Solo Cycle Touring Tasmania

Touring Tasmania on a tikit(also could be done on a pakiT )ย (26th April โ€“ 7th May 2017)

By Aaron Lim

Aaron with his Bike Friday tikit

Since I bought the Bike Friday tikit back in 2013, I have done some solo trips on this well made folding bike. Seoul to Busan in winter, Round Island of Taiwan, ascending almost 3000m to WuLing in Taiwan, 300km in a day from Singapore to Kluang & back home, and doing a 2000km ride around Iceland. So I was wondering what’s the next adventure and I chanced upon some information about touring in Tasmania. Just nice that I found a time slot without work commitments to bike tour this beautiful island south of Australia.

Coming from Singapore, I flew to Melbourne, then change to a domestic flight to Hobart. The plan is to cycle an anti-clockwise direction from Hobart towards the east coast of Tasmania, Launceston, Cycling to Cradle mountain and to do some short hikes, Queenstown, Lake St Clair, Mount Field national park and finally back to Hobart which is approximately 1000km.

Taking the bus to the airport

Instead of using a hard case to pack my Tikit, I was trying to figure out if the Tikit could go into a soft case made for the Brompton. By following the exact same method of packing a Tikit in a suitcase as featured on the Bike Friday youtube page, I was able to successfully pack the Tikit into the Soft bag made for the Brompton! It’s a little squeezy on the sides but it works and thankfully the bike landed in Hobart safely! I even stuffed in my camping tent, haha!

Bike Friday packed into a Brompton bag

Cycling out of Hobart is a challenge and to get to the east coast drive of Tasmania, you need to cycle across a massive highway bridge packed with heavy traffic! Thank goodness for a bike path that leads to a shared bikeway along the bridge and thus my adventure begins.

Bridge crossing in Tasmania

One of the things I love about Tasmania is that, once you are out of the cities, there really ain’t much traffic to worry about. Most drivers were friendly and they keep a lookout for me. After bypassing a small village Richmond, which had a very nice historical bridge, it’s all the way east and cycling along the beautiful east coast, soaking in the beautiful blue hues of the Tasman Sea.

Bike Friday tikit in the Tasmania countryside

Bike Friday tikit by a bridge in Tasmania

It’s tough to meet other fellow cyclists during this period of time. The weather hasn’t been really kind. There were days of nice sunshine and then it rains out of the blue. And unfortunately, autumn season turning to winter, temperatures range from 16 – 1 degree Celsius. Besides the weather elements to deal with, Tasmania is a pretty hilly place to bike tour. Glad I did meet a German couple who were doing their world tour on a bicycle and we had a nice chat along the way and even shared campsites. There are times where I am alone and more than happy to discover free campgrounds that still offer toilets and the occasional hot shower! Kinda fun to have a campground almost all to myself under a big tree, haha. If there’s a campground I love the most, it would be at Mole Creek. What better way to camp to be surrounded by mountains, seeing the stars at night and just having my tent next to a stream of water! Just 10 Aud!

Guten Tag! A German couple cycling in Tasmania

camping under a large tree at Mole Creek

Camping with a Bike Friday tikit

Camping at Mole Creek in Tasmania

Transiting from the eastern coast drive into the hilly forested roads of Tasmania, tough the climbs maybe, but I am indeed wowed by the beautiful greenery. I was greeted by many tall rainforests that line the roads. As I gain higher altitude, I start to discover many huge ferns that line the forest roads. The best part of this bike trip is that I can just park my bike somewhere and there’s a rainforest walk, the entry point just being along the road. Walks like the Weldborough Rainforest walk allows me to get up close to a very Jurassic era rainforest and observing these big ferns up close! Just think of the movie Jurassic Park! Some walks lead you to beautiful waterfalls as Nelson Falls & Russel falls.

