The Southern Highlands, the Illawarra and the South Coast are all noted increased activity for bike lovers over the summer period. These regions are looking forward to an exciting 2024!
Mountain Biking
The tourism activation from mountain biking is proving highly advantageous for the South Coast. There is the recently-opened Gravity Eden MTB park, and the well-established mountain bike terrain in and around Tathra and Narooma. With a mountain bike park in Mogo (near Batemans Bay) coming soon, the South Coast is becoming a destination of choice for mountain bike lovers. Add in the first stage of the Illawarra Escarpment MTB network, boasting more than 40km of world class trails, to be launched this spring (with a second stage to follow in the ensuing 12 months) and we have a remarkable series of facilities to choose from.
Road Riders
But the road riders haven't been forgotten either. Fred David, founder of Cycle Tours NSW is gearing up for an exciting and busy time in the Illawarra and the Southern Highlands. “With our Southern Highlands Escape* happening on 10-12 May, we are venturing back into the organised tour market. We really expected it to boom after the 2024 winter,” says Fred. “People want an immersive experience that is well catered for in beautiful surrounds with people who know their stuff. We’ve teamed up with the Snake Creek Cattle Company to offer quality accommodation and a 'paddock-to-plate' experience in and around the remarkable back roads of the Southern Highlands to provide a money-can’t-buy experience. And the stunning coastline of the Illawarra will be our next venture,” said Fred.
Snake Creek Cattle Company
And why does the Snake Creek Cattle Company want to be associated with cycling? Raschelle Osborne, Marketing Manager with the company, thinks it just makes sense. “We have a unique product in a beautiful part of the world, share the same vision as Cycle Tours NSW and are keen to expand our tribe to include the cycling community,” says Raschelle. “We are developing our own beer products catered to the cycling market and are already established in the equestrian and beef hospitality scene. There is definitely a market for cycling in this region”
Sea Otter Challenge
Mark Emerton (Emo) from Elite Energy, usually renowned for their Triathlon events (the Husky Triathlon recently attracted over 6000 people to Jervis Bay) has secured the Australian rights to the Sea Otter Challenge that will be conducted out of Mogo MTB Park, currently under construction. “The Sea Otter Challenge – now being run in the US, Canada and Europe – brings together traders, recreational riders and racers in a multi-day format from road and MTB and will be a great cycle-tourism attracter in 2024-25,” says Emo. “It’s just another reason to come to the most beautiful part of the world on your bike!” said the parochial Emerton.
Cycle tourism is indeed about to explode south of the metropolitan area of Sydney!
* For further information go to www.cycletoursnsw.com
Photos: Cycle Tours NSW
