Mountain Biking in Australia

Mountain Biking is one of the best activities to achieve an overall fitness level. Trekking through rocks and washouts, steep mountain trails, and other unpaved terrain gives the rider the ultimate thrill. Australia’s diverse geography makes it a mountain biker’s paradise. Ranging from trails through the outback, leisurely rides through the cities, beach side bluffs, or steep mountain terrain in the north, Australia hosts an excellent network of trails for all levels riders.

The national parks and forests in the Victoria area have great mountain biking opportunities. Victoria has a beautiful, underdeveloped natural environment with versatile terrain that is very inviting to mountain bikers. Some of the best trail opportunities are in the Alpine area accessible from Mount Beauty. These trails range from the medium fitness levels of the intermediate trail to long strenuous tracks requiring much more skill levels. There are dozens of tracks throughout the slopes of Mount Beauty, complete with rivers to cross, hills to climb, downhill slopes, and plains to explore.

The trails in Tasmania feature pretty much anything a cyclist can dream of. The long distance Tasmanian Trail is about 480kms of back-country riding through fire trails and forested roads and tracks. The trail gives you access to ridges with sweeping views of the Tasmanian countryside.

Another mountain bike hot spot is in the Mogo State Forest. Some of the best single tracks in Australia can be found here. It has everything a mountain biker can hope for in its extensive trails, downhill slopes, smooth gravel trails, jumps and technical tracks for the expert.

If you are looking for that perfect trail, Trailmate.com is an excellent resource. It is a trail directory that lists dozens of track descriptions, maps, level of difficulty, and even recourses, if any, along the way. For the true mountain bike extremist, there are also bike races, like the Angry Doctor 100km along the beautiful Eurobodalla Coast, or the lesser Irate Intern race that is only 50km or the Nasty Nurse Prologue which is an 11km loop through the city. Choosing your distance makes this race great for any level of skill.

The great thing about mountain biking through Australia is that you can enjoy the freedom to make your own trip. If trekking through hard terrain is not completely your style, feel free to join any number of biking tour groups. Try the Sydney Tour Group, or the wonderful Beach Safari Tour through the gold coast of Australia.

One essential item for mountain bikers is to get bike insurance because bikes are expensive and due to the nature of the sport prone to serious accidents and theft.  You might also want to consider life insurance while you are at it