Hitching a ride on bike mania

A NEW riding park about to open in the Derwent Valley is showing signs it will bring mountain bike mania to Maydena and transform the region. Maydena Bike Park managing director Simon French, pictured at Abbotts Peak overlooking the park, says he has book

A NEW mountain bike attraction set to open in the Derwent Valley next Friday is already showing signs it will bring mountain bike mania to the state’s South.

The Maydena Bike Park is already booked out on its opening day and managing director Simon French said the following two days were also heavily booked.

“We’ve got a lot of forward bookings already through until April,” Mr French said.

“A lot of those bookings are from interstate and overseas.”

Mr French said the park could accommodate 150-200 people a day.

After the bike park was announced last March, 10 of the 11 houses on the market in Maydena were sold between March and May, most for holiday accommodation.

The bike park features vertical bike tracks on Abbotts Peak and uses the $7 million Eagles Eyrie that closed in 2013 and the old Maydena Primary School.

The proposal to send mountain bike riders hurtling 820m down former forestry tracks was accepted by the State Government when it called for proposals for developments in national parks and reserves.

The Maydena Bike Park has received $800,000 from the State Government towards stage two of the park, Environment and Parks Minister Elise Archer announced yesterday. It will include a beginners’ trail and a 25km wilderness trail.

“That will establish Maydena as a leading mountain bike destination, resulting in an estimated tripling in total visi- tation and an additional 20 new full-time-equivalent positions directly employed by the park,” Ms Archer said.

It is one of 11 cycling projects to receive funding under the Government’s Cycle Tourism Strategy.

“We have targeted cycle tourism as one of the state’s strongest competitive advantages, with already around 38,000 visitors jumping on a bike to enjoy what Tasmania has to offer,” Ms Archer said.

“Already we have invested $1 million in the St Helens Mountain Bike Trail Network, $800,000 in the Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails and $600,000 in the Wild Mersey Mountain Bike Development.”

Blue Derby mountain bike trails hosted the second round of last year’s Enduro World Series, bringing some of the world’s best riders to the region.

The Forestry Tasmania-built Eagles Eyrie opened in 2009 but closed in 2013 after an $8 million funicular railway fell through.