Ah Derby, it’s a bit like Flow’s second home. The trails, the people, the vibe, there is no place on earth quite like it. The last time we had a proper visit was in late 2019, just before the world changed.
As it happens, quite a few people are in the same boat. The pandemic put a pause on lots of folks’ travel plans, but it hasn’t stopped Derby-ites from launching new projects, and the trail crew has been VERY busy. As a result, there is a boatload of new stuff to check out in town and on the trails.
Come along and take a gander at what’s changed since the last time we visited Blue Derby.
New trails, a brewery and more, come along as we explore what’s new in Derby
What’s new on the trails?
The landslide
At the beginning of November, Derby experienced a MASSIVE rain event. Vision from the storm saw some of the trails looking like class four rapids — the type that you’d hire a guide to go white water rafting down.
There is evidence of just how much water was moving around the area all over the trail network. The rock bridge at the bottom of Relics across the Cascade River is a bit skinnier and noticeably rougher than before, and of course, there is the landslide.

About 150m of the slope below the Cascade Dam Road slipped, taking out Lower Air Ya Garn just after the dirt wave, and knocking out a short bit of Hazy Days and Axehead in the process.
It’s quite a spectacular scar in the bush, and it’s an unfortunate natural disaster — especially given its placement hitting Lower Air Ya Garn, and putting a detour in Hazy Days before it opened. But it looks a lot worse than it is, and it’s only taken out about one-per cent of the network.

Is it annoying? Yes. Worth cancelling your trip for? Don’t be ridiculous; put the phone down, Steven! There are still over 100km of trails that have been unaffected by the slide and are running beautifully! In fact, the Blue Derby trail crew has just fixed up Return to Sender, and it is spectacular.
Pete Coleborn from the Blue Derby trail crew told Flow they have received advice from a geotechnical engineer that stabilising the hillside is no big deal, and the wheels are in motion so that World Trail can get in and fix things up. In fact, since our visit, Axehead has been cleared and is open for riders.

Flickity Sticks Gen 2
If you sit at Black Stump for a while and watch where folks head after they unload from the shuttle, there is a constant stream of people heading for Flickity Sticks.
The blue descent has always been packed with flowy, fun terrain and made it possible to hit Mach-5 through certain sections. It’s a great warm-up run for folks with their eye on threading the needle through the Detonate boulders or pinballing down the chute on Shearpin, and a great confidence builder for riders still finding their feet. With so much traffic coming through, Flickity was feeling a bit tired, so World Trail went in to give it a revamp.



“We basically gave it a bit of a haircut,” says Glen Jacobs from World Trial. “It’s one of the most popular trails in the whole network, and so the brief was to bring it up to 2022, to handle the amount of riders (it gets). We took a lot of the rock out. In some areas, we whooped it up a little more, added bigger jumps, better catch berms and gave it a big revamp.”
With World Trail taking tools to Upper and Lower Flickity, even though it starts and finishes in the same place and runs past all of the same landmarks along the way, it feels like an entirely new run through the rainforest.
It’s a hooting, hollering good time, and we promise by the time you get to the bottom, you’ll be totally gassed, gasping for air with a big smile on your face — or at least that’s how it left us.
Derby is quickly approaching its tenth birthday, and the trails have a few years on them now. Flickity Sticks is only the first of many trails in the network to receive a top-to-bottom update, with the Blue Tier next on the hit list.





Hazy Days
Hazy Days is a brand new green-rated airflow trail that has just opened. The idea was to create a miniature version of Air Ya Garn so that beginner riders would have a flowy roller coaster to ride. This also means more experienced folks could send its black-rated counterpart and worry less about catching slow-moving riders.
Hazy Days also provides a green descent from Black Stump, meaning new and less confident riders can experience shuttles.

We took a group of mini-shredders out for a sneak preview of this trail before it opens — check out their shenanigans here.
A new EWS banger | Cuddles
With the Enduro World Series — or UCI Mountain Bike World Series, as it has just been rebranded — rolling back into Derby for a third time, World Trail is once again working its magic for the race.
“One of the things from my perspective was to have something that was visually really exciting. Out of Squamish and BC, you get some amazing images of big old rock ramps and rolling over boulders with moss and stuff like that. That’s what we went looking for around Derby,” says Jacobs.

And boy-howdy, did Max Connor and Rhys Atkinson nail the brief. The World Trail crew took us out bush bashing to have a look at one of the massive slabs they found for the new EWS trail, named Cuddles.
“There are four to five major slabs on the alignment, and then there are a bunch that are smaller, but still impressive because they are quite cool looking,” says Connor. “There’s also a bunch of little ridge line slabs that we’ve also linked in — steep and rolly, but you’ll be skittering across the top.”
Cuddles will set off from where Krushkas meets Trouty, where a new trail hub will also be constructed. The trail will drop down the hillside and spit you out next to a 100-year-old swimming pool, out in the middle of the bush.

