Tours — Getting Out There

Boggy Creek to the Snowy River — East Gippsland Rail Trail, Day 2

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:00:00 +1100

Awoke this morning to a breakfast of eggy fried rice, with added egg to make it all the eggier 🥚🥚🥚. We set off from camp about 9, and had another beautiful day of rolling gravel, green trees, trestle bridges — or half a trestle bridge! — and a lot of bird life.

We did see some wildlife today: a few rock wallabies, a goanna and a fox! We rolled along through a sun-drenched ‘road’ cut into the forest and lined each side with the greenest fernery, which lit up particularly greenish-yellow with the sun rising in the east and backlighting the foliage for us. It was just as I imagine the road to heaven might look like!

The nicer/harder-packed gravel gives way to an unfinished rougher section about Waygara Road (or just west of it). From there until Orbost (about 14–15 kilometres) it was more of a bush track, and in some parts almost singletrack. We found it hard going on our fully-loaded bikes, as we don’t have suspension [Except for my Thudbuster seatpost] and our wrists and trapezius muscles were quite sore by the time we made it to Orbost.

We did make it OK to Orbost however, and after visiting the tourist information centre — which is housed in a historic slab hut that had been moved from it’s original location on the Snowy River — had lunch at the Orbost Club Hotel. Danielle had a steak sandwich and I had barbeque pork ribs. We had too many beers, some friendly chatter with the locals and then headed back.

To avoid those ~15 kilometres of rough trail on the way back, we followed the Snowy River for a while on the road, then up the hills to rejoin the rail trail at the Simpsons Creek Road crossing. We rode past a farmer rounding up his cattle, and struggled a lot due to the excess of beer and pork ribs. We made very wise commitments for future trips to not drink a lot of booze and eat a lot of heavy food halfway through a ride, which we shall promptly forget the minute we walk into another little country pub somewhere.

We hadn’t quite skipped the rough trail when we got to Simpsons Creek Road: but we only had about 2–3 kilometres of it. Now we’re camped at the rest stop at Partellis Crossing Road. We pitched the tent under the shelter to avoid ants and hopefully have a nice dry tent in the morning. We’re about to cook dinner — spicy lentil tarka daal — call Anneliese and retire.

We covered 70 kilometres all up today; a solid effort which will see us be able to go a bit easier to Bruthen tomorrow.

A very Good Friday — East Gippsland Rail Trail, Day 1

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 21:00:00 +1100

We arrived in Bairnsdale last night on the 22:30 train from Melbourne. We rode to the NRMA Bairnsdale Riverside Holiday Park and set up next to a pool in the dark. It was a long train trip to get here, but the showers at the holiday park are brilliant and it sure beats driving!

I went to the toilet block and ran into a local from Ballarat: Matt Britton — who runs the CycleScape bike shop — on his way to Merimbula with his extended family. What a coincidence! Small world… We hit the sack pretty quickly, and we were comfortable enough.

Due to the late night, we slept in to 08:00 and got off from Bairnsdale later than planned as a result, but we had a truly lovely day. We had a coffee and a bacon and egg roll at the coffee truck in the holiday park before we left. It got hot pretty quickly: 26°C (79°F) and sunny all day with not a breath of wind, but the scenery was great and when we stopped — and thus no longer had the sound of our tyres on gravel drowning out the silence — we heard plenty of birds and it was delightfully peaceful.

There were quite a few big old wooden trestle bridges remaining of the old railway and lots of road passes where they have placed two gates slightly ajar: about 30 degrees parallel to each other making turning through them tough with heavily loaded touring bikes. We felt they could be a tad wider apart and not compromise on safety whilst also not forcing us to skid through the gravel, but we can see why they are placed the way they are. I’m sure it was designed and thought through by somebody more knowledgeable than I. It was awesome, however, not having to deal with motor traffic.

When we arrived in Bruthen, we got a taste of what we were missing: a very long convoy of huge Jayco vans that would surely have ruined our day. Leaving “The Enemy” behind, we crossed over the Tambo River and appreciated our car-free paradise all the more. We saw plenty of birds but not much wildlife — we hope that changes tomorrow if we leave camp earlier. We checked into a kitschy caravan park in Nowa Nowa for $60 [I was a bit taken aback by the high price for an unpowered site. The fellow tourist we met, who stayed earlier in the week (i.e. not on the Easter long weekend) said he’d paid $40, so it seems ‘peak’ holiday pricing is a 50% markup! The park was lovely, and perhaps I’m just an old tight-arse, but for a patch of grass and a shower that’s steep by anybody’s measure.] and met another cycle tourist coming the other way, having spent some days around Cape Conran. While setting up our tent, Danielle was stung by a bee, and then had her pink-painted toes pecked by chickens as we cooked our pasta for dinner in the camp kitchen. It was refreshing to see her hen-pecked for once (hoho 😆)!

We’re now off to sleep. Big day tomorrow!

Planning for an Easter Quickie — East Gippsland Rail Trail

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +1100

The title of this post is a tad misleading, as though of course we had to plan to take a four-day-weekend off 400 kilometres from home, the amount of planning we’ve done for this one hardly warrants a post all its own!

We’re saving our dollaroos for our long-dreamed-of tour in Europe, so the chance to get a quickie in in our home state, over Easter so as not to use up leave from work, and rough camping to save as much as we can on accommodation means we can still get out and enjoy the beautiful countryside without opening our wallets too widely.

Most of our planning, unfortunately, has had to revolve around the fucking basket-case that is the current state of V-Line, our public regional train network here in Victoria. Bus replacements, planned-then-abandoned industrial action, and general unreliability of the service has forced us to book a night’s accommodation in Melbourne the night before we leave, which probably cost us as much as the rest of the trip combined. The $10 fares make up for it a little, and we’ve booked into the NRMA Bairnsdale Riverside Holiday Park on Thursday night, as we arrive at 22:30. We have an unpowered site for $32, but after years of camping we’re pretty confident we can set up in the dark easily enough.

We are hoping to get about 60 kilometres for the first two days, then 50 and 30 kilometres for the third and fourth respectively, but we’re not sticking to that, merely to the idea of front-loading the distance a little to make things easier for us on Monday, when we need to catch the midday train home.

And that’s it. That’s all the planning we’ve done. We’ll camp where we can, eat where we can, and just see what happens.

200.0 route distance (km)

1,330m elevation to climb

4 days' riding

Epilogue: Kingston Beach — Tasmania

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +1100

Danielle’s parents live in Sandy Bay, and her aunt Jan lives in Kingston Beach. The Channel Highway connects the two seaside suburbs of Hobart and lucky for us, it’s a favourite route for local cyclists, and for very good reason.

The views on this road are magnificent — much like the rest of Tasmania — as it winds out of Sandy Bay as Sandy Bay Road, then becomes the Channel Highway from Taroona, past the Shot Tower and Golf Club and into Kingston. We wanted to do this ride for the reasons above, so took off this morning to see off 2023 with a nice ride. The hills are there, and they’re work, but pleasant enough and we got up and over easily enough.

We sadly passed a little Bennett’s wallaby on the road, having fallen victim to the enemy [Cars.] and I stopped to check him for joeys. [When I stopped, I had yet to determine his sex.] It’s quite distressing seeing how prolific Tasmania’s roadkill problem is. This poor little guy didn’t have much of a chance: wedged into small pockets of bush between expanding suburbs, cut off from other small pockets of bush by winding and hilly roads, and faced with a populace who claim to be proud of Tasmania’s wildlife and ecotourism credentials, but fail to extend this pride to lifting their feet off the accelerator, even a little. What upset me the most was that he was still very warm: quite dead, but freshly so, the warmth of life hadn’t left him yet. I did all I could for him: moved him off the road so he didn’t face the indignity of being spread across the road like butter by people who just keep mashing them.

The unfortunate wallaby aside, it really was a lovely ride. We had coffee at Kingston Beach and then turned for home. We’ll have to do this run again sometime this week.

Epilogue: Conquering the Mountain! — Tasmania

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:34:00 +1100

I’ve had such an awesome tour this year around Tasmania, but I have to admit to some small disappointments and setbacks as my rear wheel didn’t last the entire planned journey, and many legs of my tour were subsequently completed aboard a bus/shuttle. My physical fitness is also nowhere near where I’d hoped it would be at this point of the year, for a multitude of factors. So when I set out this morning at 05:45 to conquer kunanyi, the 1,270m high mountain overlooking Hobart, I was very dubious about my chances of making it successfully to the summit.

