Bike park takes flight

MAYDENA will roar to life in an explosion of dust and dirt today as mountain bike enthusiasts from across Australia descend on the town.

More than 200 people will visit the Derwent Valley for the Maydena Bike Park’s booked-out opening, with similar numbers expected on both days of the weekend.

Mountain bike rider Oscar Wing, 14, of Ridgeway, got a sneak peak at the trails yesterday and liked it.

“They’re so good, the best I’ve ever ridden probably and I’ve been to New Zealand ... and done Derby, [they’re] better than Derby,” Oscar said.

“They’re really steep, which is fun, we don’t really have much of that here in Tassie so it’s good to have some steep trails [and] lots of good jumps.”

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

Managing director Simon French said interest in the park had been strong.

“We’ve got people travelling from right across Australia and a couple from overseas just to come and ride with us for the open day,” Mr French said.

“There’s groups coming from Perth, a couple from the Northern Territory, people are really excited about it. I think they love the wilderness aspect, they love the vertical elevation we’ve got and the variety of trails.”

Mr French said the park’s workers had fitted a 12-month project into a six-month window.