“The old swimming pool is quite bizarre. It would have been grand back in the day. I don’t know when the water used to flow there, but it’s quite stagnant now,” says Connor.
According to Connor, there are quite a few surprises in-store, inducing one feature, which he described as a toilet bowl slab. This new trail is set to be a part of the EWS this coming March, however, a major goal is to attract more rides to that side of the network.
“We designed this trail to fit in quite well into the network rather than just being an EWS race course,” says Connor. “We’ll build those big features, and we’ll weave them into the trail. The A-line will be the faster and more rewarding line, but I think we’ll be building it as a blue trail — a Kumma Gutsa-esque blue trail.”
The new trailhead

We visited Derby back at the end of November, and at the time, the new trailhead facilities were still looking a bit more like a construction site than, well, a trailhead. While we waited for the paperwork for the permit to go through so we could our scoop on the EWS trail, the construction crews have been hard at work on the amenities block.
This new trailhead facility is adjacent to the pump track and across the road from the current trailhead. It will feature 86 car spaces, an electric vehicle charger, bike wash and racks, water, shaded seating, toilets, showers and change rooms. At the moment, if you need to fill a water bottle, you have ride up into town, so this is a massive upgrade.
The public will be ushered into this new area so that the shuttle busses can take full advantage of the current trailhead and dirt parking area.

What’s still coming?
After the EWS trail, Hazy Days and the landslide clean-up are complete, World Trail will be turning its attention to a brand new hand-built trail. This will be the second in Derby after Black Dragon, and it will run between Flickety Sticks and Long Shadows.
Nothing has been cut or flagged just yet, but we’ve been told it will be built as blue and left to mature into a dark blue. But it won’t become a black.

But this is only just the start of Derby’s 5-10 year plan.
There is talk of a new shuttle point at the top of the Return to Sender descent, along with two additional trails, and even trying to attract a World Cup stop. There are rumours of new trails off Snig Track and even a satellite network in Branxholm. None of this is set in stone, but these are all things that have been put to the table.
“There is a five to 10-year plan that the Council has initiated, and we’re looking at everything from new trails, new networks, new precincts and (attracting) signature and high-level events. That’s part of what we’ve been working on with the Council to massage that plan to future-proof the place, which is exciting. Everything is still ongoing, and things will be happening,” says Jacobs


The Derby Foundation takes over the trails
The Derby Foundation was set up two years ago as a not-for-profit charity to look after the Blue Derby brand, manage sponsorships and merchandise, and fundraise for trail maintenance and other projects around town.
“It was ultimately set up so that the Council could transfer over some of the day-to-day parts of running Derby,” says Chris Cafe, the Chairman of the Derby Foundation.
The charity is composed of a chairman, six directors and then folks who have an association with town, ranging from business owners to folks who just live in Derby — at the time of writing, there are about 100 members.

According to Cafe, the goal was always for the Council to pass some control over ongoing development and the future of Derby to the Foundation. In mid-2022, the Council approached the Derby Foundation aiming to expedite handing over the day-to-day running of the trails, including maintenance. A motion was put to the Council, and it passed.
“It’s a way for the local community, businesses, cafe owners and employees, and workers to actually have a voice into what happens in town — you don’t even have to be a member to share your ideas. Long term, I think it will be really good for the town,” says Cafe
As you can imagine, it’s quite a complex process, but the negotiations of how it will all work. and who does what are currently underway. The Council will still have some oversight, but the reigns will largely be in the hands of the Derby Foundation.

Part of handing the trail network over also means a full economic study into the return on the government’s initial $4-million dollar investment will take place. There have been audits, which is how the $40-million per annum figure has come about, but this will provide the actual data to back that up.
“With that, we can build a case for growth, for how we take Derby to the next level. That’s not just with trails, but also with simple things like sewage and mobile phone coverage. Attracting other businesses to the area and people to live here, with a little bit more development for long-term accommodation, not just everything turning into an Airbnb,” he says.


In addition to taking the helm with the trails, the Blue Derby Foundation will be taking over the booking platform built into the trail network’s website, and encouraging operators to make the jump from Airbnb, Stayz and the like. These platforms take a commission on each booking made, so the idea here is that instead of those booking fees going to Silicon Valley, they could instead go back into the trails.
“Airbnb is the most prominent platform used in Derby, and there is well over $300,000 in these booking commissions (which they collect). That could go a long way to helping with trail maintenance, and ongoing costs and that sort of thing,” he says.
Some of the folks we spoke to in town did have some reservations about this transfer — understandably, as they’ve built their livelihood on the network’s success. For that matter Cafe himself is invested in The Derby Pit Stop and the Hill Street Blue accommodation, among other things, and is confident they can do right by everyone involved.
“With all of these mountain biking destinations popping up and councils working out how to manage them, we’re committed to making sure everything is funded, the trail maintenance is ongoing, and the town continues to grow,” says Cafe.


What’s new in town
Main Street Derby

Main Street is a lounge, bar and cafe situated just across the road from the Derby Pit Stop, with a luxury apartment available for rent on the rear. It’s also the first new building constructed on the main drag in a century, filling what was a vacant block of land.