After a hearty muesli breakfast, I kissed Danielle goodbye at 05:45, unable to convince her to accompany me. Danielle’s parents live in Sandy Bay, up on the hill overlooking the Derwent, so the first order of business was to descend for about a kilometre, but that was to be almost the last descent until I reached the summit. It’s only 22 kilometres, but all of it is a continual gradient between 5% at its easiest slopes to 16-17% at the steepest sections, which come mostly at the approach to the park, rather than on the mountain road itself.

I had to hike-a-bike for about 50 metres at a steep bend in Ridgeway Road just past the Waterworks, but otherwise managed to pedal the entire way. My uneasiness about my physical fitness was warranted, however the natural beauty of the eucalypt forests each side of the road was a soothing balm as I just slipped Serena into her lowest gear and plodded upwards. Ever upwards.

The mountain itself was shrouded in cloud and when I first set out I couldn’t see it at all, but as I wove through the approaching hills out of Sandy Bay, gaps in the cloud appeared here and there and exposed little green sections of forest, so that it appeared that the heavens themselves were forested! Wallabies bounded out of the way as pied currawongs looked at me wondering whether I was the next morsel of roadkill on the menu today.

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As I rode up from the Springs, and beyond the first real lookout, I saw a snake slithering up from the road as I passed. Thinking it a tiger snake [Upon looking it up at home it could’ve been a tiger, but was more likely a White-lipped Snake, Drysdalia coronoides.] I didn’t stop to look, I just pedalled like crazy out of there!

The climb was relentless, as I said, but the view and beauty was relentless too, as I’ve also said. It bears repeating: this is one of the nicest rides I’ve been on in terms of scenery.

I finally reached the summit about 08:00 and the cloud had yet to clear. The clouds were swirling around the mountain, creating a silent and eerie world of its own as I felt like I was riding in the sky. I asked a bloke at the top to take some photos of me, and my original intent was to hold my bike above my head, but being a bit pooped from the ride, and the bloke having a little fella near the road to look out for, I opted for a quick lift instead at chest height. I like how it turned out though: taking my Serena on a trip I’d promised her all year, and showing her the view.

Showing Serena the sights from the summit of kunanyi.

I read a beautiful poem at one of the lookouts, written (I believe) by a local indigenous poet. I don’t know the author, what tribal group they’re from, or even in fact what language this is written in [If anybody does know, I would love to be informed. The sign gave the names of three tribes of Aboriginal families: muwinina, mumirimina, and nununi.], but I liked it a lot. Here are both the indigenous poem and the English translation:

milaythina nika milaythina-mana. pakana laykara milaythina nika mulaka pakana-mapali krakapaka milaythina nika. tapilti larapuna, tapilti putalina tapilti kunanyi, tapilti tayaritja waranta takara milaythina nara takara. nara taymi krakapaka waranta-tu waranta tunapri nara. milaythina nika waranta pakana, waranta palawa, milaythina nika

This land is our country Aboriginal people ran over this land to hunt and many died here. From Eddystone Point, to Oyster Cove From Mount Wellington, to the Bass Strait islands We walk where they walked. And they will never be dead for us as long as we remember them. This country is us — and we are this country.

I remarked to the kind photographer that I’d “forgotten what downhill is” when he asked how I felt in amazement that I’d ridden up there on my bicycle. I was soon to be reminded: the obvious flipside of a continual ascent is a continual descent once I turned around and went home. I rode my brakes hard enough, as I felt the road isn’t really good enough to safely exceed about 40-50kph [kph: kilometres per hour], and I stopped at the Lost Freight Café at the Springs area, which served a very nice double espresso as I chatted to a West Australian fellow cyclist on his way up.

As I turned off from Pinnacle Road onto Huon Road, and came through Fern Tree, a flatbed truck with lots of bins on the back sat right on my arse as I descended the mountain at 50kph, but that obviously wasn’t enough for him. Wanker. Thankfully he continued down Huon Road as I turned off onto Chimney Pot Hill Road to go the way I’d come.

I met up with Danielle at MeMi Café near the University of Tasmania campus in Sandy Bay, where we’ve been having our regular coffee whilst here. The sense of pride and accomplishment I felt was palpable, and I was absolutely beaming when Danielle walked up to me sitting and gulping down coffee, water, bacon and egg slider and a muffin.

Wooo!

The end of the cycling portion of our cycling tour — Tasmania, Day 11

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

Well, fuck.

We awoke late and had a nice breakfast, then packed up, checked out and headed off. At first we made good time. Back past Coles Bay to the Tasman Highway and another stop at The Pondering Frog. It was drizzly but not too bad, but by the time we reached Cherry Tree Hill it was bucketing down. We had to be very careful, as its a very well known black spot.

We got to about 10 kilometres shy of Swansea today when my wheel went awry again [Update: It turns out Kai being a bit of a newbie when it comes to wheel building, didn’t tighten the spokes enough.] and we called an end to the cycling portion of our cycling tour.

My wheel was wobbling side-to-side and got worse as we progressed, but got so bad that it was rubbing paint off the frame! I had to stop, but Danielle — riding in the front position — never looked back, because

she was pushing hard due to the rain [I’m actually really proud of her, in retrospect. She was struggling, but so determined to keep on trucking!], and
because I have served as her mirror and radar detector for over a week…

She kept on riding for a few kilometres, and I was forced to keep pedalling behind furiously on a very shaky wheel and screaming for her to stop, but she couldn’t hear me.

Once reunited, we walked with thumbs out for about 4–5 kilometres, but were ignored by drivers as they sped past, before a legend of a local fella named Jacob pulled over in his ute and drove us the rest of the way to Swansea. Jacob got drenched helping us get our heavy bikes and bags on and off the ute, and was just so great about helping us out. We thanked him and his partner Claire — and I’ll thank him again: wherever you are Jacob, thanks mate! — and called around for some accommodation.

We’re in the Swansea Holiday Park and booked on the 09:24 bus to Triabunna tomorrow to at least see Maria Island before returning to Hobart by bus. We ate a big dinner of fried eggs and Ben’s rice in wraps. It wasn’t quite like the Freycinet Lodge dinners, but our bellies are full and we’re dry and warm.

Freycinet Lodge and Wineglass Bay — Tasmania, Day 10

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

A red letter day. We awoke naturally to the sunlight streaming over The Hazards and into our cabin as we nursed our hangovers from the wine and beer consumed last night.

We dragged ourselves off to a breakfast of smoked salmon benedict for Danielle, and a Freycinet “Big Brekky” for myself, with two double espressos.

We returned to our room for an in-room couples massage with Danielle inside, and me on the deck. It was very relaxing, if not overly “remedial”, but thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless. I arranged this yesterday afternoon as we rode into Coles Bay and I could see how stiff and sore Danielle was, and how hard she was trying, forging on beyond her limit on many days. She’d well and truly earned it.

After our massage we rested for a bit before heading off on a bush walk. We went along a walk/cycle path to the tourist carpark that leads up to the Wineglass Bay lookout. We headed up along the path, which was very well-established and equally well-tread.

Danielle and I at the Wineglass Bay lookout.

The views at the top were amazing. Every part of the lookout was heavily trafficked by tourists (like us!) and we kept stopping to pick up rubbish we saw along the path. Aside from that it was an awesome outing. We paused at the lookout to have a light lunch of beef jerky and nuts, and I took the time to sketch the view in my tour journal.

A sketch I made of the view whilst having my lunch.

On the way back we went via Honeymoon Bay, a tiny little spot with very beautiful views of the Hazards Beach outcroppings. We saw salmon and leatherjackets swimming in the crystal clear waters.

Continue reading after the quote

Men seek retreats for themselves… no retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than that into his own mind.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

We walked back to the cabin and I adjusted the rear derailleur on Danielle’s bike, as her gears were shifting incorrectly yesterday. Hopefully I’ve got it running right.

We had a nice long epsom salt bath again, and some complimentary mini-bar beers and cider. It was a totally lovely afternoon.

We walked up to the bistro and had a burger each, and I had a Cascade Export Stout. We were served again by the same waiter who was working in the restaurant last night. Pablo is a Spaniard from León, in Northern Spain. Pablo really looked after us well last night, and we had a nice chat about his hometown, as I told him of my desire to visit the region so I can make my Sad Hill pilgrimage to Burgos. He looked amazed that anybody would want to fly around the world to visit Burgos, but there you go…

We came back to our room and watched The Meg 2: The Trench, which was every bit as realistic and enthralling as the original. That Jonas bloke can do anything!

On the road again... — Tasmania, Day 9

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

We left the holiday park in Bicheno this morning nice and early, about 07:00, and stopped at the Blue Edge Bakery for a quick start coffee before heading south.

