Derby a Girls weekend - the perfect way to rekindle friendships

Who would’ve thought that four young at heart women would ditch Netflix to watch GMBN videos on “How to corner, bunnyhop and do jumps”?

After lots of comments on social media from the crew that they would love to come and ride in Derby, the idea of a girls weekend took shape.

We all worked together 20 odd years ago, and have since spread out across the country, not seeing each other as often as we should. After one false start due to border closures we managed to all reschedule, change our dates and gather in Tassie in March 2021. 

We had three full days of riding in Derby and as the local Tasmanian, I mapped out an itinerary to suit our varied abilities. We were all reasonably fit and active but had very different levels of skill and comfort on a mountain bike.

One of us was more cautious than the rest but was very happy to join in where she could and was also happy in her own space and rode to Branxholm and around Derby Lake by herself.

Day one we spent getting used to the hire bikes and exploring trails in the Blue Derby network like Axehead, Long Shadows, Long Shadows Upper, Flickety Sticks, Howler, Deadly Bugga, Derby Tunnel, Lake Derby, Wochya-Upta. 

Day two - Was our adventure day, we tackled Blue Tier. I knew it would challenge our more cautious rider but I also knew the scenery we would visit would be worth the effort of getting her safely down the trail. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery, we had lots of stops for snacks and to enjoy the views. We all walked several sections and everyone was patient and supportive of the different skill levels of the group.

We had plenty of time as we did not plan to ride Atlas and would be collected from Weldborough after the bus had dropped the rest of the riders on our shuttle at Atlas. Over lunch at the pub the consensus was that everyone loved Blue Tier and was glad that they had done it. Our cautious rider was quite rightly proud of her efforts, her riding skill and confidence had significantly developed during the ride.

Day three - Three of us shuttled to Black Stump, and rode Snig Track and Kingswall - our cautious rider once again headed to Branxholm and around the Lake. Blue Tier had worn her out and she needed a quieter morning. After lunch we headed back out to trails like Axehead, Long Shadow, Flickety Sticks, Howler, Deadly Bugga.

I can’t tell you how cathartic it was to ride at Derby with a group of women, they do not need to be great Mountain Bikers but need a sense of adventure and be willing to give it a go. We played on the pump track, reminisced on past adventures and chatted about the challenges life was throwing at us back at our Derby accommodation.

River Cabins Derby provides a great Derby accommodation base for a girls weekend, next time we might aim for a bigger group and book the place out.