Beach path

First day in Melbourne was off to a great start! 
It was hot over 35 C! What better place to be than down on the bay.

I know I'm falling into some very familiar habits but visiting certain places has become a more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane, this little ritual is beginning to forge new memories of my old hangouts. This time I thought I'd extend my range and continue along the beach trail to Mordialoc.

It's such an easy journey on the train. I can cycle to the local train station, take my bike on the train, change lines at Flinders Street (hoicking my bike up the stairs or escalator) complete my train ride at Sandringham and the beach!

The obligatory homage to the Cerberus can be assumed but on a hot day the beach at Half Moon Bay is crowded and somewhat unpleasant with jetskis buzzing around. Busy days here should be avoided. The water gathers a sheen of oily residue from all the sunscreen and coconut scented tanning oil! It really can be disgusting... on the other hand if you're worried about getting burned you can just take a quick dip in the shallows and step out with an even coating of whatever sun-resistant slime happens to be the flavor of the day.

I didn't swim at the Cerberus but decided to explore the coast a little further. The beach road bicycle path passes some fairly interesting little spots and there are a few secluded beaches along the way that don't see nearly as many oil drenched sun bathers. I managed to find a path to the base of the Bluff in front of the Great Southern Hotel where a bunch of pelicans weren't too perturbed by my presence. I had that little space all to myself.

Although I'd been to Black Rock before I hadn't realized just how interesting it would be under water. I had a refreshing swim here and the water was quite clear. I didn't go snorkeling but could easily see that this rocky outcrop with it's sponges and water plants would be a fantastic place to explore.

Wanting to get home before dark I ended my tour at Mordialoc just before the river inlet. I turned around and headed back the way I had come. Rather than catch the train I planned to ride all the way back to Flinders Street Station along the coast. I totally recommend this ride! The path is really well designed some sections even have separate paths for bicycles and pedestrians! 

Plenty of weird and wonderful things to see along the way, not so much in terms of natural beauty but stuff of human creativity and just the humans in general. There's a lot of them and they like to get out and be seen. There are a lot of posers at the beach and they are all so beautiful and ugly at the same time. It's a kind of magic that inspires the primal desire to compete or contempt... ;) 

Being a week day the path became quite busy after 4pm. Cyclists on road bikes come barreling down on you and I noticed several pedestrians become unnerved as a lycra  clad hero wooshed past them at high speed. Thankfully all the bicycle traffic was heading out of town so I didn't have to worry about being constantly overtaken or getting in anyone's way. I was pretty much free to plod along slowly gawking at the freaks, the mansions, the yachts and the posers. 

When I arrived at the station I was able to walk straight through the doors of my train, which departed two minutes later. Made it home with daylight to spare.

Another great day.

Forage abundance

Mobile again.

Last year I was given the news that I would have the opportunity to travel to Geelong to assist with a work conference. I couldn't believe my luck. My family all live in Melbourne, I could spend a couple of days with them  before heading to Geelong.

Whenever I am in Melbourne and don't have the responsibility of managing travel for a family, bicycle is my preferred mode of transport.
Melbourne is a treasure trove of old neighborhoods, lanes and parklands that are really great to explore on a bike. 

$20 bike + $10 backpack (1960s vintage) preparing for commute

As an affirmation of my freedom I always prefer to leave the airport on foot or by bicycle. Several times I have acclimatized to the Melbourne environment by walking from the airport to my sister's place in Kialba, once I tried walking to my parents place but I have to admit my fitness wasn't quite up to scratch and the detours I'd taken added too many foot miles to my trip so I bailed with only a few km to go.

Melb Airport - Fawkner - Watsonia

This time I took an old bike with me and cycled the Western Ring Road, the same path I'd tried walking a couple of years earlier. Riding was infinitely easier and sections which were previously under construction are now open.

 

After putting the bike together the hardest part of the journey is actually finding a way out of the madness that is the airport carpark and associated roads! While a lot of Melbourne infrastructure is fairly bicycle friendly, the Airport is definitely not!

Although exiting the airport is a bit of tenuous task, once on the ring road the ride becomes much simpler and far more enjoyable.

An example of how cycle paths can be incorporated into existing infrastructure 

Cycling to me is not about sport or fitness, it's just something I do for the sheer joy of it! Basically I get a buzz out of moving in that elusive space between traffic and pedestrian, somewhere in the grey area where registration and insurance don't yet venture, where money does not determine your mobility and alternate routes are the norm!