The hills were very flat and rolling along was easy enough. Just rolling itself was a joy! We stopped for a quick toilet break opposite a cute little Christmas-decorated farm gate, and about 200 metres further south from the turnoff to Coles Bay Road we stopped at a little road stop called The Pondering Frog.

We had bacon and egg rolls and coffees and some fun local banter with Lester, a funny old fella [We believe he’s the co-proprietor, with his wife.] who manned the till. He was a character!

Stopping for a breather on Coles Bay Road, looking out at the scrubby coastal bush.

We rode back up to the turn off, then along about 20–30 kilometres of scrubby coastal bush showing signs of recent bushfires. [We looked it up later and indeed, there was a 1200ha bushfire here in September 2023, around the Friendly Beaches area.] But even the desolation was unable to detract from its rugged beauty. As we entered Coles Bay, our breath was taken away by the vista of The Hazards looming over Coles Bay, clear, shimmering, pristine water.

Resting our bikes at the boat ramp and taking in the stunning vista.

We rested at the boat ramp with a 270º view, then rode around to the Iluka Tavern for a local pint or two. We had a Malting Lagoon Belgian Golden Ale and a Hazy Bayz. This is a local little craft brewery named after Moulting Lagoon, the body of water behind Coles Bay.

We checked into Freycinet Lodge for a few days of luxury after all the camping we’ve been doing. We took a Mountain King room, had a nice soaking bath in our outdoor bath full of epsom salts, then had two paddles of beer for tasting at The Hazards Bar, and dinner at The Bay restaurant.

Our outdoor bath was a much-anticipated delight. We filled it full of epsom salts and soaked our tired muscles.

We had the baked Tasmanian half shell scallops — which were the best dish of the dinner — and the Robbins Island wagyu bresaola as entrées; we had The Bay, which was an Atlantic salmon dish with Tasmanian wasabi and a mussels and ginger sauce; and the dry aged scotch fillet, cooked blue, with rainforest pepper, roasted roots and greens.

Taking a selfie on the outdoor deck of Freycinet Lodge.

As the sun set, the outdoor deck filled up fast with lots of selfies, and a couple had a nice romantic honeymoon-style private dinner on the jetty, which looked pretty lovely.

We came back to our room, watched The Meg with Jason Statham, a cinematic tour-de-farce, and went to sleep.

Bumming a lift — Tasmania, Day 8

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

We started the morning with a nice brunch at Sco. & Co. and The Lifebuoy Café in St. Helens, as we we had arranged a rendezvous with Steve at 11. First we had to battle a cold water shower¹ at The Bayside Hotel. There were heaps of bugs in our room last night also. We don’t know whether they were coming in via the ceiling or a gap in the doors, but it was a bit disconcerting.

But back to breakfast: I had a mushroom bruschetta with bacon and Danielle had the green eggs and haloumi. It was delicious and both dishes featured a really nice basil pesto. We finished breaking our fast and rode back to the park opposite the hotel to take off our fenders² and await Steve.

The Lifebuoy Café certainly lives up to its name: everything is very nautical!

Steve came at 11 and we all headed south to Bicheno. Steve is an interesting and incredibly kind and generous man. He took us to Bicheno today purely out of the good of his own heart, took his young son Declan³ along for the ride and a walk up to the blowhole at Bicheno. We got the distinct impression he’s always helping someone out. He was an assistant principal at the local K–12 [K–12: kindergarten to Year 12] school, but resigned to take a fresh career path a few months ago.

At Bicheno we put the bikes back together again, farewelled Steve and Declan after profusely thanking them, then checked into the Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park as the carpark in which we put the bikes together was right next door.

We moved our bags inside and then I went for a fish on the beach. I cast a popper and bait on a paternoster rig out into the surf and sat on the beach with the butt of the rod in the sand. A pied oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) AKA [AKA: also known as] red bill flew into my braid line and entangled herself. I ran out into the surf to free her, but my phone was in my pocket so it was tough to get out deep enough. I got to her, held her wings and untangled her, then let her loose and she flew off alright. Hopefully she has no serious injuries beyond a cut from the braid and a mighty scare.

I found Danielle at the Lobster Shack at The Gulch, and we ate an early dinner of crumbed scallops, calamari salad and two Bicheno Pale Ales apiece. I went for another fish on the pier in front of the Lobster Shack, then the next one along in front of the distillery!

Another fisherman, who was wearing a Cycology shirt, introduced himself as Dick and lent me a squid jig, as they were on the chew. Dick is a bike mechanic currently working as a council compliance officer in Hobart. We chased some Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis australis) by sight — even though the water is deep, it was crystal clear and you could see the broken bottom, and watch the squid chase the lure out of big clumps of kelp. The Gulch is a channel between the coast and Governor Island, only about 50 metres wide.

A nice big squid for dinner from The Gulch

I kept the squid, and we cleaned and ate him for supper. He was big: we struggled to eat it all!

We talked to Anneliese, packed our bags for an early departure tomorrow to Freycinet and went to bed for an early night.

The hotel was having issues with our hot water system and we copped a cold one both this morning and last night. ↩︎
Steve had the same racks everybody does up here: vertical mountain biking (MTB) style. ↩︎
My son is also named Declan, but much older at 18. ↩︎

On our way to Biche—oh no! — Tasmania, Day 7

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

Today was… well… let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

We awoke after spending a beautiful night under the clearest skies, to a gorgeous sunrise on the Bay of Fires. As we packed our tent, the sun poked up with beams of light streaming through the clouds and spread across the bay, and it was marvellous!

We had a good chat to an old Tasmanian bloke, then set off. The hills were easier at 7 a.m., and we made great time. I had a huge shot of adrenaline as I started just thoroughly enjoying the tour and being out on the road, and was dancing and singing to the groovy beats of Technotronic’s Pump Up The Jam, as we careened down coastal roads past spectacular azure bays, with 360º of either beautiful water or nice coastal bushland.

A swan swims towards a yacht in St. Georges Bay.

We stopped in St. Helens for a great coffee at Coffee Away in the main drag. We also had another good chat to a few Tasmanian types.

We headed off towards Scamander. There is a cycleway that follows the water out of St. Helens towards Stieglitz and like much of the rest of this region, winds through gorgeous scenery.

When we got to the A3 Tasman Highway, and faced with a big hill out of the cove, we opted instead to follow a mountain biking (MTB) trail along the highway. This is where we became unstuck.

The trail followed the highway for a little while, but then suddenly left the highway altogether and became harder MTB [MTB: mountain biking] territory: singletrack and switchbacks and ‘technical’ terrain. At the trailhead we saw evidence of the massive investment in this region’s MTB infrastructure.

The trails around St. Helens, much like the Derby trails, show signs of huge investment in the local MTB infrastructure.

We headed back to the A3 and rolled into Beaumaris and onto Scamander. My back wheel was wobbling like crazy since the MTB trail and we stopped at a park for fish and chips, and to check the bike.

My heart stopped when I saw my rim: I had pulled 9 spokes almost through the rim — the rim on each side of the spoke nipple was broken and pulling inwards.¹ We were fucked. Bikes without wheels don’t tour very far.

We called Giant St. Helens and spoke to Kai and Steve. They didn’t have any road cycling stock because it’s all about the M.T.B.’s up here, but advised us to limp back to St. Helens and we’d see what could be done.

We managed it, and Danielle was really inspiring in how she battled up the pass on Artemis, and we clocked up 50 kilometres on the GPS by the time we got back to St. Helens. My wheel was wobbling like crazy².

Kai at Giant St. Helens was a godsend. Kai is a young 18-year-old recent-graduate from high school, who’s awaiting news of an offer from Sydney University for Engineering. Fingers crossed Kai! He salvaged a rim from an old customer bike, found the one 32-spoke 29″ road rim in the shop and rigged us up a new wheel!

We checked into the Bayside Hotel and at 17:00 Kai was still going! He got it done and Steve has kindly offered to drive us on to Bicheno tomorrow. So, we’re saved for now. So fuck you NE [NE: north-east] Tasmania, you haven’t beaten us yet!

It is difficult to describe this malfunction, and as I have posted the wheel home without taking shots, I’ll have to update this post when I finally return to Victoria. ↩︎
Another customer at Giant St. Helens was driving behind us and noted how absolutely fucked my back wheel must have been. ↩︎

Hitching a ride to the Bay of Fires — Tasmania, Day 6

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

We woke up this morning at The Dorset Hotel, and had our breakfast in the little dining room downstairs, packed our bags and bikes, and wheeled them across to the road to Bark Off Bikes. We took our fenders off in the rain then boarded the bus. [As the shuttle bus bike racks were of the MTB type, and our front wheels have full fenders on them, we needed to remove them.]

