10/02/2026
The Gravity crew took a couple of days off the trails and focussed on exploring the gravel of the east coast.
Bikepacking Review: St Helens → Scottsdale → Mathinna → St Helens
There’s something special about heading out of St Helens with bags strapped on, tyres humming on gravel, and that quiet feeling of this is going to be an adventure. This loop through the North East — St Helens to Scottsdale, then down through Mathinna and back — is pure Tasmanian bikepacking magic: remote, rugged, and ridiculously beautiful.
Day 1: St Helens to Scottsdale — Back Roads, Branxholm Lunch, and Rail Trail Glory
Rolling out of St Helens, the coastal air disappears quickly as the route pulls you inland. Instead of sticking to the main roads, the real joy comes from taking the quieter back roads toward Branxholm — proper gravel lanes that feel like they were made for bikepacking.
The riding here is classic North East Tasmania: tall forests, open paddocks, and that sense of calm you only get when you’re far away from traffic. The gravel is just right — enough crunch under the tyres to feel adventurous, but smooth enough to keep a good rhythm.
By the time Branxholm appears, it feels like a little checkpoint of comfort in the middle of the ride.
Day 1: Branxholm and Scottsdale Rail Trail
Stopping at Tin Timbers for lunch is honestly one of the highlights of the whole day. Sitting down with a proper meal, dusty legs stretched out, bike leaning nearby — it’s the kind of simple moment that makes bikepacking so good. The food tastes better when you’ve earned it.
From there, the ride shifts into something even more special: the approach to the Scottsdale Rail Trail.
And wow… the rail trail is gravel cycling in its purest glory.
It’s smooth, scenic, and wonderfully uninterrupted — a ribbon of riding that winds through farmland and bush, with long open stretches where you can just pedal and breathe and take it all in. There’s something almost dreamy about it, like you’re floating through the landscape on this perfectly gentle corridor.
Rolling into Scottsdale after that feels like a reward. It’s not a huge town, but after a full day of gravel, it feels like an oasis — warm food, a place to rest, and that deep satisfaction of covering real distance under your own power.
Day 2: Scottsdale to Mathinna — The Remote Heart of the Ride
This leg is where the trip really shifts into true bikepacking territory.
The further you leave Scottsdale behind, the quieter it gets. The gravel roads stretch on with barely a car in sight, and you start to feel that rare kind of stillness — just tyres on dirt, birds in the trees, and your own breathing.
The terrain becomes more rugged, more wild. You’re riding through country that feels untouched, the kind of place where time slows down. Mathinna itself carries a strange beauty — a small town with a deep history, surrounded by bushland that seems to go forever.
Day 2 Midpoint: Mathinna to St Helens — The Homeward Push
The final stretch back to St Helens is the perfect mix of challenge and closure.
There’s fatigue in the legs now, but also that confidence that comes from being deep into a trip — you’ve already proven you can do it. The climbs feel steeper, the gravel feels looser, but the reward is knowing every kilometre brings you closer to the coast again.
As the air shifts and you catch that first hint of sea breeze near St Helens, it feels like returning to another world.
Rolling back into town, bike dusty, bags rattling, body wrecked — you can’t help but smile. Because rides like this aren’t just rides.
They’re stories.