I love the freedom of being able to explore at a leisurely pace while traveling, virtually free, a journey that would cost me over $50 in a taxi or over $20 on the stupid airport shuttle that would only dump me at a train station where I'd still have to travel back out to where I needed to be.

My favorite part about this ride is the abundance of food that grows along land connected to the ring road. Both wild edible weeds and garden plants that overhang the fences.

Fennel

Scottish thistle (terrible weed but pretty and edible)

Blackberries are spreading again, yes they  are invasive, if kept trimmed they provide good tucker

 

Plums overhanging fence

Opportunistic gardens. I have no qualms about taking fruit that overhangs fences but chose not to touch these gardens as they were very well cared for and obviously of higher value to the owner.

There are so many treasures and so much beauty in the smallest of things. If you travel by bicycle, with your eyes and heart open, chances are you will discover treasures that only a cyclist can know.

At this time of year there's a lot of fruit to be found, much of it is still ripening but I was fortunate to find enough ripened fruit to have a reasonable feed. 
By the time I reached my destination I had a belly full of fruit, both wild and domestic! 
Blessed is the life of a Gleaner and a forager.

Following the scent

For 20 years I've lived in Darwin NT. I came there by accident, needed a change of scene from life in Melbourne and decided it was as good a place as any to make a space for living.

One thing led to another, l set down roots, took on social responsibilities, studied, fell in love, got married, had a couple of beautiful children, and before I knew it I had become a long term resident. I have a very strong feeling for the Top End, the environment and the people, particularly those I've met and worked with in Arnhem Land... But something keeps calling me 'Home'. 

What is Home? Well like they say it's '...where the Heart is.' My home is with my family, my wife and kids. But I still have a strong connection to the place of my birth and, where I grew up. My extended family, the Landscape, places I spent my youth, these memories keep calling me back. The places.  The narrow stretch of land, remnant bushland between housing developments which follows the course of the Plenty River, the smell of dry grass in summer, the potent oily resin of eucalyptus, magpies, the coast, Port Philip Bay. 

Whenever I come back to this place I like to find connection with the land, as I get older I am searching for those friends who managed to survive our youth and lost years in between. I see my family, siblings, nieces, nephews and my parents. I try to help them with the manual stuff around the house which they are finding too difficult to manage on their own.

The ticket says 'REAR STANDING' But with the Bos on stage it was UpFront Dancing!

 

I made this trip with one specific thing in mind. To see the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert! Due to lack of finances in 1985 I missed out on the concert, which I believe 'Went Off!'. I have been a devoted listener to Springsteen's music ever since that time so when I found out he was coming to Australia this year I made the snap decision (with approval from my wife) to get down to Melbourne and see him. This could very well be the last chance. He is 67 years old! 

(No offense to my religious friends but for me this was a 'spiritual experience')

THE HEAR OF A LION!

So now that I'm here in between catching up with family and helping my parents around the house, I'm trying to squeeze in as many adventures as I can before I return to Darwin.

So far I have been blessed to spend half a day with my nephews on the day the eldest started his first day of school. I rode my bike along a section of the Maribyrnong River and visited Ceres without falling off my bike and breaking my neck (again)!

Overlooking the Maribyrnong River valley after a hard climb

Fixing bikes with George and some handy kids at Ceres

 I wove my way through the inner urban heartland of Melbourne, enjoying the strange fusion of old neighborhoods transformed by inflated property prices and wealthy investors, yuppies and those odd looking marvels of cultural appropriation... pseudo-craft flogging Hipsters!

St George's Rd bike path... (They were in the process of cutting down trees)

Blackberries (Not cultivated but left to grow)

A pear, too woody to eat but there were plenty of other fruits hanging from trees

Somewhere among mess of people and groovy new development I found a few remaining thresholds of first generation European immigrant Australians (mostly Italian and Greek I reckon) who still maintained their beautiful front yard  veggie gardens and bountiful fruit trees which in some places, hang over the fence into the street.

Had dinner with my little brother and spent some quiet time with mum and dad... (occasional rants at the TV news aside)  

Front yard food

Sat in my favorite spot on the Plenty river, where time stands still and the spirit of my youth and ghost of a lost friend reside.