The shuttle from Derby to St. Helens.

A family of four from Canberra were riding the Blue Tier trail to St. Helens so we have our ride. Brody, our driver, dropped us at the IGA in the main street, at about 10:30, and it only cost us $120. Given we had the extra time now, we had a brunch at The Bays Kitchen of a bacon and egg sandwich panini with relish for me; a grilled vegetables panini with relish for Danielle.

We then changed into our riding gear at the toilets next to the RSL memorial, bought dinner and supplies from IGA and rode out to the Bay of Fires.

There were heaps of hills, and we bickered a little in the heat. [We quickly got over it of course. Riding in the heat up all the hills temporarily got the better of us. Touring isn’t all wineries and beautiful beaches!] We arrived at Swimcart Beach and found a nice sheltered spot about 10 metres from the beach! It was lovely: blue water, very white sands and red algae boulders that give the Bay of Fires its name.

The Bay of Fires is just absolutely breathtaking in its beauty, natural white sands and deep blue sea.

I sight-fished for salmon, which I could see swimming along in the surf, and just had an awesome afternoon.

We cooked beetroot and quinoa veggie patties, Spanish chorizo and had Thai beef noodle salad for dinner. A nice gourmet dinner from the IGA delicatessen.

We watched a beautiful sunset on the beach and had such an awesome day. We hope to head off first thing tomorrow morning.

The North East Tasmanian Rail Trail — Tasmania, Day 5

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +1100

Today was a lovely day. We got up before sunrise (05:00) and were on the path to the North East Tasmanian Rail Trail before the sun came up.

Compared to everything we’d ridden to date, and standing alone, it was a delightful leisurely roll through rainforest, farms, granite cuttings with overgrown ferns, old growth forest and logging areas and little makeshift station memorials where we had coffee and a breather.

The ‘Tongarah station’ rest stop was a perfect place for a mid-trail coffee

We didn’t see many people — just Len, a bike packer we’d spoken to last night and two mountain bikers, a couple who were doing all the local runs and had completed the trail numerous times.

The couple advised us to take a gravel road shortcut south of the highway, but the locals in Branxholm had an opposite opinion and warned against it. Local knowledge trumped interstater and we pushed on to Derby via the Blue Derby Valley Ride path. It was a “family friendly” mountain bike trail that was just a tad too “technical” for my fully loaded Serena.

When we got to Derby we stopped at the Bark Off Biking mountain biking (MTB) store where the owners Josh and Luke organised a shuttle to St. Helens for us [We’re running behind time and if we’re to make our Freycinet Lodge booking on 17 December, we need to “jump ahead” a little.], so we checked in across the road at The Dorset Hotel.

I had a fish whilst waiting for the pub to open, and hooked a nice little brown trout, about 40-45cm by my estimation. [The banks of the river were riddled with platypus burrows, particularly where I was fishing from, and with trees either side preventing me from moving left or right along the banks, and not wanting to trample the burrows into the water, the fish eventually took me under a log and snapped me off.] It was such beautiful trout water, and I was delighted that I had the foresight and fortitude to lug my fishing rod all this way. I would’ve been really pissed if I couldn’t fish it.

Beautiful trout water that just begged one to fish it.

Danielle waited at a gazebo where she could check on both her Twitter feed, and the half-naked French boys in the van opposite. 🤣

We had dinner and beers at the pub, then I fished some more [Turns out I’m a half-decent cast of the fly rod when I’m drunk 😂 but I didn’t catch anything!], called Declan and Anneliese then went to sleep.

Everyone here is MTB [MTB: mountain biking]-mad. Everything is “gnarly” and they are all like Californian surfer types, “shredding chutes”, “sessioning” and “eating shit” when they fall off. I like when a little community has its own lingo and ways of communication that both establish an insider and keep outsiders in the dark. Love it!

Cherries — Tasmania, Day 4

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 17:30:00 +1100

We set off too late again this morning from Bridport and as a result rode in the peak of the heat. We only did 20 kilometres to Scottsdale but there were lots of hills, trucks and no shade nor shoulder.

Scottsdale itself is atop a big hill. We rested, however temporarily, at a cemetery on the outskirts where a nice little park bench under a tree provided us shade. It was lovely.

We rode straight to the Lords Hotel and devoured two 300g scotch fillets and four pints of Boag’s Draught. We had a chat to the barmaid, who besides telling us of her love for Carlton Football Club, told us that the trucks should thin out a bit beyond Branxholm¹.

We called the Cherry Man from Tassie Tours & Transfers in hope of securing a jump ride to St. Helens². It turns out his name was Adrian. I thanked him profusely for the cherries and he said he’d make enquiries about the ride.

We couldn’t find the cycle shop that Google told us was in Scottsdale³, so rode downhill to the North East free camping ground and spent the rest of the afternoon resting in the shade. We spoke to Anneliese for well over an hour and ate veggie burgers and Thai salad for dinner.

Adrian called back to say he was unfortunately unable to help us. We have resolved to forge on ahead. We can do it. We’re going to set off at sunrise and take the rail trail some of the way. We’ll get to Derby then reassess. Fuck turning back.

An evening was spent in front of a duck pond whilst half a dozen rapist drakes⁴ kept us company, no doubt in hopes of dropped chips.

We’ve turned in early to read and sleep.

She was right, after Branxholm/Derby the trucks get far fewer between. ↩︎
We’re falling a little behind in terms of ground covered if we are to make our booking at Freycinet Lodge in a few days’ time. ↩︎
Perhaps a victim of the COVID years? ↩︎
Danielle was mortified to witness these ducks all chasing the female and after fighting each other over who would get to mate with her, forcing their way. ↩︎

He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to mow down cyclists... — Tasmania, Day 3

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:54:00 +1100

We slept well last night. Maybe a little too well. We didn’t get packed up and off until late and we rolled into George Town at about 09:30. We visited the post office and mailed ahead 3.9kg of extras to reduce weight from our packs. We stopped at a café and I bought a coffee and found a free copy of Deliverance.

We left George Town and were immediately confronted with lots of logging trucks, all the way to Bridport. Every minute or two I’d spot one in the rearview mirror and call out “Truck! Truck! Truck!” and we’d pull off the road. It was wise: some didn’t even give us an inch, and there was zero shoulder.

We stopped at Pipers River General Store for some South Melbourne dim sims and some Calippos. It was like eating the finest gourmet meal. I guess we just needed the water and the salt! We were allowed to fill our bottles at the toilet [We generally get one of two reactions at places we stop: either “Oh wow, you must be pooped, here’s some water and some local tips etc.” or “Make sure your bikes don’t scratch the paint and if you want a drink, go to the toilet!”] and then we continued on.

We were between the general store and Pipers Brook when a nice fella from Tassie Tours & Transfers stopped to check on us, due to the heat. We assured him we were OK, and he gave us a huge bag of fresh (and free!) cherries.

We made a slight detour to visit Jansz and Pipers Brook wineries, but when we got there, the cellar doors were not at the front near the road but somewhere around the back of the winery. We couldn’t be fucked riding up and down gravel roads for a glass of wine and a cheese platter, so we quit and had a beautiful picnic on the grass at the front gate. We saw an echidna and watched him waddle across the entrance as we ate the cherries. It was utterly delightful!

Echidna at the gate to Pipers Brook Winery

At Bridport we stayed at Bridport Holiday Park, an old links golf course. The camp sites were all situated on the former fairways and putting greens, so the grass was wonderfully soft and bouncy. The managers are new, and from the outback. [Flinders Ranges; we know because they told us so at every opportunity!]

Danielle was bitten by a swarm of jackjumpers but old mate Phil from the outback was unimpressed: “That’s not a jackjumper! South Australian jackjumpers are as big as Volkswagens!”

We went for a walk on the beach, had Moo Brew Pale Ale and fish and chips, and are now listening to the surf whilst we go to sleep. Oh, and we met about 20 of the local seagulls, including an old warhorse named Scar.

Vineyards on the river, a family maritime history and... penguins! — Tasmania, Day 2

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 22:10:00 +1100

This morning was a lovely one as we packed up our gear, and rode around to the Paperbark Café, not far from the park we’d stayed the night in. The café was new, and the breakfast — “mushroom huddle” with bacon for me; smashed avocado with Tasmanian salmon for Danielle — was delightfully delicious. And cheap! $18 without the extras in this economy!