While most of the dining options in Derby are burgers, pub grub and pizza, Main Street is aiming for a higher-brow experience with oysters, charcuterie boards, cheese plates and salmon linguine on the menu.
When you walk in, it’s clear this is like no other place in Derby. The art on the walls features nary a mountain bike and is, well…I guess we at Team Flow probably don’t have a future working in an inner-Melbourne gallery. Either way, it offers something different to what’s already in Derby, and it was packed every time we rolled past during our time there. We reckon the back deck on a sunny day would be primo.
The Derby Pit Stop

The convenience store at the end of the strip has also had a revamp. With Premium MTB transfers on one side and the convenience store on the other, they’re slinging toasties, pies and the best doughnuts this side of the Bass Strait.
And yes, doughnuts DO count as ride and recovery food.
Lot 40 | Tin Mountain Brewery and Distillery
Breweries, we love them. Same with distilleries. And for being a town pretty well designed to be a paradise for mountain bikers, there is a noticeable lack of these hyper-local imbibements. Until now.

Kate Brown and her husband Tim Kemsley, who own what used to be the Tin Centre and Crank It Cafe, have filled the void. Gone is the rusty bicycle graveyard out front, and the Tin Museum, which was essentially a movie theatre that only played The History of Derby on a loop.
“We’ve turned the movie theatre into a bar (Lot 40), and under the bar is a brewery and gin still. We’ll be making Blue Trail Gin and beer to sell there. At the front, we’re going to bring in someone to do food,” explains Brown.


While we rolled through, we were lucky enough to sample the Blue Trail Gin, a special unaged whisky and the lager they will be pouring when the tap room opens for business. And dear reader, they were fantastic. We had to drag Chris out of there, kicking and screaming.
They have also bought land 3km out of town, just off the Valley Ponds trail, where the large production facility will be housed. It will also have a gin lounge. It’s even rumoured that one of the proposed trails off Return to Sender will pass within 100m.


Lake View Derby
Every time we come to Derby, there are new places to stay. From the Old Derby Church now being an Airbnb to some brand new accommodation being constructed essentially in the apex of the final berm on Return to Sender, there is accommodation for every budget and group size.

This time around, we stayed at Lake View Derby, which is across the road and up the hill from the Dorset Pub.
With two self-service apartments that can sleep up to eight people each, there is ample bike storage, a bike wash, and an outdoor shower for rinsing off after a truly apocalyptic ride. There’s also a big deck, complete with a BBQ.


Inside, it’s furnished like your house actually would be and doesn’t feel overly sanitised or clinical. The kitchen is fully kitted out with what you’ll need to cook your own meals, and frankly, it’s just plain comfortable. The couch is excellent, and the big TV is ideal for reviewing GoPro footage from the day or catching up on MoiMoi TV.
The Dorset Hotel
The Dorset Hotel has been a mainstay in Derby and was first established as the local watering hole in the 1880s, though, at that stage, it was a single-story and made of weatherboard. The current building was constructed in 1911 and survived the Briseis Dam Disaster in 1929.
With new owners and management, the place has totally transformed. There’s craft beer on tap, and an extensive selection in the fridge. The food is a step above your stock standard pub gub, and there is a vibe. The Dorset has gone from dingy and depressing to bumping so hard it might fall off the foundation.


The Floating Sauna
Standing in line at the cafe in the morning, in the before times, everyone was either still wearing a helmet or had helmet hair. Now, a third opinion makes up about half of the caffeine queue — wet hair.
The Floating Sauna came to Derby right around the time Covid hit, and has since become wildly popular. Lapping the wind ripples on top of the Briseis Hole on a pontoon, it’s the only one of its kind in Australia and New Zealand.



It’s a traditional Finnish wood-fired sauna, so you’re encouraged to get your sweat on and then take the bracing plunge into Lake Derby, rinse and repeat. And it’s turned into an attraction in its own right, mobs of people from around Tassie and beyond — many of whom aren’t riders — making the 90-min drive from Launceston to get hot, and then cold, and then hot and then cold again.
There’s plenty to say about the health and recovery benefits of saunas and cold plunges, but we’ll leave that evangelism to Wim Hof. What we can say is it’s a lovely opportunity to relax, come down from the adrenaline high from riding all day, not look at your phone and just be present.
We’re not really the spa type, but we’ll definitely be visiting the floating sauna on our next trip to Derby. Be sure to book well ahead though, because this has been an extremely popular attraction.


It’s exciting times ahead in Northeast Tassie, and there are big things ahead for Derby. With the return of the EWS and all of the new and revamped trails, watering holes, and eateries around town Derby is well and truly thriving. And if it’s been a couple of years since your last visit, there will be plenty of surprises waiting when you do make the jump.
Producer, videographer, editor, and tree fungus taste tester – Jasper Da Seymour @jdaseymour
Host, rookie trail builder and scone enthusiast — Chris Sansom @sensom
Chief Vibe Officer and turn bar expert – Christa Capel @rideomtb
This Flow MTB project was made possible with support from the Dorset Council.
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