Sydney Spring Cycle: 21 October 2007

Another great ride this year and I think the other riders around me were better behaved which made the ride more enjoyable. I was not trying to race this year as I my achilles is still not good and basically felt quite guilty for even doing the ride. It took about 3.5 hours this year with lots of stops and the compulsory sausage sandwich which I had promised myself I would not eat.

This year the course was a bit safer with some changes around Olympic Park and the start which I couldn't begin to explain as the course winds around a lot and I really didn't know where I was sometimes. The start at St Leonards Park, North Sydney was packed with riders and from there it is almost straight down the hill onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge. For a map of the course click here.

I will rebuild her

Last weekend my road bike had an utter breakdown. A spoke snapped and got tangled in the back derailleur that then flipped up, jamming and destroying my back wheel. But how lucky could I have been, after a 56km ride out to Cronulla to breakdown 100 metres from Marrickville station.

The local bike shop tried to break the news that my bike was a right-off gently by suggesting that I buy one of their ex-demo bikes for just under $900. But for $220 for a few parts and tools the bike will be running perfectly for the Tour de Femme in November. A bit more work which it truely deserves; fixing scratches and bubbled stickers will have my poor bike looking new again.

Amy Gillett Memorial Ride, Geelong: 6 January 2007

What a morning! I felt sick, out of bed at 3 am, hangover, reeking of garlic. Yuk, the day had to get better than this. I rode to the airport, the first train of the day would not provide me with enough time to pack my bike and check in early. I flew with Jetstar and was worried about meeting their strict check-in policy who according to their website don’t provide bike boxes. Just get one at the Qantas Sales Desk. But someone spotted me with the bike and put it together for me so I didn’t need to wait for the Sales Desk to open. (I discovered that Jestar have bike boxes at Avalon airport.)

I was looking forward to this ride because it was a memorial ride for Amy Gillett who was tragically killed in a training ride in Germany and for other riders killed or injured on Australian roads. For more information about the Amy Gillett Foundation and its work go to http://www.amygillett.org.au/.

I was also looking for a worthy challenge, my first 100km. This 120 km ride started in Geelong’s Botanical Gardens and looped around the Bellarine Peninsula. I arrived late and stressed and it seemed to take ages to get started and my taxi driver dumped me at the wrong side of the park and I walked with my cardboard bike box for about 1km to the start line.

The ride goes through a lot of small towns on quiet country and coastal roads. The coast was lined with surfers sitting out in the water on boards waiting for the perfect waves. The course followed long stretches of undulating roads cutting through harvested fields with few trees and old country sheds on the horizon. The weather was the biggest challenge, still grey clouds then heavy rain and strong cross and head winds towards the end of the ride. Gale force winds as I walked from the Botanical Gardens to my taxi at the end of the ride, I could barely hang on to the bike box, the wind blew it violently was a walked along Eastern Road.

The ride was well organised but I would have liked to see a bit more support along the last half of the course in the future but it was fairly easy to navigate. I regret not stopping to take photos but was too rushed at the beginning and forgot to take my camera on the ride with me.

Tour de Femme: 12 November 2006

This is an women's only 20 km race around the lake in Canberra. It started off very small but this year there were approximately 500 contenders. My first "short course" race and loved it. The roads were still open but club officials marshalled traffic on fairly good flat roads.

I didn't stop to look at the scenery, everyone around me was going flat out. I started the race very sore as I had ridden most of Canberra's cycleways the day before! This is a worthwhile experience for any woman interested in trying racing for the first time and it was worth going interstate for http://www.canberracyclingclub.org.au/ccc/tourdefemme/index.asp.

MS Sydney to Gong Ride: 5 November 2006

It's taken me so long to get around to write up this blog.