Tasmanian Forest with Bike

Tasmanian rainforest

Deep into the Tasmanian rainforest

Tasmanian waterfall

With rainy weather, the chances of me spotting rainbows is really a lot. Cycling around Mt Roland was definitely a very memorable experience as I could see the rainbow right before my very eyes in full arc! To me, the appearance of rainbows does encourage me to keep going during my solo bike tours. It really can be lonely at times but rainbows just make me happy, pause to admire it, and feeling the presence of the God of creation.

Cycling under a rainbow in Tasmania

The toughest climb will be towards cradle mountain and that’s where I was really worn out and started pushing my tikit. It’s interesting to know there’s a plain called Middle Sex plains, that’s where I start to discover what has been all rainforest previously is now an alpine wasteland. That’s the beauty of Tasmania, landscapes are an ever-changing tapestry here. I took a cycling day off for Cradle Mountain national park and did some hikes there. Sadly the weather was cloudy but still lovely to admire the grandeur of the lakes & mountains. Other attractions will be the massive Lake St Clair.

Tasmanian mountain

Cradle mountain and lake

The round trip of Tasmania on 2 wheels was done in 12 days, a total of about 1000km. I still tried my best to pack light but of course, when I reached the hilly sections of my Tasmania ride, I really do wish I could just get rid of my tent. Pretty happy to have an extra 10-liter backpack at hand when I did my groceries and the small bag just wrapped around my saddle bag securely, no issues during ascent and high-speed descent! There wasn’t a case when I felt the tikit with its 16-inch wheels lacking during the bike tour. Most of the roads were all paved except the occasional gravel roads when I needed to take shortcuts. I mounted Kojak tires on my tikit and thank God not a single tire puncture and no mechanical problems with the bike at all. It’s quite funny as riding a small wheeled bicycle to bike tour does get other people/tourists talking to me, haha. I would definitely recommend Tasmania for bike touring, abundant places to camp, well-paved roads, beautiful tapestry of forestry, it’s really a haven for bike tourers ๐Ÿ™‚

Cycling through Tasmania

Tasmanian cycling tour

The Tasmanian coastline seen by bike

The Bike Friday tikit lands in Tasmania

A quaint house in Tasmania

 

Day 1: Hobart โ€“ Triabunna

Day 2: Triabunna โ€“ Bicheno

Day 3: Bicheno โ€“ St Helens

Day 4: St Helens โ€“ Branxolm

Day 5: Branxolm โ€“ Launceston

Day 6: Launceston โ€“ Mole Creek

Day 7: Mole Creek โ€“ Cradle Forest Inn

Day 8: Cradle Forest Inn โ€“ Cradle Mountain

Day 9: Cradle Mountain โ€“ Queenstown

Day 10: Queenstown โ€“ Lake St Clair

Day 11: Lake St Clair โ€“ Ellendale

Day 12: Ellendale โ€“ Russell Falls – Hobart

 

 

26 thoughts on “Solo Cycle Touring Tasmania

  1. Dr Leah Remeika-Dugan

    Loved reading your itinerary, Aaron ๐Ÿ˜Š
    I love my Bike Friday too
    (and call it my vvBF!)

    One of the best parts of your story is
    that you give credit to the Creator
    where it’s due.

    Joyous Journies and Good Wishes
    – Leah

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth G

    Thanks for the story of your travels in Tasmania. I really enjoyed it and definitely want to visit Tasmania.

    Reply
  3. glen chase

    Great reading! Thankyou so much! Tasmania could be our next destination ..my husband and I both have Pocket Rockets…we love them! Last December we flew from Los Angeles to Melbourne…we rode our bikes on many wonderful paths there.We also just arrived back from 10days of riding our Bike Fridays in the Alsace region of France…there was much challenging terrain and our Pocket Rockets,performed perfectly!

    Love learning of more “great rides”…..Thanks Again!

    Glenda

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      Pocket Rockets are amazing bikes. It’s a model of the Bike Friday family i wished to own too ๐Ÿ™‚

      Lovely adventures u have. Do share with the community if u can ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  4. Helen

    Thanks for such an enjoyable article on cycling in Tasmania. Why not consider cycling in Victoria – the other side of Bass Straight. The Great Ocean Road is stunning cycling and we’d love to show you the wonderful rides around Geelong. I’m fascinated that you did your tour on a Tikit.

