle retailer) or bike bag and lugging it to the airport oversize-baggage counter, you see it once more at one other oversize-baggage counter at your arrival airport, and the reassembly begins. At this level, the cycling forward can typically really feel like the straightforward bit.

Bikes will also be taken on many regional prepare companies and some buses, although rules and necessities differ throughout the states. Regional trains settle for bikes in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and on three choose companies in southern WA. Buses are the most helpful technique to transport bikes round WA, Tasmania and South Australia, although usually bikes additionally require some disassembly earlier than being loaded onto buses.

Cycling’s rising recognition, nevertheless, signifies that it is now not all the time essential to convey your individual bike, with rental choices turning into extra frequent.

Most main cities now have bike-hire retailers (together with at the least one which rents out touring bikes and panniers). True to the legal guidelines of provide and demand, bike rent can be extra plentiful round busy rail trails and mountain-bike networks. There isn’t any scarcity of bikes at the likes of Derby and Stromlo, whereas well-liked rides corresponding to the Brisbane Valley Rail Path and Nice Victorian Rail Path up the consolation ante even additional, with shuttle companies and baggage transfers alongside bike rent.

TOURING DOWN UNDER: EIGHT GREAT CYCLING ROUTES

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, NSW

The Southern Highlands could solely be a 90-minute drive from Sydney however on a motorcycle they’ll really feel a hemisphere aside. Named by homesick Scottish settlers for a supposed likeness to the highlands of dwelling, the area is threaded with quiet nation roads that join completely for a two-day, 115 kilometres cycling loop. Starting in Berrima, the two days present a contrasting have a look at the Southern Highlands. The hilly first day focuses on the magnificence of the cities – Berrima, Bowral, Mittagong – whereas the longer and (barely) flatter second day is about the space’s pure options, corresponding to Fitzroy Falls and Belmore Falls. See visitsouthernhighlands.com.au

GREAT VICTORIAN RAIL TRAIL, VICTORIA

Victoria’s longest rail path skirts the state’s second-largest lake, dives into its longest rail-trail tunnel and rolls via Bonnie Doon, the city from The Citadel. From the foot of the Excessive Nation to the shoulder of the Hume Freeway, in true railway kind the trip adheres to the flattest course nevertheless it does rise into hills because it climbs 130 metres between Molesworth and Yea, burrowing via the high of the hills inside the 200-metre-long, brick-lined Cheviot Tunnel. The path stretches for 126 kilometres between Mansfield and Tallarook, however the most stunning part is a 13-kilometre aspect path to Alexandra. Plan for two or three days of driving. See greatvictorianrailtrail.com.au

LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN, ACT

Photograph: Alex Ellinghausen

Canberra is Australia’s most bike-friendly metropolis so it is smart that the lake at the metropolis’s coronary heart doubles as a digital velodrome. Cycling paths ring Lake Burley Griffin, making for a 35-kilometre loop that is all about nationwide treasures and icons, passing the likes of the Nationwide Museum, Nationwide Arboretum, Nationwide Gallery and myriad different “nationals” The circuit is nearly solely sealed, and predominantly flat because it skims previous the monumental buildings that rise from the lakeshore like prodigious reeds. The total circuit will be pedalled in a pair of single-minded hours or stretched throughout a day with the kind of sightseeing and eating stops. See visitcanberra.com.au

BRISBANE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL, QUEENSLAND

Carving its method from Yarraman to the suburbs of Ipswich, Australia’s longest rail path at 161 kilometres finishes lower than an hour’s drive from Brisbane’s coronary heart, and but the trip is essentially via the kind of outback panorama that makes the proximity of city life appear fanciful. The gradient of the unsealed path favours beginning the trip in Yarraman, making for an total 350-metre descent, although the bulk of the downhill is over early, on a protracted descent via bush into Linville. Effectively-spaced cities line the path, which is often cycled over three days, making it straightforward to construction meals and nightly stops. See brisbanevalleyrailtrail.com.au

BLUE DERBY, TASMANIA

After making its transient fortunes via tin mining, Derby has discovered new riches from mountain-biking. Opened solely seven years in the past, the Blue Derby path community – a set of virtually 40 trails overlaying greater than 120 kilometres – has grow to be the blueprint for high quality mountain-bike path networks. There are trails right here for all talents, from a mild loop of the town-side lake to seat-of-your-padded-pants descents. Favorite embody Blue Tier, which plunges via moss-upholstered forest to a low-level loop that features the Derby Tunnel, a darkish, low-ceilinged shaft bored via the earth. Shuttles and plentiful bike rent make entry to the trails a breeze. See ridebluederby.com.au

COAST TO VINES RAIL TRAIL, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Trails via wine areas are a characteristic of Australian cycling and Coast to Vines is one of the easiest to entry. Setting out from a prepare station in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, it begins with coastal views earlier than turning inland and leaving the city sprawl behind because it crosses to McLaren Vale and Willunga. Vines encase the 39-kilometre path, and it is a brief detour to many of McLaren Vale’s best cellar doorways and to celebrated eating places corresponding to the Salopian Inn. On reaching Willunga, there’s the probability to deal with SA’s most well-known cycling ascent in the kind of Previous Willunga Hill from the Tour Down Underneath basic. The three-kilometre climb rises 250 vertical metres via the dry slopes. Flip round beside the King of the Mountain crown painted on the highway and it is about 4 minutes of freewheeling descent again to a glass of wine in Willunga. See railtrails.org.au

ROTTNEST ISLAND, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Photograph: Andrew Bain

Watch fleets of bikes roll away from the ferry docks on “Rotto” and you realise that Perth’s favorite vacation island is all however custom-made for bikes. The one different automobile on the roads is the island bus, and the highest level on the island is simply 46 metres above sea degree. It is a easy job to pedal the 28-kilometre island loop, stopping at any, or many, of Rottnest’s 63 seashores, and nonetheless make it again for a late-afternoon ferry. No climb right here is steep, and seashores – that are solely ever minutes aside on a motorcycle – are lined with bike racks. To trip right here is to pack a pannier with little however snacks, a seashore towel and a snorkel and masks. You will even spot cyclists carrying surfboards. See rottnestisland.com

ALICE SPRINGS, NORTH TERRITORY

From Alice Springs’ edges, there are two contrasting cycling experiences. The sealed Simpsons Hole Bike Path cuts a easy path throughout the desert to its spectacular namesake hole in the West MacDonnell Ranges, making for a rail-trail-like day of cycling. The city can be surrounded by an attractive community of mountain bike trails as enjoyable as any in the nation. There are greater than 100 kilometres of trails right here, many of them clustered round the Telegraph Station, whereas the longest path in the community, Hell Line, ventures west to nice desert views and isolation. These trails have a real pure really feel with dry creek beds and rock outcrops and it is all the higher for it. See northernterritory.com

This cowl story is an extract from Final Cycling Trips: Australia by Andrew Bain (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $45).