Smashed avo with salmon at the Paperbark Café

We also stopped at Marion’s Vineyard, which was stunning. We arrived almost an hour early, so I had a fish from a little jetty in the Tamar River in front of the winery. Once opened, we were greeted by Echo, a big German Shepherd and Flash, a border collie, as we pushed our bikes up the steep driveway to the cellar door. We took a glass each of the Pétillant Naturel, which was pink-hued and very refreshing, and some bush pepper cheddar and vegan cheese [Vegan cheese is good for not going bad as quickly as dairy — bicycle tourists don’t carry Eskies] and some venison and chilli cheese sausage.

Parking our bikes and looking out over the gorgeous picturesque Marion’s Vineyard.

From the vineyard we rode around the riverside bends, past the Supply River junction, where some locals were fishing for ocean run trout [A great example of stopping on tour to do something: I regretted not stopping here for a fish for the rest of the journey.], and up to the Batman Bridge.

Danielle and I at the Paperbark Café

Danielle’s smashed avocado

Serena at the Supply River

Serena looking out over the Tamar River

Danielle with a Pet Nat at Marion’s Vineyard cellar door

Nice views from the cellar door

Echo chilling out in the sunshine

A dog’s life!

Danielle at the cellar door bar

Danielle and I enjoying the beautiful vista from the Marion’s Vineyard cellar door

A nesting mama

Resting our bikes at Marion’s Vineyard

The Batman Bridge over the Tamar River

From here the journey got a bit shit. We were forced by lack of options into riding on the A3 highway almost all the way to George Town. The hills were relentless as was the traffic, who barely gave us an inch. There was no shoulder most of the way. [I intend to write a longer more detailed post on the dismal state of cycling infrastructure in Tasmania: stay tuned!]

Once at George Town we stopped at the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum. Danielle’s uncle Bernal Cuthbertson — who sadly passed ten years ago — was an instrumental part of both the museum and the vessels and history within it, and we walked in the door with 5 minutes until closing time. Bern’s photo was hung next to the door, and when I explained to the volunteer at the desk how keen Danielle was to see the museum due to the family connection, not only did the volunteers keep the museum open a little longer and give us a tour, but they treated Danielle and myself like visiting dignitaries, took photos of Danielle holding Bern’s photo and were just altogether lovely.

A display for Bern read:

Bern was well-known for the project to build the replica whaleboat Elizabeth that he sailed around Tasmania, and he also managed the building of the replica Norfolk among his many achievements. Both vessels are here on display at the Georgetown Bass and Flinders Centre.

Danielle with The Norfolk in the background

We left the museum and had a beer across the road at The Pier then rode out to the East Beach Tourist Park to lodge for the night in a cabin. The owner Craig was a great character and very friendly!

We went to see a penguin tour at Low Head. The little fairy penguins were lots of fun and very cute! They are very acclimated to human presence and walked right past our legs on their way to their rookery nests. We watched the sun go down and had a lovely evening.

We then went home, trimmed down our bags and packed up some items to be posted ahead at the George Town Post Office to reduce weight in the morning. Next stop: Bridport!

On the road to nowhere

Danielle slogging up the A3

Timber mills at George Town

Danielle at the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum with a photo of Uncle Bern in the background

Danielle in the mess on The Norfolk

Sleeping quarters

A comfortable bed

Uncle Bern and some local history

Danielle and I on the deck of The Norfolk

The captain’s cabin

Not a lot of head room down here

Ships’ plaques

Danielle below decks

The Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum

A seagull statue

Evil doesn’t wear a bonnet!

A particularly old and dusty map of Tassie 🤣

I just love beautiful old wooden boats like this one: Tom Thumb

Danielle having a pint at The Pier. She earned it.

Parking our bikes at The Pier

Sunset over the Tamar River

Low Head at sunset

Our bikes resting against the Low Head Lighthouse

The lighthouse at Low Head

Our bikes looking out at Bass Strait

Danielle and the bikes with Bass Strait in the background

A very beautiful way to spend my evening. The sunset was nice as well.

Rainbows and pretty eyes

Sunset colours at Low Head

Waiting for our waddling buddies

Penguins coming ashore at Low Head

A penguin in the muted lamps at Low Head

Poppies and hills to Gravelly Beach — Tasmania, Day 1

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 17:00:00 +1100

Content warning:

This is a warning

Our first-ever day of touring as a couple was, I fear, a bit of an eye-opener for Danielle! Not in terms of adventure, of course, as Danielle is a seasoned traveller who has roamed every corner of the world, but in terms of the physical demands of heavily loaded touring bikes.

We left Devonport this morning after stopping for coffee at a little heritage house called Miss Jacqueline’s, but I once knew this place as The Gingerbread House when it was owned and operated by the family of a friend I had in my twenties. I also talked to a lady (another customer) who lived there some years during her youth.

The road out of Devonport was hilly and rolled through green pastures full of cows and poppies. There were lots of signs with skull-and-crossbones warning off anyone wanting to make their own opium!

After we passed the road that would go north to Port Sorell, the forests began and it was very picturesque and scenic, however the hills were long and winding and we were absolutely fucked by the time we’d gone 20 kilometres. We stopped at a little creek for a rest and a fish.

In Frankford we stopped at the Blue Barn Café to stock up on drinks and snacks, and posted the gifts we bought Arabella, our niece¹.

The café was lovely with a quaint little country garden. The people were nice also.

In Exeter we stopped at the Exeter Hotel to ask for lodging and the barmaid looked at me like I was asking for directions to Mars. A local barfly directed us to the Rose Bay Park in Gravelly Beach, where we cooked up some chicken, eggs, capsicum and onion we purchased from the IGA in Exeter. We also had salad and jerky. I had a fish but there was lots of jellyfish in the Tamar River. We set up camp in a quiet part of the park behind the toilets (and some bushes — it was nicer than it sounds) and we’re now resting and snoozing the afternoon away.

Serena parked on the side of the Frankford Road

Danielle and I setting out from Devonport

Danielle and the bikes at ~~The Gingerbread House~~ Miss Jacqueline’s

Danielle taking a rest at the side of the road

Riding in the forested hills

Fishing at a rest stop along the way

Resting at a driveway entrance

Starting to feel the hills

Beautiful big trees

Rolling green pastures

Resting at the Blue Barn Café

The Blue Barn Café

The garden in front of the Blue Barn Café

Danielle resting on the porch outside the Blue Barn Café

Setting up camp out of the way at Gravelly Beach

Sun setting on the Tamar River

Boats at sunset on the Tamar River

Update: The postal service in rural Tasmania is pretty amazing, and these parcels, though posted from a little store on the highway in the middle of nowhere, reached their destination only a few days later, at Christmas to boot! ↩︎

Taking the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Devonport — Tasmania, Day 0

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:35:00 +1100

After more than a year of looking forward to, planning, stressing and organising, we’re finally on our way to sunny Tasmania!

Of course, we haven’t quite made it to Tassie yet. First we have needed to take the train to Geelong from Ballarat via Melbourne, and we’ve spent the bulk of the middle part of the day today doing that. We left this morning at 11:00 from Ballarat. Danielle was still packing at 10:45 so her bike was a little wobbly and off-balance. Mine is HEAVY but well-balanced.

Our bikes at Ballarat Train Station, waiting for the train to Melbourne.

The train was delayed due to a track fault but we made it. Danielle went shopping in Geelong for some last-minute Christmas gifts and I wrapped up some last-minute work tasks, then joined Danielle at Westfield. We went to Lou’s Pizza for a yummy wood-fired pizza and local beers. Danielle has the Hawkers Pale Ale and a supreme pizza sans the pineapple; I had a mushroom and salami pizza and a Lou’s Lager. Both were delicious!

We’re here now in the Best Western Geelong Motor Inn. Checking in was a bit nerve-wracking for an instant when the receptionist took one look at our bikes and complained: “I’m really not keen on those bikes being in the rooms!” We assured her that there wouldn’t be a skerrick of dirt or marks of any kind, that the tyres were clean and we even have an old blanket for protecting the carpet and furniture. We’re hoping we won’t have to deal with frivolous cleaning or “damage” bills later. We took photos of the areas around our bikes in case we find ourselves in a dispute.

Tomorrow morning we’ll head out to the ferry terminal in North Geelong, bright and early at 06:00! We’re hoping the ferry is kinder to our bikes.

Friday 8 December 09:10

We’re on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry. Checking in and boarding was simple enough. Disregard the “No bikes in the terminal” signage, as we were encouraged to remain with and bring our bikes as we moved through security and onto the boat. We checked our little Jetboil gas canister, but besides that everything else was hunky dory and we were waved through.