I rode against strong head winds the whole 90 km to Wollongong on a grey drizzly day. But I felt good all the way and it was great to ride the original course now that the sea bridge at Coalcliff is finally open. The scenery was divine especially riding through the Royal National Park and to the outer suburbs of Wollongong. The wind was so strong crossing the sea bridge I felt that was almost going backwards. Four hours on a mountain bike aint bad.

Another brilliantly organised ride and hopefully it will not be so windy and wet next year. Go to http://www.gongride.org.au/.

My New Bike: 20 October 2006

I've been looking for a while for a new bike. My old bike was too heavy, almost 20 kg. It had plenty of life remaining but was not suitable for the longer rides I want to do, such as Adelaide to Melbourne early next year. I don't believe you have to spend a lot of money and $1,500 was my absolute limit. Better brakes, shocks, handlebars and rims tend to filter down eventually into the lower price brackets and I'm not interested in the latest stuff.

My new bike took me unexpectedly; I just started my search after someone suggested buying a secondhand bike. Within two days I found my bike. I very much like my Avanti road bike and was lucky to find a reasonably priced Avanti Hammer in my size.

Sydney Spring Cycle: 22 October 2006

The City to Surf for bike riders. This year was my third time along this 50 km course from North Sydney, St Leonards Oval to Olympic Park. This year Bicycle NSW changed the course slightly and there was no mad rush down the Pacific Highway on to the Harbour Bridge, instead they put in a few corners, I guess to try and slow riders down, didn't seem to work. I also noticed a lot more traffic on the road, there were not many complete road closures this year other than at the start.

I did this on my mountain bike, there was some rain at the beginning. My road bike was not going to be safe, thiner tires plus water on my wheels could mean that I'm not going to be able to brake. So this year I completed the ride in just under 3 hours, not a good time but you need to slow down with all the other types of riders ducking and driving and falling off all over the place. Great fun but need to stay alert.

Watch www.springcycle.com.au for next year's ride.

Blayney to Bathurst Cyclo Sportif 2006 cycle: 26 March 2006

This was my very first race. I didn't need a $175 race license issued by Cycling NSW and the only race of its kind that is open to anyone able to cover the distance. And I'm still confused about the distance, the entry form I filled out described a challenging and undulating 56 km course but any race that finishes at the top of Mount Panorama was going to be difficult.



The race moved through beautiful but dry countryside, lots of cattle and sheep, following the railway track to Bathurst. I remember two very long hills, the first just 3 km out of Blayney and the worst at about 40 km. The route then flattens out. Although I started to feel the heat it was an easy ride to the bottom of Mount Panorama. The last kilometre included the ESSEs and was unrideable. The heat intense, my back and calves tight. I was not going to walk over the finish line; this was still a race. I got back on my bike and struggled across the line.

I had ridden 74 km according to my bike computer, I'm not sure whether this is accurate. My overall time of 3 hours and 28 minutes was a personal best for me.

My training program was simple, just extra kilometres tacked on to my daily ride to work. It didn't work out because I also run and I felt that I was getting too sore and dehydrated. I stuck with riding to work each day and long rides on the weekend for six weeks. I set a good pace, not letting my speed drop too low or go to fast.

I remember the pain in my legs and whether I had the capacity to get to the end. Today, I'm sore, tired and still a bit dehydrated. I remember it hurt and now the excitement and satisfaction of completing my first race has taken over. It was fun and I secretly loved every drama. I will race next year and look for similar challenges.


I enjoyed my short visit to Blayney, a quiet country town. The air was cold and filled with smoke from wood fires. I recommend Blayney's only pizza shop and its pubs. After the race I rode into Bathurst and cought the train back to Sydney.

I wish that I had taken photos of the start and during the race but I was too preoccupied. I like Blayney and I hope that the same faces will all be there next year.

The Murray, Mildura: 1-5 November 2005

I was inspired by the TV cooking series “Gondola on the Murray” on the ABC a few years ago and wanted to cycle amongst the grapevines like Stefano. Mildura is almost completely flat. I found the cycleways close to Mildura a bit disappointing as they didn't really seem to go anywhere but there were lots of more interesting rides, such as touring the wineries, Perry Sand Hills, Kings Billabong. I also wanted to visit Mungo National Park, one of New South Wales most spectacular inland parks and Mildura is the nearest town.


