Great Western Tiers

A converted mill in Westbury, in mid C-19th Tasmania (or is this England?)

West of Launceston, I discovered an area of Tasmania that's branding itself as a cyclists' destination: The Great Western Tiers. Seems if you take the ocean ferry from Victoria, you land in Devonport, on the North coast of Tasmania. It's feasible to ride off the ferry and head over here.

So, why do this? Namely: quiet roads, gorgeous rural scenery, historic towns (all those convicts were kept really busy cutting sandstone that was sold to build whole Tasmania towns).

I found a fold-up pocket map at the visitors' center in Scottsdale (east of Launceston) for something called The Great Western Tiers Cycling Trails: a map of 4 themed trails: Great Caves Ride, Great Gourmet Ride, Great World Heritage Ride and Great Country Ride, all loops between 52 and 72 km. There's lots of accomodation in the area: B&Bs in the most lovely cottages you can imagine, and some good looking caravan parks.

Check out http://www.greatwesterntiers.net.au/ for cycling podcasts. The routes are marked here and there with color-coded totems and signposts.

On the way to Highland Lakes (another great place for riding, but it's dirt, so you need a mountain bike here), I drove most of the green route: Great World Heritage, from Deloraine to Liffey Falls. If I come back to Tasmania with a bike, this is the one I'd do: it takes you through bucolic farmland of Golden Valley up into some rainforest.

A great find.