The area for stowage of the bikes onboard was just next to the gangway post at the stern. We strapped our bikes as best we could to the grate and hoped for the best. We brought an old shitty blanket with us for protecting the bikes, but they should be alright as I packed lots of straps for the purpose. I didn’t get a photo but I’m going to try to when I disembark and then post it here [It was raining and we were in a bit of a rush with other cyclists waiting for us so I didn’t manage it.] to which any future two-wheeled travellers who follow us may refer.

Danielle resting aboard the Spirit of Tasmania.

We’ve grabbed ourselves a nice little post next to the windows on Deck 7 and we’re settling in for the crossing. I’m looking forward to going out on the outdoor deck amidships after lunch for a nice little smoke of my pipe!

17:05

We are still on the Spirit of Tasmania about 2 hours out of Devonport. It’s been a pretty smooth crossing of Bass Strait. I’ve had my pipe and a chat to an Exeter local named Tristan, a chippie with some advice on roads to take, had some beers and lunch, and altogether it’s been a pleasant journey. With the fair weather and smooth sailing I’m sure the bikes are OK.

21:10

We arrived in Devonport just after 19:00. Our bikes were fine — and they had company! Another Surly, a Karate Monkey in bright green, and a green Trek tourer were next to ours and loaded for bikepacking. They belonged to a German couple on their way to Cradle Mountain.

We collected our gas bottles from the LPG area and stopped by the IGA for some mi goreng noodle cups and some eggs.

We’re all set up in our cabin now with our bags off the bikes, which are locked up on the front porch with a fishing bell attached to the brake cable housing to alert Danielle to any late-night shenanigans. We’ve FaceTime’d Anneliese, had our dinner, repacked and redistributed pannier loads and now we’re retiring to bed. We’ve a big day tomorrow!

Our bikes at Ballarat Train Station, waiting for the train to Melbourne.

Danielle standing with our bikes in front of our house in Ballarat, ready to depart on our tour.

Danielle resting aboard the Spirit of Tasmania.

Planning our tour of the Apple Isle — and doing it this time! — Tasmania

Tue, 16 May 2023 12:00:00 +1100

So we started planning this trip a few years ago, and unfortunately events at home (and not just the pandemic!) have transpired to keep us off our bikes for the most part, with a few exceptions such as my Great Ocean Road trip, but I had to do that one solo. In that time I’ve started a new job, Danielle bought a beautiful custom Velo Orange Pass Hunter gravel/touring bike and importantly, my children have continued to mature to the point I can now leave them for a few weeks to go a‑touring!

As with our original plan, we’ll finish the tour by staying with Danielle’s parents in Sandy Bay, a suburb of Hobart, for Christmas. We’ve booked the Spirit of Tasmania ferry — which now departs from Geelong — and we’re skipping the Cradle Mountain and Launceston legs of our original plan (which complemented Danielle’s Hobart-bred antipathy towards Launceston 🤣). We’re still using the same Hema map of Tassie (ours is 10th ed.), and we’ve condensed the ride to about 10–11 days’ riding in total.

700.0 route distance (km)
(approx.)

9,000m elevation to climb
(approx.)

11 days' riding
(approx.)

Devonport

Catching the Spirit of Tasmania from Geelong to Devonport, arriving in the evening and staying at the Abel Tasman Caravan Park.
Exeter

We will ride from Devonport across to Exeter, passing the forest reserves on our way east to the Tamar River.
George Town

From Exeter we’ll visit some of the Tamar Valley wineries on our way to George Town.
Bridport

From George Town we’ll ride past more wineries on our way to Bridport on Bass Strait.
Binalong, Bay of Fires

Riding from Bridport through Scottsdale, Derby, and on to Binalong via St Helens, we’ll be weaving through the forest reserves in North East Tasmania, which I’ve never visited but heard a lot about, camping at the Bay of Fires.
Bicheno

Now hugging the coast through Scamander to Bicheno. I’m keen on Bicheno as a fabled fishing destination.
Freycinet N.P.

From Bicheno we’ll ride down to a luxury stay at Freycinet Lodge at Coles Bay, and spend a day to check out the National Park and Wineglass Bay.
Maria Island

Danielle adores wombats. We couldn’t do the trip without a detour to Maria Island. We’ll stop near Triabunna/Orford and catch the ferry across for a few days camping on the island.
Dunalley and Richmond

Skipping Port Arthur — we’ve been plenty of times before — we’ll meander around via Dunalley and Dodges Ferry to Richmond. If we feel like it we’ll stop for the night in Richmond, otherwise we’ll press on the last 30-odd kilometres to…
Hobart

Finishing in Hobart, we’re planning to arrive on 23 December then stay with the folks at Sandy Bay for Christmas.

Continue reading after the quote

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Planning a winter getaway tour along the Great Ocean Road — Great Ocean Road Winter Tour

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +1100

Although I’m absolutely loving my job at Starlight, I’ve been working pretty hard this year and between the pressures of work, family, home and parenting I am desperately in need of a little break. So I’ve booked out a week’s leave at the end of August to tackle the Victorian Great Ocean Road. And because I’m a silly bastard I’ve opted for the wild and wet weather that the Shipwreck Coast is renowned for at this time of year. Fun!

My partner is working from Warrnambool that week, so I’ll meet her and spend a few nights together chilling out and enjoying the local hospitality, before she heads home and I depart on my way. I’ll ride from Warrnambool to Geelong over the space of a few days, camping along the way, with a hotel here or there, and even a spot of trout fishing planned at Aire River.

From Apollo Bay to Anglesea, I’ll ride along one of Australia’s best stretches of tarmac, the world-famous Great Ocean Road. I’m looking forward to the lower traffic that winter will bring, even if it means braving the elements.

Continue reading after the quote

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full Of Sky

A broad outline of the trip

Warrnambool

Starting in Warrnambool, heading east towards Allansford and then meandering down towards the start of the Great Ocean Road and stopping for the night in Port Campbell.
Port Campbell

Leaving Port Campbell and passing the Twelve (or less!) Apostles Marine Park before climbing through to Lavers Hill and stopping the night at Johanna Beach.
Johanna Beach

Leaving Johanna Beach, hopefully getting in a spot of fishing on the Aire River, then arriving at Apollo Bay.
Apollo Bay

Cycling along the coast all the way from Apollo Bay and stopping at Lorne for the night at the Mantra hotel.
Lorne

Leaving Lorne and heading towards Anglesea, then leaving the Great Ocean Road through Torquay and then Geelong.
Geelong

If I’ve still got the energy to ride home from Geelong, I might make another day’s trip out of it, but I’m just as likely to call it to an end and train it home. TBC.

288.0 route distance (km)

2,238m elevation to climb

5 days' riding

Gear

The Great Ocean Road is heavy with tourists, and I’m going on the assumption that even in the off season there will be places to stop and eat. I’ll take some freeze-dried meals just in case, as well as my “fuel” for cycling, but otherwise it affords me the chance to slim down a little on the cooking gear.

I am also not needing things I would take into the bush, like firelighting gear, hatchet, fishing rod holders — I will fish, but not with bait — solar panels, water bladder and so on.

The reduction in bush camping gear will be offset by increased cold and wet weather gear. I’m planning to take both my sleeping bag as well as my wool blanket. I will take both tarps, but have managed to reduce the ropes a lot by using 1.75mm Dyneema lines with DutchWare [DutchWare (Dutch Clips LLC, 2026): DutchWare Hammock HardwareDutchWare Gear Welcome to DutchWare, your one-stop shop for all things hammocks, from do-it-yourself (DIY) hammock camping gear and accessories to quilts and suspension hardware, as well as DIY backpacking gear.] hardware, tiny little titanium tie-offs given cute little insect shapes and names like Fleaz, Flyz, Ringworms and Stingerz.

I took a little test ride today (Sunday 21 August) fully loaded to test the handling and everything is hunky dory. I tried to wobble and throw the bike off and my trusty Serena just kept on true to form.

Bike setup

Panniers loaded front and back, with a basket & bag at front, tent on the handlebars, extra blanket on the back rack between the panniers, an ultralight hiking chair strapped to the blanket, and fishing rod beneath the top tube.

One of the weirdly perverse benefits of anticipating wet and windy weather is that I’ve paid a lot more attention to waterproofing and weight distribution, which in turn has led me to probably my most carefully-considered pack yet. Here’s hoping it goes the distance!

Torrumbarry to Echuca — Murray River, Day 4

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 09:00:41 +1100

This morning I woke up to the nicest morning yet. A beautiful sunrise was shining through the trees and across the river, lighting up a wedge-tailed eagle in her nest in the tree directly above my tent. Compared to the wind of last night it was a beautiful tranquil scene.

