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THE sleepy North-East town of Derby is set to awaken tomorrow with the opening of its much-anticipated Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trail.
Twenty kilometres of world-class track is expected to draw eager riders from across the state and, eventually, from interstate.
Dorset Council general manager Tim Watson said the nature of the course, once fully completed late in 2016, should see visitors spending up to three days in the region.
The trail comes complete with access to a shower, toilets and bike washing facility purpose-built by the council for visiting riders.
Mr Watson said the soil types in the area and design of Blue Derby would mean year-round access for adventurers, and the trail was able to cope with heavy rain.
Riders can expect be become immersed in Tasmanian temperate rainforest within 100 metres of the trail’s entrance on the Tasman Highway.
The bike trail snakes along the Cascade River through dark corridors of towering manferns and along twisted banks of iron-rich soil.
Although the initial tracks are only a snapshot of the planned 80-kilometre extreme sports playground, they have been designed to satisfy riders of all skill levels.
Mr Watson said the tracks were opened for tour company operators and mountain bike magazine media crews in a bid to expand their promotion before tomorrow’s launch.
He said videos made by Flow Mountain Bike, commissioned by the council, turned viral and reached 127,000 views in their first week.
Part of the attraction to the trails is the Devil Wolf track, which utilises a barren rock gorge created when the Cascade Dam burst in 1929.