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      Ah yes the great ocean road! I was there on a day tour. Would love to do that one day. So many things to do and so little time.

      Reply
  5. Vince

    Really inspiring reading about your trips! Quick question, where did you leave your bicycle bag once you arrived or did you carry it along with you?

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      I spent my 1st night in Hobart city. Spent the day fixing up my Tikit and doing some test rides to ensure all is good before i setoff for my round island adventure. The hostel is very kind to let me store my bike luggage and whatever i don’t need in their luggage storage area. When i returned , i did spend my last night in that same lodging as well.

      Reply
  6. Marianna Freeman

    Enjoyed your article. I have been to Tasmania many times, but never did it on a bicycle. Your descriptions were perfect.
    I love my New World Bike and a friend and I have biked some terrific “rail to trail” rides. It has opened up a hugh new way of being able to go so many places and bike. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      I would think the New World Tourist will be a great bike to tour Tasmania and the ability to haul more luggage compared to the Tikit. I am more than glad to share my adventure ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  7. Darryl Chrisp

    Thank you for the story and beautiful photos. So much to see in Tasmania. So glad you enjoyed it, despite the weather.

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      I guessed i had it worst in Iceland, haha. Glad u enjoyed my mini adventure in Tassie ๐Ÿ™‚ yea the weather, thankful for the rainbows for cheering me up.

      Reply
  8. Jerry Retzlaff

    Hi Aaron,

    Did you happen to save your route in some gps format. If so I would love to see it. We’re doing basically the same trip next March.

    Jerry

    Reply
  9. Roger Cottrell

    Hi Aaron,
    Congratulations on the Blogs and Rides. It’s one thing Riding and taking everything in and another to be able to picture it and blog about it. Your bike sure looks great. I’m sure considering a Bike Friday just to find out what it’s all about. I have toured similarly on my Brompton and right now live half the time in a small Villiage in Northern Thailand where cycling is to dream about.

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      Thanks for enjoying my post ๐Ÿ™‚ indeed it is quite a challenge for me trying to balance the top priority being safety, completing the ride and getting pictures. Honestly i was very tempted to board the bus back to hobart and say that’s it, thankfully all went well. I owned the Tikit 1st before a 2 speed brompton. Both are awesome bikes by the way. Did a short tour of Japan on the brompton and it performed great as well. It’s an awesome bike. The Bike Friday bicycles are a unique experience. At least to me, i always found the bike Friday’s having a more road bike feel to it. Same kojaks tyres and somehow the Tikit just goes faster. The Pakit has the same “Bike Friday” ride and it never felt like a small wheelie. Wow will be nice to read about your tours in northern Thailand ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  10. Grace

    Hi Aaron, it’s wonderful to see another Singaporean doing bikepacking. I’m thinking bikepacking in Tasmania too, wonder if you have any tips on packing, where best to camp and stock up on food/water, if you can share your GPS route. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Aaron

      Hi Grace. Apologies that I just only got to see this and hope I am not too late to reply you. you can check out my strata route here https://www.strava.com/activities/975525494

      This blog I found was exceptionally useful in my planning. https://www.biketas.org.au/giro_tasmania

      Well being a city person, I realise I really needed a toilet at the very least at the campsite. Thankfully most of the campsites in Tasmania have. I can’t really remember how did I actually search for the campsites, but definitely use google maps, the above blog, or just ask around during the trip. Some campsites have drinkable water, else try to get hold on supplies when near a supermarket.

      I kept my packing pretty light as I figured I may not have the stamina to toll so much stuff. Cereal bars are definitely a great way to stock up in the event I reach a campsite late and there’s no food to buy.

      Some of the routes can have loads of climbing so do train well with a loaded bike and ensure u have sufficient bike spares.

      Reply

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