ON THE ROADTODERBY
It was time to pack upourvananddrivenorth.
Unfortunately, we couldn’tmakeanysidetrips,but
if you had the time itwouldbeworthpullinginto
Launceston, or the revampedtrailsatHollybank–
and there will be moretotalkaboutoverthenext
12 months as well.
The whole mountainbikeworldwastakingaim
at Derby and the townwasalreadysuperbusyon
Thursday morning. Thereisstillfreecampingin
Derby, although fortheEWSweekendyouwon’t
be surprised to hearthatspacewasatapremium.
Still, everyone was opentowhereyoucouldpark
and we saw a few smallvanconversionsinnice
private spots by theriver.Thecampingareais
in the lower part of town,withcoinoperatedhot
showers in a new facilitiesblock.Nextdooristhe
Dorset Hotel. With greathotmeals,abeergarden
and some choice optionsontap,notmuchcould
make the Dorset Hotelbetter.Exceptthefactthey
have a laundromat outtheback,perfectwhen
you’ve been living inavanforafewdays.
Coming to DerbywhentheEWScircusisintown
is one of the best waystoseetheplace,although
the town gets packed.Justlikein2017,WorldTrail
built some new trailsforthe 2019 raceandasthey
did a couple of yearsago,thesetrailshavefound
their place in the trailnetwork,addingtotherange
of demanding trailsintheBlueDerbytrailnetwork.
http://www.ambmag.com.au 61VANLIFE