The Blue Derby Pods Ride

The idea of riding immaculate trails and retiring to comfortable accommodation nestled in the very forest you have been riding in must be a dream for many mountain bikers. If you add in having a guide, exquisite food from the local area and an excellent range of drinks on offer, you might think it’s getting a little far-fetched. But this luxury experience is happening right here and now with the Blue Derby Pods Ride in Tasmania.

If you haven’t been to Blue Derby yet, chances are you have it on your ‘to ride’ list. And so you should. The destination in north-east Tasmania has one of the most diverse networks of trails in Australia. From easy trails around the lake, to long, gravity assisted flow trails, and of course trails that challenged the riders of the Enduro World Series – one of which was even crowned the trail of the year for 2017. That’s quite an accolade.

A mountain bike holiday is about more than just the trails though. A good holiday takes up time off work, so it should also be a time to recharge. And the Blue Derby Pods Ride is a a comfortable way to experience the intermediate trails in great company, while staying in an immersive environment and eating and drinking amazing local cuisine. Best of all, it’s well suited to couples – although it doesn’t exclusively cater for them.

Inside the Blue Derby Pods Ride

The images of wooden ‘pods’ floating in the forest started to appear across my Instagram feed in April last year. Some images create an immediate attraction and while I couldn’t swipe left I immediately followed the Blue Derby Pods Ride as next time I was in Blue Derby, I wanted to see them.

So in November, when riding in Blue Derby I took the opportunity to visit. I would have ridden past the entrance to the pods without knowing, except Steve Howell who setup the Blue Derby Pods Ride with his wife Tara told us exactly where to stop. We follow Steve along a short section of singletrack and come upon the main building, or hub. Sitting resplendant in timber glowing in the afternoon sun, we ride in under the annex, storing our bikes and hanging up our gear.

It looks like the whole building and the sleeping pods have been dropped from above. There’s little sign of building work, with none of the scars to the landscape that typically accompany buildings of this size.

Inspiration to creation

Plenty of people visit Blue Derby and have a great time on the trails. And there are a number of people who do that, and see the opportunity to have a bit of a tree change. A town that is having a rebirth, with an ever-growing network of world-class trails being built around it. It’s a dream come true for people looking to escape the rat race and setup a small mountain bike focused business.

And in essence, that’s Tasmanian’s Steve and Tara did, with Tara’s marketing skills playing a key role.

“There were two core reasons why Steve and I decided to launch the Pods Ride, and move into the tourism industry. We genuinely did see a market in what we’re doing in an adventure/mountain biking experience, we did some overseas travel looking at the mountain bike market in Canada and New Zealand and saw that this wasn’t being tapped in Australia.”

“We also loved the idea of what we were putting together in that we knew we’d love it. So we were passionate about it. We’re passionate about mountain biking, we’re passionate about Tasmania and we both wanted to work in a role that we loved every day so those two things combined made it a pretty attractive thing to do.”

Sitting in the communal area, with a spread of local cheeses, cured meats and a craft beer in hand, looking across the tree tops of the forest we just rode through all day suggests Steve and Tara were right.

This visit in summer was my fifth visit to Blue Derby, but my first in about 18 months. And that time period has seen so much growth, especially after the EWS visited and really put the place on the global map. But the Blue Derby Pods Ride was in planning before soil had even been turned.

What3 days of guided mountain biking in Blue Derby, with all transfers, food and drinks, plus bike hire.

When All year round! Check the date options online. Pricing changes depending on the season.
bluederbypodsride.com.au

What do I need?Intermediate riding skills, a few sets of riding clothes. A bike, helmet, gloves and spray jacket are included if you don’t want to bring your own.

How much? From $1750, departing Launceston

“The idea to make this a world-class trail network with you know, 250km of singletrack in time, was so exciting to us,” states Steve. “As we were progressing our project and as the council were progressing and as World Trail were turning soil, we’d come out here and ride the trails with Tim Watson the GM of the council and just get so excited as to what the terrain was going to be like and how the trails were going to shape up. We were blown away.”

“Derby’s continued to become better and better than we’d imagined. We’d hoped because we’d ridden in this area, on old tramways and different trails, that mountain bikers used to ride, we knew that there was a lot of potential but I think it’s better than I thought.”

