Contemplating a trip to east side of Tassie for some riding in mid-late March with my brothers - prob about 3 days, 3 blokes on roadies plus a support vehicle (driven by our Dad). Motels and wineries, not going beardo.
Tips?
Things to do/see/avoid?
Road conditions? terrain?
Roads to ride/avoid?
any insights or advice welcome.
paging snail…
Myself and four other blokes are doing Launceston to Hobart via the east coastover two days between Christmas and New Years.
If you’re after wineries, the north east corner of the island is your best bet, some not all that far from Launceston. Pipers Brook, Rosevears Estate are a couple that come to mind, but there’s quite a few. Remember; vineyards like hills, so that might give you an idea of terrain.
There’s also Ironhouse Brewery between Bicheno and St Helens on the east coast, they have accommodation there, that’s where we’re staying at the halfway point.
There’s a good pub at Weldborough, which is kind of in the middle of nowhere, that serves (only?) Tassie produced beer. I think they might have accommodation too.
Most of the towns down the east coast have associated Motels - St Helens, Scamander, Bicheno, Swansea. They’re quite quaint and worth stopping at if only for a bite to eat or drink.
From Scamander south it’s reasonably flat if you stick to the coast.
There’s some great windy roads St Marys Pass and Elephant Pass, but I reckon they’d be pretty hairy descents with not much shoulder, and they probably wouldn’t fit into your route that well, but if you were keen you couldclimb up St Marys Pass and descend Elephant Pass.
I think the road condition is pretty good as a general rule, although there’s not much of a shoulder outside of the towns, but the trade off is traffic will be fairly thin. I can tell you more when I get back.
You won’t be far from Port Arthur which is worth a look and Richmond is a historic town if you like that kind of stuff.
Avoid bogans, and there’s plenty of them, but the worst you’ll probably get is a few ‘sick burns’ from passing vehicles.
Happy to meet for a coffee/beer to discuss further.
^ How many days riding, Blakey?
Sweet photos Blakey.
Not a single person- was this after the zombie apocalypse?
Wow thanks L, I think you have just planned our trip for us.
Edit: and that’s a fine adventure there Blakey.
I’ll pm you cc, i assume seeing as you said car and 3 days you are going devonport then south, you can get to a fair bit of tassie in three days, but you really need 4 or even 5 to cover a complete side , 8-9 you can go full circle.
Last november me and the rad one benzy flew into hobart saw some sights then road the east coast, finishing on the boat, best advise is get going each day early (it will be cold) but its better than the wind you get bang on 3pm, that shit can ruin your day and whole trip.
Its a great place to ride.
This was a great ride, lots of mixed terrain and lovely small towns. Bit long though.
Avoid anywhere that might have log trucks.
Don’t venture into pubs in ‘Lonnie’.
Watch out for the local bogans. Out in the bush, I got full cans of beer thrown at me from cars traveling the opposite way (I was in a car at the time).
I’d head up the central plateau on the A5, past Bronte Lagoon and Great Lake (amazing place!).
In a nutshell, this.
Having grown up in Tassie I can tell you the bogans are next level. Having said that the natural and scenery is so amazing is kind of balances out.
/\ This.
*I lived there for a couple of years and he’s right.
Heading the the central highlands you need to be prepared as conditions can change really quick, snowing there atm. If you want i can hook you up with awesome accom at bronte if you do go that way.
iron house brewery is a resorty kind of place, golf course etc. i’ll let you make up your own mind about the beers, but i had difficulty choosing one i was willing to pay for after the tasting tray.
After riding 200km’s, the quality of the beer will not be a concern 
(Having said that, my previous experiences with Ironhouse beer were positive.)