Blue Derby, TAS

first 13 then do blue n atlas in the arvo. The first 13 is just all flow down , took us just under 1 hr to do, then go back up and do tier atlas with a stop off at the pub then finish at derby for a pizza n beers... talk it up
 
If they have E , do the whole St Helen’s gig as it is a great ride and the first stint is only hard on brakes .
I loved Blue Tier n atlas , but was a tough run - technically tiring ?

Just went n searched the Straavaa - didn’t realise it was so long ago Dec 8 2019 …….
2hrs 26 mins 893 elevation over. 40 kms .
yes on my E.
the second half is well suited to and ebike as it has some more technical climbing .

But that descending is prob only matched by the Epic Trail descent from phone box junction .
 
11 of us flew Ade-Mel-Lst with Virgin on Sat 12th, apart from being changed on about 6 occasions before hand, we all got there without a problem. Bike bags all arrived and we headed to Derby.

Coming back, 11 were booked on a 9am flight. Just as we left St Helens we got a txt at 6am to say our flight was cancelled and rescheduled for 1pm the NEXT DAY :mad:

Arrived at the airport to find both Virgin and Qantas had cancelled a ~9am flight due to staffing issues and the tiny airport packed with people scrambling for alternatives.

2 of the guys were due back to work or had stuff they couldnt miss on the Sunday and booked a mid morning Qantas flight to Ade costing mega $$$$.

2 of the guys were business class and were rescheduled for 3pm to Sydney and 7pm to Ade.

1 was a Velocity gold member and was rescheduled for a ~2pm to Mel and 4pm to Ade.

2 of us (Moi) decided it was better to be stranded in Mel than in Launceston, so got a provided Virgin flight to Mel at 3pm and booked our own $500 Qantas flight for 7pm.

4 of the guys stayed in Launceston for the night and got a 1pm flight the next day, when they arrived in Mel, only 1 got the 4pm connecting flight as it was overbooked, the other 3 had to wait till 7pm.

We all had a WhatsApp page so the saga was all documented there as well as the information shared while we all sat at a table in the airport for 8 hours.

Business class and even better still, Velocity members get priority over scumbag economy.

Worth looking at the price difference between economy and business as they get 2 bags which covers their bike bage, so if its close to only $100 difference, go business.

What a f%#king mess.
 
ozzybmx said:
11 of us flew Ade-Mel-Lst with Virgin on Sat 12th, apart from being changed on about 6 occasions before hand, we all got there without a problem. Bike bags all arrived and we headed to Derby.

Coming back, 11 were booked on a 9am flight. Just as we left St Helens we got a txt at 6am to say our flight was cancelled and rescheduled for 1pm the NEXT DAY :mad:

Arrived at the airport to find both Virgin and Qantas had cancelled a ~9am flight due to staffing issues and the tiny airport packed with people scrambling for alternatives.

2 of the guys were due back to work or had stuff they couldnt miss on the Sunday and booked a mid morning Qantas flight to Ade costing mega $$$$.

2 of the guys were business class and were rescheduled for 3pm to Sydney and 7pm to Ade.

1 was a Velocity gold member and was rescheduled for a ~2pm to Mel and 4pm to Ade.

2 of us (Moi) decided it was better to be stranded in Mel than in Launceston, so got a provided Virgin flight to Mel at 3pm and booked our own $500 Qantas flight for 7pm.

4 of the guys stayed in Launceston for the night and got a 1pm flight the next day, when they arrived in Mel, only 1 got the 4pm connecting flight as it was overbooked, the other 3 had to wait till 7pm.

We all had a WhatsApp page so the saga was all documented there as well as the information shared while we all sat at a table in the airport for 8 hours.

Business class and even better still, Velocity members get priority over scumbag economy.

Worth looking at the price difference between economy and business as they get 2 bags which covers their bike bage, so if its close to only $100 difference, go business.

What a f%#king mess.
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Flights are cancelled so frequently. It’s a real problem. If your not flexible best fly the previous day. You should’ve put the bike rack on a jet ski and head off from Smithton way.
 
Cheers, have booked the Orange Gamble (Jetstar) so no telling what will happen with our flights. That said, I'm taking a van with all the bikes over on the boat on Friday day so any flight issues won't affect me riding! I'm flying and someone else taking it back Sunday night.

Have booked to do Bay of Fires 13/Blue Tier/Atlas on Day 1. 5 of the 7 are on eBikes so should be fine, and I'm pretty comfortable with my level of fitness to get it done an an acoustic bike. The one other bloke hasn't been riding much and is in for a tough day. He can always pike it after lunch at Weldborrough Pub if the going is too tough.

How much climbing is there on Blue Tier and Atlas? Similar to Cascades trail maybe?

Spoke to the bloke running shuttles and he recommeded doing Bay of Fires 13 twice, then Atlas given how the trails are running at the moment but can reassess and change on the day.
 
I reckon there's less climbing on Blue Tier and Atlas combined than Cascades. There's not a huge amount of climbing at all on Blue Tier... it does have some undulating parts, some techy uphill in the middle through the forest and a few small uphill bits near the end but I reckon you'd be fine there. There is a touch more climbing at the start and in the middle of Atlas that I felt more, possibly because it's toward the end of a reasonable day out... but again if you can do Cascades all the way in to town you'll be fine on Blue Tier/Atlas. The climb on Cascades from the ticket box to the lunch room is significantly more up than anything on Blue Tier or Atlas.
 
I've done the Bay of Fires 13/Blue Tier/Atlas, with a lunch stop at the Weldborough pub in May last year.
It was a long day and Atlas was a slog at the end, everyones legs were pretty cooked (all on regular bikes). Maybe it was a bit harder than usual because the weather was crap and find grip was a challenge the whole way, especially the BOF13. There was much two wheel drifting and many oh shit moments on that track, it encourages speed.
Was good to do, but I wouldn't bother unless the weather was decent.
This time of year it should be fine as long as you don't have too much rain before riding and a bit of warm and/or windy weather to harden things back up again.

Pro tip: don't have beers at the pub before doing the Atlas leg.
 
kbekus said:
I reckon there's less climbing on Blue Tier and Atlas combined than Cascades. There's not a huge amount of climbing at all on Blue Tier... it does have some undulating parts, some techy uphill in the middle through the forest and a few small uphill bits near the end but I reckon you'd be fine there. There is a touch more climbing at the start and in the middle of Atlas that I felt more, possibly because it's toward the end of a reasonable day out... but again if you can do Cascades all the way in to town you'll be fine on Blue Tier/Atlas. The climb on Cascades from the ticket box to the lunch room is significantly more up than anything on Blue Tier or Atlas.
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I agree, Also Cascades has a genuine 1,000m height difference from the Top to Marysville. Pretty physically demanding trail I found.
 
smitho said:
Spoke to the bloke running shuttles and he recommeded doing Bay of Fires 13 twice, then Atlas given how the trails are running at the moment but can reassess and change on the day.
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Yep, though I'm fat and unfit, I personally don't see the appeal of Blue Tier and given the recent weather could be a real slog. starts good, Big Chook is great, middle is just an XC grind over roots with what feels like constant uphill.
Bay of Fires is absolutely worth doing twice and would provide much better bang for buck IMO.
 
It's very XC but I loved the Blue Tier, it's got some great long downhill flow sections in there as well, and the new part straight from the car park is pretty cool. And Big Chook is possibly one of my favorite pieces of trail. It's quite a remote feeling track which adds to the appeal for me. But to each their own.
 
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