By 
- It’s What We Do
- Cuba And The Blue Wave Rally
- Maschine
- Reader’s Ride: Sofala, NSW
- Ol’ Mate
- Fit Out: Touratech KLR650
- Wish You Were Here
- I Finke I Can
- Miles And A Shaw Thing
- Triumph Tiger XCx Long-Termer
- A Couple Of Mates In South Africa
- Laos: The Hidden Gem
- Highlights
- Aprilia Caponord
- Triumph Tiger 800 XRx
- The Madigan Line
- 60 Hours, Two Bikes And One Buffoon
- How To Ride With Miles Davis
- The Numbers Game
- As Good As It Gets With Karen Ramsay
- Checkout
One of the best things about our sport is the people it throws together.Here’s an adventure rider chosen at random from the thousands who read this magazine. Everyone, meet…
Andrew Brodribb
Q. Where’s home?
A. Hobart.
Q. How old are you?
A. 45 physically, 17 mentally. Crashes just hurt more now.
Q. Are you registered on the AdvRiderMag forum? If so, what’s your handle?
A. No. I’m on Facebook though. I’m an administrator on the ‘Adventure Ride Tasmania’ page. ‘Tasmanian Adventure Motorcycle Group’ is another relevant group.
Q. What bike do you ride?
A. 2010 BMW R1200 GSA and a 2014 Yamaha WR450. Our family also has a couple of Can-Am quads.
Q. Have you ridden with Jason Gale down there in Tassie?
A. Yes, a couple of organised rides.
Q. What do you like most about the mag?
A. It caters to my demographic and isn’t full of rubbish about stadium motocross in the USA. It’s also nice to see enduro getting some coverage.
Q. What’s something that really peeves you on a ride?
A. Ride organisers that cater to their ego instead of the least-skilled rider. Not every-one wants to climb cliff faces on a 1200.
Q. What do you do to cope with cold down there in winter?
A. Grow a pair. Go riding off-road – you warm up pretty quick. Having said that, people think Tassie is one stop short of Antarctica. Winter is one of the best times to ride here. Goretex is your friend.
Q. Do you often carry a chainsaw on rides?
A. Obviously you’ve seen the photos.
Q. What’s your favourite thing to carry on a ride?
A. Funnily enough, a chainsaw. It’s good being able to clear the track instead of having to double back.
Q. What’s the thing you have to carry that annoys you most on a ride?
A. Also a chainsaw, due to the bulk.
Q. You’re involved in organising rides. What’s your favourite area to ride in?
A. Bridport in Tassie’s northeast for dirt bikes. We have access to a holiday house and there’s great riding all around the area from big sand dunes to single track in rainforest. I have the rare ability to sniff out a pub in the middle of nowhere, right about lunch time. Is the Weldborough Hotel or Pub-in-the-Paddock familiar to anyone?
Adventure riding is newer to me. So far my favourite ride was from St Helens through the Scamander Forest Reserve – an area called The Avenue. To finish we traversed the base of Ben Lomond (one of Tassie’s bigger mountains) and ended
with a descent and hill climb after dark.
Q. What’s the toughest area to ride in Tassie?
A. Around Mathinna, south east of Launceston on dirt bikes. It’s dusty-as in summer, and slippery and steep in winter. Huon Valley is tough in winter. It’s clay, rutted single track, making it almost quad-only terrain. On adventure bikes it’s from Nugent to Buckland in the southeast. I took my GSA through stuff that was more suited to a trail bike. My wife Katie came along on her 650 XCountry and starred. Her uncle, Tim Ritchie, was our guide. He’s ridden the most tracks in Tassie out of any rider I’ve met.
Q. You think mainland riders are super tough and skilful though, right?
A. I can’t answer. I haven’t ridden with any. Maybe they’re too scared to try Tassie? Tim says he’s broken a few that have been brave enough to head south.
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