Tassie has fast developed a reputation in mountain biking circles for having the best trails in Australia, and Devonport on the north coast has perhaps the best kept secret of all of them – Wild Mersey!

“The Wild Penguin” will focus upon the trail networks of Wild Mersey and Penguin for a weekend of awesome riding over the long weekend in March.  Book your travel and accommodation quickly as this first event in our 2024 series is going to be very popular.

  The event will start on Friday afternoon with a Prelude at Penguin MTB Park, a 20 minute drive along the Cradle Coast to the west of Devonport.  Everyone is encouraged to do the Prelude time trial as it is a fun way to start your weekend riding adventure but also important for you to receive your handicap for the remaining stages over the Saturday and Sunday.

After you have blasted around the sweet 10km single track loop we will all head down the road to the Penguin Brewery for the Welcome Function where you can enjoy dinner and a drink, meet the other riders and hear about the weekend riding that lays ahead.

The two main stages over the weekend around Devonport will test riders but also have a lot of single track making each day challenging but fun for the average rider.  Stage 1 on Saturday will start and finish at Warrawee at the north end of Wild Mersey, just ten minutes out of Devonport, and will be a testing stage that will feature the 10km Raptor Ridge descent!  On Sunday, Stage 2 will start and finish at Seven Sheds Brewery in Railton, and feature the best of what the renown Wild Mersey trail network has to offer – a heap of sweet flowing goodness!  

Full course details for all 3 stages have been released on our socials. The Prelude is 10km of easy riding single track with 250m of elevation. Stage 1 is the big stage with 53km and 1060m of elevation while the final Stage 2 will be 44km with 820m of elevation.  As with all events the final course is subject to change given weather conditions leading into the event and final approvals so monitor our social channels for the latest info.

We recommend flying in to either Devonport or Launceston and grabbing a hire car which gives you the option to stay at Penguin, Devonport or anywhere along the coast in between.  Better still if you are coming from Victoria or driving down from anywhere on the east coast, grab the Spirit of Tasmania and have the flexibility to travel in your own car and comfort.  All stages are less than a 30 minute drive from Devonport so the event is very accessible from all of the surrounding towns.