I watched as the eagle fended off other birds, and another large bird that I am pretty sure was a Brahminy kite, though it would be far south of its regular range. I made my breakfast of camp eggs and espresso, took my time packing down my tent and loading my bike for the last leg of my trip. By now I’m in sync with the sun, and even here at the Airbnb lodging I am ready to go to sleep with the sun. My mind is at rest and I’m thoroughly relaxed.

I rode through the Torrumbarry Weir, stopping for cold water and some quite rude service at the Holiday Park. I had a picnic lunch with some magpies near the Weir and then headed off again down the River Track. I met a couple out on their mountain bikes, just for the day. We chatted for a little while, they’re up from Melbourne and told me there was a closed off bridge, but easily traversable by carrying the bike. By the time I got to the bridge I saw it was a tough ask: a sharply sloping one-foot-wide gap around the huge concrete barrier. I had to try and lift my very heavy loaded touring bike around the barrier, without putting too much strain on my back. I got past the bridge and then rode for some beautiful kilometres until I got to Baillieu Lagoon. I saw two goannas on two separate occasions, and as my daughter’s name is Anneliese I got some photos and sent them to her dubbed “Goannaliese I and II”.

My partner Danielle and I have a bit of an attachment to a regular camp we call “Our Spot” near Baillieu Lagoon, so I stopped there to take a photo and call Danielle. After this, it was time to rejoin the road and leave the river until Echuca. I rode along the Murray Valley Highway into town, stopping at the historic Port of Echuca for a happy snap and some lunch from the Shamrock Hotel.

I checked into an Airbnb I booked with a kindly host named Anne, and we sat and chatted the afternoon away before I went for some wood-fired pizza dinner at a local Italian restaurant, then retired to bed early with the sunset.

My trip is over, and I’m off to Ballarat via Melbourne on the train first thing in the morning. I’ve had an awesome time and am very keen to come back with Danielle and ride it together.

Cohuna to Torrumbarry — Murray River, Day 3

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 09:00:14 +1100

I had a bit of rain today, but nothing too heavy and after the past few days, it was actually quite refreshing. I woke in Cohuna, had my coffee and breakfast and packed down my camp quite quickly. I didn’t have phone reception so was keen to get into a better area for it so I could let my partner know I was OK, etc. I was also low on water so decided to venture away from the Murray to detour through Cohuna township.

I rode along the River Track for a while, happening across some bridgeworks at the Sleeper Track regulator, where the construction workers kindly let me carry my bike across. I saw some emus and kangaroos on the way to Cohuna, but otherwise it was a fairly uneventful but thoroughly enjoyable ride into town.

In Cohuna I stopped for coffee at the Old Farmery Coffee Shop, where the coffee was quite good. I filled up my water bottles, had a muffin and called Danielle. I also saw a lady I’d seen yesterday at the Barham Bakery.

From Cohuna I rode back along the Cohuna Island Road around Gunbower Creek, stopping for a few photos and enjoying the road itself — tree-lined and picturesque with very little traffic but a good surface, the road wound itself along wetlands and I saw a lot of birds and scenery.

I turned off at Tickells Road, near Taylor Lagoon to return to the River Track along the Murray. Gunbower National Park is very beautiful, the tracks are good and I knew this area a bit better as I’ve camped around here many times before. I stopped at a great camp spot I used to regularly use with friends at Broken River Bend.

I caught plenty of fish — 3 yellowbellies, a silver perch, a carp and a big Murray cod who was certainly in the size limit, about 60cm I’d estimate, and was destined to become my dinner until I got him in close, climbed into the water (as I have no net) and tried to land him, but alas! He snapped off and swam away to live another day.

The wind this afternoon has been very rough. My DAC tarp pole is bending like an old man, my tarps have ripped heaps of pegs out and after a while of this I decided to pack down my gear into my tent and fly, and retire for an early evening. It’s about 1930 and I’m ready for bed.

Today I journeyed on the lands of the Yorta Yorta people, who have lived on and cared for this land for millennia, and have never seded their sovereignty. I want to thank the Traditional Owners and acknowledge their custodianship of, and connection to the beautiful land, rivers and waterways I enjoyed today because of their care. I also pay my respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their Elders past and present.

Murrabit to Cohuna — Murray River, Day 2

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 19:00:57 +1100

I slept in today, and had a nice campfire breakfast of fried eggs, muesli bars and espresso coffee, before packing my bag and exploring the Campbells Island State Forest on my way down to Barham and Koondrook.

Koondrook is a little town on the Victorian side of the Murray, and Barham is a slightly larger, but still small town on the NSW side. I crossed the river into Barham and stopped at the bakery for a shepherd’s pie and chips, chatting to a local named ‘Darby’, who was 80 and had lived in the area most of his life. Barham is a nice enough little place and reminded me very much of Wentworth, near Mildura but again on the NSW side of the river.

I stopped at the general store in Koondrook for cold drinks, water and fresh worms for bait, then headed back into the forest, this time Gunbower State Forest, to roam the tracks along the Murray. For the most part from Murrabit I have followed the River Track, which meanders along the Murray, not turning into every single long winding bend but for the most part sticking to the course of the river, and the track is a pretty good track for most of its length, getting rutted and slippery in parts but otherwise easy to follow. I saw kangaroos and spooked a couple of emus who ‘took flight’ pretty close to my bike due to the quieter nature of a bicycle versus the 4WDs and other motorised vehicles they’re likely used to.

At about 1500 I stopped to camp at a nice spot near Iron Punt Landing and the intersection of the River Track and Threader Track. It is a stunning place, but without phone reception (perhaps adding to its allure for some!) and I’ve since caught a little yellowbelly (golden perch) and seen and heard plenty of cockatoos and kookaburras. I had a dip in the warm water before having a Backcountry freeze-dried meal of “Beef Teriyaki” for dinner, as I couldn’t discern whether today is a total fire ban or not.

Swan Hill to Murrabit — Murray River, Day 1

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 19:00:51 +1100

I got up nice and early this morning — 0500 — to catch the Ballarat V/Line train to Melbourne at 0615. I packed the bike last night, making sure everything was lashed and ready to go. Then lo and behold, the skies opened up and rain started pouring! Not the most auspicious start to the trip…

I didn’t care too much about the bike getting wet (I planned for such weather as rain is forecast for Tuesday) but I did want to be dry for the six-hour train trip to Swan Hill. So my partner Danielle and I scrambled to unload the bike and throw my gear in the back of the ute, and she drove me down to the station. I reloaded the bike at the station and boarded the train with plenty of time, and a good practice in case I have to do it again later in the day [luckily I didn’t!].

The trip to Footscray Station was pretty uneventful until I got there. Once on the platform at Footscray, I really had to use the toilet, and there as a dodgy-looking character pissing from the platform onto the tracks, off his tree and shouting at existence. Not wanting to leave the bike, I resigned myself for waiting for the 0807 train to Swan Hill. 0807 came and passed and no train. It turns out there was a major delay and stuff-up caused by some contractual problem with the rail works at Spencer Street (Southern Cross Station), and the train came late. I boarded and laid my bike down in the luggage car, then sat for the approx. four hour journey.

At Swan Hill, a local Woolworths employee enjoying ‘smoko’ offered to watch my bike and gear, and I got some cold drinks, filled up my canteens with water and found some salad for lunch, then set off as quickly as I could. I didn’t stop long in Swan Hill for photos or anything as the wind had picked up, it was hot and I knew I had a decent ride in front of me.

The 55km between turning off the main highway at Swan Hill, and reaching Murrabit, was quite hard going. There was a strong 20 knot SE headwind, and as I was heading southeast this meant almost constant headwind the entire way. I tried to sit up in the saddle and just relax, not push to a particular speed or time but just embrace whatever the day brought, and this helped a lot for my mood and enjoyment, but with no shade from the sun, and my legs tiring after the first 30 kilometres or so, I was glad to reach Murrabit.

I was even happier when I learned that Murrabit has a pub, the Murrabit Tavern, and though the bar was closed the store was open and I bought some cold beers, some frozen lamb for dinner, worms for bait and plenty of water for camp. I filled my MSR Dromedary bladder, which holds 10 litres, slung it on my back and headed down Hughes Lane to the Murray River to camp for the night not far from town.

