Stunning locations primed for the ultimate getaway aren’t always the ones us roadies would associate with great riding destinations. But there’s a crop of mountain bike events popping up that have us salivating to get off the tarmac and onto the trails – in places we are yet to explore.
At Cyclist these events and their locations are incentive enough to swap over to fat tyres, coupled with the usually smooth organisation, they often provide a better connection and more intimate glimpse of the scenery than what the confines of tarmac can offer.
Reef to Reef is no exception.
The trails of north Queensland are known to mountain bikers, the epic scenery ranging from rainforests, cattle stations, granite outcrops and white sand beaches is something we’ve been longing to experience. Reef to Reef samples all this terrain on an interesting course traversing from the sea to agricultural tablelands and back to the beach. Four days, 185 kilometres and more than 2,450 metres of climbing – with a twist.
The aim of Reef to Reef is to keep it fun. The trails are not overly technical – just keep your whits about you down the Bump Track – but there’s just enough demand to keep the blood racing. Reaching the finish line each day is an achievable goal for anyone clocking a few hours on the MTB every week. Don’t be fooled though, the categories are hotly contested with the event now forming part of a ‘Triple Crown’ of Australian MTB stage racing, alongside the Cape to Cape and Port to Port. There’ll be a few qualification spots up for grabs for the following year’s Cape Epic too. This should keep things interesting for our Cyclist team of Mike Cameron (who conquered The Pioneer in 2017) and Anthony Shippard (who took on the Cape Epic last year), both New South Welshman and are no strangers to dirt. But will they handle the tropical heat?
For those missing the original RRR event, this year’s 28th edition is rebranded as the Triple R, and offers 70km and 35km options for those that can’t make the full schedule.
For full details head to reeftoreefmtb.com and stay tuned for live race updates from our Cyclist team.
Reef to Reef
9th – 12th August, 2018
Smithfield, Queensland – Port Douglas, Queensland