I felt he was speaking to me.... "You Shall Not Pass!

My new secondhand travel rig. Love this bike!

A glimpse of my special place

 

Unfortunately attended the funeral of a member of our extended family who was taken far too soon, then went and visited my aunt at Indented Heads, cherishing the lives of those still with us. I sat a while at Port Pier contemplating time and purpose on this earth and how to best honor it.

Fish'n off the pier at Port

When my ship comes in

Visited a couple of lifelong friends in Ballarat, it was so great to re-connect after so many years. One of them, my cuz has cancer, it has caused her a lot of suffering over the past couple of years. I was so grateful for the brief reunion that I was oblivious to the fact that they'd just sat down to watch the first televised game of Women's football! Woops!

The following day I caught the train back to Geelong and cycled the Bellarine rail trail from Geelong to Queenscliff

 

Bike on a path (bracken and hay behind)

Bike beside rails

Cruised across the bay on a ferry

Big boat that opens up and cars drive in! (only $11 to cross with a bicycle)

Toured the bay side of the Mornington Peninsula from Sorento to Rosebud and yesterday spent a day with my oldest mate and his family in Rosebud before cycling on to Frankston station just in time to beat the flooding rain! 

Laughing Kookaburra in an enormous ancient coastal Banksia tree @ Rosebud foreshore

Bike in the foreground Swans to the rear

Regatta - Safety Beach, Mount Martha

Dudes jumping in the sea

So far it's been great except for one major detail, I have left my family at home in Darwin and I miss them.

Graphic wall art Bundoora Concord

A ride: Around Cox Peninsula

This morning I was up at 4:45 and out the door by 5:30am. On my way to do my occasional ride around Darwin harbour. 

The Plan: 

According to this map the ride will be as follows. Start at somewhere around map 8, cut through 12, 13 and 14 continue through 20 through to Stuart Highway (green line) follow green line through 21, 27 and 34. Turn right at the Red line (Cox Peninsula Rd) continue through 33, 32 and 31 then continue on red line through the places that appear as nothing more than a line on a page until Mandorah (Insert map 31), catch boat across blue bit back to 16 then continue home through 10, 6 and 7 back to 8.... And that's it. - It's not a new ride for me. It's pretty much the only long distance round trip available in Darwin without covering the same ground. I just thought I'd post the rout in terms of our local street directory because it just about covers every map in the book.

I didn't check the weather report but was hoping there'd be a bit of rain about. I checked the moon cycle and we had quite a full moon until after dawn which is always good for early morning or night cycling. Full moon and clear skies are good conditions for night riding... but the clear skies aren't such a good thing when cycling through the heat of the day in the tropics.

End of cycle path, about to join Stuart Highway. (Moon top right)

It was a pleasant ride to Howard Springs Rd along the cycle path, I even had some company for part of the journey. A guy on a road bike was behind me for a km or two, he had an extremely bright headlight which overpowered my puny torch and projected a surreal shadow of me onto the path and surrounding trees right in front of us. I wish I could have filmed it, it looked amazing and entertained me until he decided to overtake. Once he passed me I tucked into his slipstream and coasted most of the rest of the way to Howard Springs Rd, where my temporary travel companion/projectionist turned back. I don't feel too bad about tailing him, he was on a slick bike and I had a few kgs of stuff in my panniers. (Big thanks to you mate whoever you were)

Although the sky was clear it was humid. The grass was wet at home and by the time I'd reached the Stuart Highway my whole body was already dripping with sweat. Damn! Now that I've got a pair of those fancy padded lycra pants, today would have been a good day to wear them, I could already feel the chaffing bite.

The Stuart Highway from Howard Springs to the Cox Peninsula road was predictably hazardous. Several road trains passed me, which can be a fairly intimidating experience but they are usually very responsible drivers and rarely do anything stupid or dangerous, the worst is always the arrogant drivers in V8s or Work trucks who, despite the lack of traffic around them insist on speeding past cyclists as close as they can. Plenty of those on the road this morning.

Insect houses are big in the NT

Just out of Coolalinga I saw a guy pedalling in the opposite direction with trailer load of gear, It looked like all his worldly possessions plus recyclable bottles he'd collected. I'd actually seen him the night before at Palmerston, it's quite an unmistakable rig. I crossed the highway to go and say g'day but he wasn't much into chatting so I headed back in my original direction, it was getting late and I wasn't looking forward to riding in the sun. Unfortunately the sun had begun to rise as I pulled into the Noonamah service station. I'd prefer to get some of the Cox Peninsula Rd out of the way before the sun came up and it was looking like an unusually clear day.