I set up camp, and caught a little Murray cod — who being both under-sized and out of season was promptly and safely released — had a smoke of my pipe and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Epilogue — Media coverage in “The Courier”: Ryan Moore bikes in a dress to raise money for girls charity — Bike It In A Dress: Melbourne to Adelaide

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:00:00 +1000

Some more local media coverage of my ride. It was actually written up in the Murray Valley Standard (Strathearn, 2019b) [Strathearn, 2019b: Why Ryan Moore cycled from Melbourne to Adelaide in a dressThe Murray Valley Standard Ryan Moore had never been much of a long-distance cyclist until recently, nor had he typically worn a school dress. But the Ballarat man gave both a go over the past fortnight, riding from Melbourne …], and appeared in The Courier (Strathearn, 2019a) [Strathearn, 2019a: Ryan Moore bikes in a dress to raise money for girls charityThe Courier Ryan Moore had never been much of a long-distance cyclist until recently, nor had he typically worn a school dress. But the Ballarat man gave both a go over the past fortnight, riding from Melbourne …] this morning as well.

Ryan Moore had never been much of a long-distance cyclist until recently, nor had he typically worn a school dress.

But the Ballarat man gave both a go over the past fortnight, riding from Melbourne to Adelaide in a dress to raise money for girls’ education in west Africa.

The marketing student, and father of a teenage girl, had previously raised money for the campaign simply by walking around his home city in a dress, but had wanted to do something different this year. … read more at The Murray Valley Standard ¹ or The Courier ¹.

This article sits behind a paywall. ↩︎ ↩︎

Pushing beyond the limit, and arriving in Adelaide — Bike It In A Dress: Melbourne to Adelaide, Day 10

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:11:16 +1000

Today’s ride was by far the toughest, most gruelling bicycle ride I’d ever undertaken, and pushed my body to limits I hadn’t exceeded for more than ten years.

I packed up camp and left Murray Bridge early this morning, knowing how far I had to ride, and suspecting I’d be in for a rough go. I had a GPX route I’d received online from an Adelaide-based cyclist loaded up in my Garmin Edge 520 GPS bike computer, had plenty of nice cold water in all four bottles, plenty of bananas and a full tub of fresh scroggin from the local IGA.

As I headed out of Murray Bridge, I noticed the GPS on my iPhone was trying relentlessly to get me to join the M1 freeway, which is off-limits to bicycles, so my ‘back-up’ to the Garmin was essentially useless without stopping. Nevertheless, I headed up the Old Princes Highway, past the Monarto Zoo, and towards Callington. And that’s where things started to go wrong…

The GPX route I’d received took me through a copper mine. A miner, on his way into work, gave me some directions to proceed along the highway to Kanmantoo, where I could stop and plan my next step. I got to Kanmantoo, which was a very beautiful little heritage town nestled at the foot of the Adelaide Hills. The iPhone GPS still wanted to take me to the M1, and I had the wrong topographical map for this area, not being able to source the right one before I left (as an aside, Geoscience Australia in their ‘infinite wisdom’ will soon stop printing these maps entirely, relying on digital maps only — what could go wrong?).

The local general store in Kanmantoo told me that pretty much any road except for the main highway would lead me astray, so I decided to stick to the highway and press on through Dawesley, to Nairne and then Hahndorf. By the time I reached Nairne though, I was absolutely buggered. It had been 2.5 hours since I’d reached the copper mine and turned around, and I’d been averaging a paltry 7 kilometres per hour. My water was completely consumed in that time and I still felt dehydrated as the sun blazed down and the mercury kept rising. It wasn’t so much the steepness of the hills but the unrelenting, slow ascent over many kilometres, just sapping my energy. I arrived in Nairne and stopped at the service station to replenish my water bottles — a couple of awesome blokes at a roadworks just before Dawesley gave me some water as well — and smash down a Powerade sports drink, before heading up to Hahndorf. Nairne was a very beautiful little town full of nice old sandstone cottages, and I vowed to return for a better look around one day.

Hahndorf was a kitschy little place, a German-themed tourist town that on first appearance was kinda interesting, but the traffic and the crowds were just relentless, there were heaps of idiots on the road and I received a lot of honks and screams to get off the road and out of the way, to which I yelled back, “You want a European experience or not?” I couldn’t even stop to post an Instagram update, opting instead to ride just out of town where it was slightly more peaceful. In the end I wasn’t very impressed with Hahndorf, it seemed overly touristy, and just reminded me of Lorne in the Christmas holidays — i.e. an over-run, over-rated and over-priced circus. It was interesting to pass the Beerenberg farm though, being a very well-known brand of jams and such that we eat all the time at home.

From Hahndorf, I really started to get lost. The GPS was useless. There was no signage to help cyclists navigate their way towards Adelaide, no little blue signs with a bike icon and an arrow, nothing. I crossed under the M1 and headed up Mount Barker Road, through Bridgewater and Aldgate, at which point I was finally on my topographic map. I weaved through the little streets and towns, beyond exhaustion as I faced hill after hill.

I was a few kilometres short of Crafers when I couldn’t ride any more, and pulled over to dismount and push my bike by foot. I fell over and must’ve passed out, completely ‘bonked’ as the cycling vernacular puts it. A wonderful bloke by the name of Andrew Gordon had seen me struggling and helped me sit up, get some more water and scroggin into me, and helped me get the bike up and going. He then spent more than an hour driving in front and behind me, as a support vehicle, ensuring I reached Crafers. We stopped at a café in Crafers where I bought him a Coke and a coffee and we had a quick chat whilst I replenished my food and got a breather. Then he resumed his adopted role as my support vehicle and showed me where the dedicated bike track along the old disused freeway, down the hill from Crafers into Adelaide CBD was. During this time, Andrew missed an appointment with his daughter, but was unwavering in his insistence that he help me out and ensure I got to the bike track safe. This guy was a bloody legend of the highest order, a true and kind Australian gentleman, and I doubt I would’ve found the bike route without him. He even donated $20 to the charity, as if he hadn’t done enough already. Wherever you are Andrew, thanks a bundle mate, you’re a star.

Having reached the bike track, and having long since surpassed the limit of my endurance, both for this day as well as the accumulated ten-day journey in general, flying down Mount Barker Road alongside the freeway, having to ride my disk brakes the whole way to stop my trailer from wobbling too much from the sheer speed, was beyond exhilaration and I fist-pumped the air as I realised that I’d done it — I was coming into the city of Adelaide.

I rode along the city streets down Glen Osmond Road and then Pulteney Street like a conquering Roman caesar as I beamed with pride, appreciation and satisfaction, stopping at Rundle Mall and achieving what I’d set out to do six months earlier, with nothing more than a rough sketch of a plan and a crazy idea to ride to Adelaide in a school dress.

So many months of planning, so much hard work and so much pride. I wanted to show my children, Declan and Anneliese, that even ordinary ‘old’ and fat dads can do something to help, can do something bigger than themselves and push themselves.

Tours — Getting Out There

Boggy Creek to the Snowy River — East Gippsland Rail Trail, Day 2

A very Good Friday — East Gippsland Rail Trail, Day 1

Planning for an Easter Quickie — East Gippsland Rail Trail

Epilogue: Kingston Beach — Tasmania

Epilogue: Conquering the Mountain! — Tasmania

The end of the cycling portion of our cycling tour — Tasmania, Day 11

Freycinet Lodge and Wineglass Bay — Tasmania, Day 10

On the road again... — Tasmania, Day 9

Bumming a lift — Tasmania, Day 8

On our way to Biche—oh no! — Tasmania, Day 7

Hitching a ride to the Bay of Fires — Tasmania, Day 6

The North East Tasmanian Rail Trail — Tasmania, Day 5

Cherries — Tasmania, Day 4

He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to mow down cyclists... — Tasmania, Day 3

Vineyards on the river, a family maritime history and... penguins! — Tasmania, Day 2

Poppies and hills to Gravelly Beach — Tasmania, Day 1

Taking the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Devonport — Tasmania, Day 0

Friday 8 December 09:10

17:05

21:10

Planning our tour of the Apple Isle — and doing it this time! — Tasmania

Devonport

Exeter

George Town

Bridport

Binalong, Bay of Fires

Bicheno

Freycinet N.P.

Maria Island

Dunalley and Richmond

Hobart

Planning a winter getaway tour along the Great Ocean Road — Great Ocean Road Winter Tour

A broad outline of the trip

Warrnambool

Port Campbell

Johanna Beach

Apollo Bay

Lorne

Geelong

Gear

Bike setup

Torrumbarry to Echuca — Murray River, Day 4

Cohuna to Torrumbarry — Murray River, Day 3

Murrabit to Cohuna — Murray River, Day 2

Swan Hill to Murrabit — Murray River, Day 1

Epilogue — Media coverage in “The Courier”: Ryan Moore bikes in a dress to raise money for girls charity — Bike It In A Dress: Melbourne to Adelaide

Pushing beyond the limit, and arriving in Adelaide — Bike It In A Dress: Melbourne to Adelaide, Day 10