This was my first cycle tour and I wanted to learn as much as possible about long distance touring. Next time I will have a bike rack with panniers, as these are much better then a heavy backpack. Learn to do more basic repairs then just inner tubes, buy a lighter bike, buy better cycle clothing to protect myself from the sun and to reduce chaffing and develop the confidence to be self reliant even when travelling with other people, talk to the locals and find decent maps with proper grid references.

This ride was fun but too conservative, I am planning something much more exciting, longer and much more challenging.

Getting there

I chose to fly to Mildura. Qantas operate three flights a day from Melbourne airport. Rex runs the only daily direct flight to Mildura from Sydney but I chose Qantas because of their schedule and as I was taking my bike, their relatively generous baggage allowance. For those with a car addiction, you just can't leave it at home, the Silver City highway, Calder highway from Melbourne and Sturt highway all converge just above Mildura. Vline have a bus/train service (http://www.vline.com.au/) and of course you could ride there.

Cycleways and roads

There are many good cycleways on both sides of the Murray river however the local tourist information centre didn't have much information on these at the time I was there. I chose to head down to the river and discover them for myself but beware, stay on the cycleway. There are many vehicle tracks off to the side and few signs. Once you loose sight of the river it's surprisingly easy to get lost.

Mildura's roads are wide and straight and form a fairly strict grid pattern and include cycleways. Roads running north west-south east are numbered, for example Eleventh street and roads running north east-south west are named, for example Irymple avenue. Tourist brochures are rarely drawn to scale and most of the brochures I picked up tended to compress distances and leave out road names so buy a good map.

Hazards

I watched constantly overhead for magpies, they're crazy and were still swooping at pedestrians and cyclists in November. Also look out for psycho ute drivers, they're easy to pick, listen for a low revving engine and throbbing bass then get well out of the way.

What you need

Thorns and prickles accumulate on the packed clay and gravel cycleways around Mildura and on the cycleway beside the Silver City highway heading into Wentworth. Always take spares, at least two inner tubes and a puncture repair kit. Mildura has two good bike shops that stock everything you need including prickle resistant and self-healing inner tubes. Don't expect to find spares anywhere else, I couldn't get a spare inner tube even at Wentworth one of the larger towns in the area.

Never cycle anywhere without water. Mildura is hot from the beginning of November and on some of my rides the temperature reached 35+ Celsius. I always plan how much water I going to need very carefully and take my Hydropac/Camelback along for all rides over two hours or when riding on unfamiliar roads. So take about a litre for every hour that you expect to be on the road and include extra for rest breaks. Make sure you replace all lost fluids completely each day! Don't start the day with a deficit.

Day 1, 1 November

I dreaded the thought of packing my mountain bike into a box 30cm wide and 140cm long, the anticipated onlooking cold unhelpful faces as I struggled to pack my bike and baggage handlers that throw things. I prepared my bike the previous day and even rehearsed packing the box so that I had all the right tools and could deal with any problems that might come up on the day of the flight. There were none and Qantas check in staff even offered to help me!

I dropped my things at the motel and went to explore the town. Deakin avenue is wide and shady with a beautiful strip of gums and paper bark trees running down its centre. Small parrots and magpies fought with each other in the trees.

I found Stefano's Grand Hotel restaurant. It's Mildura's largest building at the river end of Langtree avenue. This area has lots of other restaurants and I ate here each night.

The tourist information centre is in the Alfred Deakin Centre, 180 Deakin avenue and have information on most of the national parks and state forests in the area, they organised a sunset tour of Mungo National Park for me with Harry Hanya Tours. (See Day 2 for details)

I put my bike together and headed for the river and rode towards Lock 11 continuing out past Apex park and returning along the same path just as the sun was starting to fade. Had dinner at Fasta Pasta in Langtree avenue, good cheap yummy food.