“I remember the first time we rode the trails,” confirms Tara, “just this sense of excitement and also relief that things were going to be amazing.”

Steve and Tara have been taking guests on the Blue Derby Pods Ride for about a year now.  While the pods are attractive and an Instagram sensation – they’re not a bookable accommodation option for a stay in Blue Derby. It’s a whole experience – one that encapsulates the trails, the forest, the food, wine and beer of Tasmania. All with great hosts and trail guides.

As a 3-day offering, you’re picked up from Launceston airport, you can collect a Scott Genius or Spark if you didn’t want to bring your own bike, and you travel to Blue Derby.

“So we drive through the beautiful fertile north east and that’s where we’re pointing out ‘this is John Wardlaw’s farm, we’ll be eating his potatoes tonight’” says Steve, highlighting what a local experience it all is.

Ride in, ride out accommodation means your hosts guide you on the trails and care for you when you’re off them. The itinerary tackles the Blue Tier, Atlas, and the classic Blue Derby trails over the 3 days of riding. Steve suggests the visit suits intermediate riders, but he’s happy to help you get down some of the EWS trails if you’re up for the challenge. With no cooking to worry about, amazing food and drinks provided, and very comfortable sleeping arrangements – it’s a unique mountain bike experience.

As the plate of canapes starts to look a bit thin, Steve moves to the kitchen to prepare our dinner. We’re having duck – and as it cooks it smells amazing. Steve gives us a choice of what we want to drink with dinner, and we move from a local craft beer to a Tasmanian red to suit.

As the sun is setting, the deafening silence of the Australian bush wraps us up in a cocoon. Dinner is served, and I realised that yes – this is living. I’ve stayed in plenty of places on the cheap, slept badly, and eaten burgers or takeaway pizza for dinner. This is nothing like that. This is an experience that doesn’t stop when you step off the bike.

And what of the pods? Well, there are four, and each one sleeps two. While you can set them up as twin beds, “you’d want to be close” Steve says.

Our Menu

Canapes

–    Coal River Farm Triple Cream Brie Cheese
–    Fennel Cacciatore
–    Garlic and Thyme Marinated Olives
–    Housemade Alps and Amici Hommus Dip
–    Manu French Bread

Main

–    Oven-Roasted Confit Duck w jus
–    Scottsdale Potatoes in a Caper and Parsley Salsa Verde
–    Yorktown Organics Rocket and Parmesan Salad with Lemon Dressing

Dessert

–     Manu Lemon Tart w Housemade Honeycomb and Candied Valencia Oranges

Breakfast

–    Housemade Granola pot with Fruit Compote and Coconut Yoghurt
–    Hot option of Breakfast Beans, Waffles, Eggs, and Bacon with Maple Syrup

After dessert, and a couple more drinks around the not entirely required fire, we all retreat to bed. Walking to my pod, the subtley lit structure seems to hover in the forest, and holds a comfortable bed, some books, my bag which was brought here from Derby, and a heater for winter. I fall asleep where I land, and wake up with the dawn chorus of birds, with the sun coming into the window, as I look into the canopy of the forest.

With breakfast in the communal area, we pack up and head out to ride the trails. We’ve just come to find out about the Blue Derby Pods Ride experience, and as we make our way back to Derby we climb to Black Stump and ride some of the EWS trails with Steve, and he points out plenty of local highlights we might have otherwise missed.

Back in Derby, we’re packing up to head back to Launceston. Both myself and our photographer Tim are planning a visit back with our respective partners. There are very few options for a high-end mountain bike experience in Australia, and one that combines such good food, trails and hospitality is right in Blue Derby – and it is the perfect location. I remember something Tara had said the other evening

“Just the other day Steve and I went for a quick ride from the pods before we had a group out there, and it was six o-clock in the morning, and we just rode out the door and were on world class trail, and we just thought ‘oh my goodness, we are just so lucky, we just literally rode out the door, and here we are. Right here. It’s amazing to have that.”

And she is right. The Blue Derby Pods are hidden away in one of Australia, and the world’s, must-ride destinations. And the experience Steve and Tara create shouldn’t be missed.