Hobart Work Trip
- RobM
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Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:35 pm
Work is paying for a conference trip to Hobart so I'll be there from this Sunday for a week.
Already lined up a hire mountain bike (Santa Cruz Heckler) from Cylingo so I will check out a few trails and roll around the city sights.
On my list is a ride up Mt Wellington. I've got the route sorted but would like to know:
- is traffic up the mountain likely to be better on a weekday or weekend morning? Presume I'll be in good company with other cyclists on Sat morning?
- coming from QLD, what should I carry up with me for the descent? Arm warmer's and a vest enough? How much colder is it at the top compared to the base?
- how long should the climb take me (assume average cyclist)? Just working out how much time I'll need to leave.
I might trade the mtb for a roadie if they have one, but the lower gears and disc brakes might be handy from what I've read.
Cheers for the local knowledge,
Rob
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby thecaptn » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:35 pm
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby piledhigher » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:37 pm
It's nice that the water at constitution doc is heated by a natural thermal pool, ideal place to warm up at the end of the ride.thecaptn wrote:The hood could end up glued to your head with snot icicles, they'd melt eventually....
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby Trevtassie » Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:42 am
I usually take just a little windproof jacket and a set of those $4 windstopper gloves from Ebay. If you ride up to the top you'll be pretty hot by the top. As soon as you hit the top chuck on the jacket and gloves. You won't be in the cold zone for that long on the way down, it's pretty easy to hit 80km/h on the way down. It only takes about 20 minutes or so to get down to the outskirts of the city. If the lights are kind you can be in Salamanca in 25 minutes. Mind you the weather is going to be crap-ish on Saturday and Sunday. Raining Saturday...
That being the case maybe the North South track might be a better bet on the MTB. It starts at the Glenorchy MTB Park and finishes at the Springs at about 720m ASL. It'll be warmer as it's all in the trees. It's not super technical and climbs steadily, mostly. The ride down is a blast...it's been built by pro mountain bike track builders so has some great banked corners. By the time you ride from the city to 'norchy, up the track and back it'd be about 50km and 1000m of climbing.
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:43 am
I'll be likely to do Wello the morning of Sat 12th Dec as work is squeezing out the other mornings. Fingers crossed for good weather then.
I also read it's sunset at 830pm there this time of year! I'll still bring my lights but that should give me some more time to ride.
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:45 am
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby Trevtassie » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:29 pm
There are km to the top painted on the road, so you know how far left. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, can be a bit disheartening sometimes.
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby m@ » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:33 pm
If you're up for a longer ride and have time, try the Commando loop (south from Hobart along Sandy Bay Road, which becomes the Channel Highway, to Margate, Sandfly Road to Longley then Huon Road to Fern Tree). The gentle climb up from Longley to Neika is about as good as riding gets IMO... stunning views, gentle grade, flowing corners... it's also fun in the other direction From Fern Tree you can summit the mountain then roll back down into Hobart, making it a nice half-day ride.
Otherwise the mountain via Strickland Avenue (past Cascade Brewery) or Huon Road (the boring, direct route) should take you ~2 hours from town, and the descent can be done pretty quickly as someone mentioned... Do take care on the descent though - the road surface is pretty poor, there are lots of blind corners and traffic coming up is sometimes completely on the wrong side of the road (especially on busy weekends). Nothing scary, just take care and ride well within your own and the bike's abilities
Either way I'd definitely recommend taking plenty of warm and wind resistant clothes for the descent - I've had the early stages of hypothermia descending the mountain and I'm Taswegian...
I've hired Hecklers from Cyclingo a few times - they're terrific fun on singletrack, but hard work going uphill - definitely overkill if you're not planning on going offroad. They also have a fleet of carbon framed, 105-equipped Jamis roadies; they're quite satisfactory (I've spent a fair few hours on one...). Compact crankset and 25T large sprocket from memory - plenty to get you over the steepest part of the climb if you're happy to stand and grind for a bit.
Personally I'd grab a Heckler and ride the north-south track, Meehan range etc - mountain biking is going off in Tassie right now! If you post in the Hobart MTB Rides facebook group you'll undoubtedly find out about more trails, group rides etc.
But since you've got a week, you could always hire a roadie some days and MTB others.
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby Trevtassie » Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:45 pm
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:43 pm
I will try to swap for a road bike but won't be too fussed if I do it on the mtb. I'll be taking it easy and enjoying the view (if possible). I can always try for a quicker time on the next trip.
The other benefit of the mtb is not worrying about punctures as much. I'll only have limited spares loaned from the shop. Either way I can't wait!
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby rangersac » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:08 pm
P.S. Ask the locals nicely and you might just be able to forgo the hire, and get a tour guide throw in to boot!
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby 2wheels_mond » Fri Dec 04, 2015 2:15 am
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Fri Dec 04, 2015 7:25 pm
That might work actually! The bike hire isn't cheap (I assume because the bikes are actually decent spec). I'll give you a PM mate for your phone number2wheels_mond wrote:Are you a medium size Rob? I have an older 54cm bike you can borrow if you'd like, and for bonus points, less than a km from the bottom of the Wellington climb.
Cheers
Rob
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby Trevtassie » Sat Dec 05, 2015 7:22 am
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby RobM » Sat Dec 05, 2015 6:43 pm
Let it be known that Hobartians (Hobartinites?) are a very friendly bunch.
If you see a lonely qld'er toiling up the Mt Wellington slopes freezing his butt off, give me a wave
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Re: Hobart Work Trip
Postby dunamis » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:56 pm
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