Day 2, 2 November

Today I rode to Kings Billabong which is about 7 kilometres from the centre of Mildura. Packed plenty of water about three litres and sunscreen. The fastest way to get there is to follow Eleventh street to its end and turn right into Cureton avenue. I stopped at the lookout on the left the view is spectacular. Just follow the signs. I found some interesting little tracks going off to the water's edge along the road into Psyche Bend. I had hoped to take the 4wd track from the pump to Bruce's Bend, however 4wds that use the track have made it impassable. I returned the way I came stopping at Woodsies Gem shop, rare for me. It was a good place to rest.

Harry Hanya tours picked me up from my motel. The bus looked a bit dodgy but it was the survivor of many bumpy journeys to Mungo National Park about 110 kilometres north east of Mildura. Our aboriginal guide took us through the shearing shed built by Chinese settlers 136 years ago. I watched the colour of the sand change on the Walls of China sipping champagne and listened to songs and poems from our guide as the sun went down.

Day 3, 3 November

I planned to tour the wineries on my bike but only made it to Salsbury Winery, Campbell avenue, the temperature climbed today. I returned to Mildura at midday and visited Mildura Arts Centre, 99 Cureton avenue to escape the heat. The Centre is attached to Rio Vista the home built by WB Chaffey in 1891 who founded Mildura's extensive irrigation system. I walked around the sculpture garden on the front lawn. This is no mere regional gallery it contains worthwhile important paintings and sculptures that are well recognised internationally.

I had a good dinner at Stefano's pizza café with a beer from Mildura brewery.

Day 4, 4 November (My Birthday)

I got an early start to prepare for my ride to Perrys Sand Hills 6 kilometres west of Wentworth. I crossed the river on the Stuart highway then veered left onto the Silver City highway at Buronga and turned left into River road. It is approximately 17 kilometres to Dareton along a very flat road. I slowed down to watch whistling kites soaring over the grapevines and orange orchards and for kangaroos hopping by the side of the road. I saw one very small brown snake by the roadside and another that had been squished by a car. If stopping look where you put your feet and don't walk into the bush on the side of the road.

Dareton is a very small older town halfway between Mildura and Wentworth. I stoped to use the shocking toilets. Yuk! It's a town that doesn't expect visitors. No bike spares here remember to get these at Mildura.

Along the road to Wentworth orange orchards and some small mixed market gardens replace grapevines.

After Dareton the road to Wentworth (approximately 12 kilometres remaining) begins to undulate and I came across a few long hills. I turned right at the end of River road to rejoin the Silver City highway, riding on the cycleway on the side of the road for the last 6 kilometres. Avoid this cycleway, it is a source of punctures and I realised when I got to Wentworth and speaking to one of the locals how lucky I was to only get one puncture. I changed the inner tube quickly but didn't have spare for my return trip.

Wentworth is another quiet country town at the junction of the Darling and Murray rivers. I rested under the old gum trees and watched the rivers flow into each other. I also visited Wentworth Gaol which contained many reminders of the cruelty administered to its inmates including the a tree where aboriginal inmates were tied up during the hottest part of the day.
I must remember to follow my own advice and have a few spare inner tubes and learn how to use a repair kit. I returned to Mildura I spent the afternoon buying beer, I was going to try all of Mildura's Brewary's varieties before going home tomorrow.

Day 5, 5 November

I could not leave Mildura without going on a paddle boat cruise along the Murray river. PS Melbourne was perfect and quite cute, this is a very slow way to travel and a good way to relax before the flight home.

I decided to dispose of my bike box at the hotel as the biked box was taking up too much space in the minivan that runs out to the airport. I called the airport the day before to reserve a new box. Packing my bike was easier, it look less than 8 minutes, however at Sydney airport I fumbled for a while.