With its picturesque trails and open spaces, Canberra has long been known as a haven for cyclists. Now a new television series is set to put the spotlight on the capital as a cycling destination.
A dedicated Canberra episode features this Saturday on the debut of the Trail Towns series.
Trail Towns follows cycle enthusiast Dieter ‘Deetz’ Kahsnitz and MTB world champion Paul ‘Vandy’ van der Ploeg as they road trip across Australia to discover trail towns. The series provides insights on where to ride, eat, play and stay, encouraging people to jump on a bike and take a cycling holiday.
Deetz was impressed by Canberra’s offering: ‘All our research before the shoot told us that it’s a bike city, but we were not prepared for how much is going on, how passionate the people of Canberra are for riding bikes and how welcoming the people of this city are.’
Filming of the Canberra episode took place in February this year.
Cycling locations in the episode included Majura Pines, Isaac Ridge, Stromlo Forest Park, National Arboretum Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin with shout outs to other mountain bike locations like Bruce Ridge, Cotter Pines and more
Deetz said Majura Pines had the ‘best riding terrain I’ve ridden in ages.’
‘The variety of trails, from gnarly old school double blacks to flow trails means there’s something for everyone,’ he said.
‘[There are] heaps of green and blue trails too and the progression is nice and gentle. Next door is a winery too with its own gate. We chose to ride here three times during the week, after 14-hour days shooting…just because we loved it so much.’
Hospitality venues featured include Handlebar Café and Grease Monkey, Braddon’s ZAAB, Bentspoke Brewery and Fruggi Dessert Laboratory on an Eat Canberra food tour, Capital Brewing Co, Poachers Pantry and Four Winds Vineyard.
Deetz said he was blown away by the food scene.
‘So many passionate and enthusiastic people doing amazing things with all types of cuisines.’
You’ll also see appearances by cyclists including Zoe Cuthbert, The Speed Tuck girls Georgina von Marburg & Lily O’Brien, Dan McConnell, Brendan Johnson, Mic and Michelle Longhurst from Dynamic Motivation, track builder Alan Vogt and more.
Keen cyclists, Four Winds Vineyards’s Sarah Collingwood and Poachers Pantry’s Sue Bruce also appear in Trail Towns.
The ACT Government provided support to the production company to produce the dedicated Canberra region episode.
You can Trail Towns on SBS TV at 4pm on Saturday 5 June and SBS on Demand.
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