Fidele Soul Rides – Frenchmans Cap (Tasmania)
In this article
Doug Bruce has offered up two for the price of one with his soul rides in Tasmania, Lake St Clair to Queenstown, found in Stage 3 of our Strzelecki Australian Cycling Tour. Regularly towards the top of the Ride and Seek Strava Club classification, he would have been spoilt for choice for Tassie soul rides.
A "Soul Ride", eh? Well, I'm greedy, so I'm going to list two rides: my "go to" ride from home and then the ride I love above all others, my true "Soul Ride". I reckon this is fair enough because I can only rarely do my Soul Ride - or bits thereof - because it requires fairly involved logistics. The "Go To" ride is a tremendously varied loop that takes me from where I live overlooking the city of Hobart, across the Derwent Estuary, through terrific countryside and then back again.
Here's the Strava link to my "Go To" Soul Ride :
It takes me down into town, around the historic Hobart waterfront, along the Intercity Cycleway for ~ 10 kms, out past the famous world class MONA, alongside and across the river, along a quiet road through an industrial park, through countryside where there are horses, sheep, alpacas, miniature ponies, cattle, even goats.
On past hayfields, market gardens, vineyards, and a couple of cellar doors and the road winds its way to Richmond, a historic town with the oldest bridge in Australia. Usually, I stop here for a coffee, especially if I'm with my favourite riding partner.
Five kilometres after leaving coffee, one arrives at the base of Grasstree Hill, a much-loved steady climb of just over 4km in length. The descent takes you back down towards the Derwent River and the Bowen Bridge. Across the other side, the route winds its way back along the river with wonderful views of kunanyi, the Hors Categorie climb that stands 1272 metres above the city. If you're likely to visit Hobart sometime down the track and would like to start and finish this ride from a cafe favoured by cyclists have a look at this Ride withGPS version of the ride:
Were I a better climber, the ascent of kunanyi from Hobart’s waterfront would have to be my Soul Ride. Back in the day, it was the penultimate stage of the Tour of Tasmania, where in 1999 Cadel Evans announced himself, via the dulcet tones of one Phil Liggett, as a possible future champion of the Tour De France. That prediction would come to fruition with victory in Le Tour in 2010. It’s 22 kms to the top of kunanyi from the city, and on a clear day, the 360 degree views are absolutely stunning. For me, the climb to the top is something of an ordeal, but it’s all worth it for the fabulous descent!
As for my Soul Ride, it's got to be Lake St Clair to Queenstown.
This is especially 'soul' if I can organise to do it with Dianne, my wife, and life partner. The route starts at Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in Australia and the terminus for the Overland Track, which is the most famous multi-day wilderness hike in Australia. Of the total 90 or so kilometres of riding, all but a few kilometres traverse the Southwest Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Despite a net elevation loss of 500 metres, there is still about 1000 metres of climbing, but none of it very steep or very long. A big, big highlight of the ride for me is the wonderful descent to the famous Franklin River, but the views along the way - including the mystical, remote Frenchman's Cap - are just wonderful.
Despite this being the only road from Tasmania's capital city to the west coast, traffic is never heavy, and if you start early in the morning, you will see almost no vehicles for the first couple of hours. Much of the ride traverses Buttongrass Plains, a vegetation regime endemic to southwest Tasmania. When you're not surrounded by buttongrass, you are immersed in the Tasmanian temperate rainforest, the air laden with the scent of leatherwood honey.
Towards the end of the ride, you descend to and cross Lake Burbury, one of the large hydro dams in Tasmania's southwest. A steady climb takes you to the top of the so-called "99 Bends" descent into Queenstown, with the ride finishing at the historic Wilderness Railway Terminus. Between start and finish, there are at least three great spots to stop, relax, sightsee and refresh your water supplies. A truly magical ride.
And as a bonus, here's a great video by Doug of the 99 bend descent down to Queenstown. Some great Tassie imagery to inspire throughout the video.
Doug
We hope this blog sparks interest in this incredibly beautiful part of the world, and perhaps adds the Strzelecki Australian Cycling Tour to your list!