Me and the Avanti taking a break at Blackmore River, Cox Peninsula Rd.

I stopped at the Blackmore Rive bridge for the obligatory 1/2 way photo and rest, it's become a bit of a ritual over the past few years, but this year I'm on a different bike. The Shogun has a flat tyre and the bottom bracket is getting quite rough. By now it was starting to warm up, I guzzled a some water and wondered why on such a long ride I would choose to wear a sleeveless vest and not bring sunscreen!

From here on, as usual the ride became decidedly harder. It's not the terrain, it's more the fact that I'd already ridden about 60km, my back had started aching, I was getting tired and the heat of the sun had started to take it's toll. After another 1/2 hour of riding I was bonked! Had to stop and eat. Macaroni and cheese leftovers picked me up heaps but without cloud cover the sun was just sapping all my energy. I could feel my skin sizzling and knew I'd stuffed up bad.

I finally made it to Beleuen and discovered that the store was actually open. There was only another 10km to go but by now I was feeling dehydrated and was really dragging my feet. I've called in there so many times to find it closed. Not today! Stepping in the door I was greeted by a slushy machine! Drank half an orange slushy sitting at the picnic table outside Beleuin store and took the rest with me for the final leg.

Nearly at my destination I had a minor crash on. On the last few kms from Wagait beach to the Mandorah jetty there's a bicycle path. If you ever do this ride be very careful when leaving the road to enter the bike path. All the dirt and grit from the unpaved gutter washes out onto the beginning of the path. It's deep enough for the front wheel to lose traction. I approached the path on a slight angle, the front wheel slipped and I ended up sliding on my  side a couple of meters with the bike on top of me. No great damage done just a few grazes, my pannier got a bit ripped but the bike was OK.

Mandorah Jetty - Low tide

There was an hour wait for the ferry so wandered down to the sea and washed the gravel and grit of my elbow and knee. By now I had become aware just how burned I was. Even though I'd done the bulk of the ride there was still one more leg to do. The ride from the city back home to the northern suburbs... Another 15 km, I'd rather not ride. As usual this part was slow and painful, I had a headache and when I finally arrived I was totally spent (as usual). All in all a good way to punish myself out of the funk I'd been in for the past few weeks. 

Comfortable ride across the sea

Happy cycling!

In the cool we ride

Here in the Top End of Australia the humidity and heat can make outdoor activities very uncomfortable, fortunately though we get relief when the Monsoons arrive.

On Wednesday last week (New Year’s Eve) they arrived and things have cooled down a lot. Although the monsoon brings a lot of rain, there are also quite long spells between downpours and if you can get the timing right you could discover that this is the absolute best time of all for cycling. The weather is cool, the roads and cycle paths aren’t so crowded with tourists and, unless there’s a cyclone brewing, there isn’t much wind around.

My mate Michael, who suffers from some fairly serious lumber pain prefers to ride a single speed beach cruiser with ape hanger handle bars, which gives him a very upright riding position. I have a cruiser myself which I love but I tend only to use it as a delivery bike during election campaigns these days.
With Michael daring to ride further afield each week I’ve had the opportunity over the Christmas Break to join him. To keep the pace fair, I’ve decided to ‘join the club’ and ride my single as well.



Our ride last Friday was a 50km round trip, most of which was along bicycle paths until we reached the back blocks of Howard Springs. I forgot to bring a water bottle, something I would never have gotten away with in the dry season… or on a hotter day.

Great Vic. A bike ride... Part VII

Day 3 - 1st December 2014

Yackandandah - Bright

Got the routine down pat. Up super early (5:30am) Pack up sleeping gear, prepare bike for ride, eat breakfast early to avoid the crowd, pack up tent and stow gear in truck.... Start riding 6:45am!

Big ride today! There's a big lump of rock between Yackandandah and Bright and it ain't moving!

It was a hot day, good riding felt a lot stronger by now and was finally over my dehydration but tired from not enough sleep. The events of the various days rides are becoming foggy to me now but here's a few highlights.

Following the road from right to left. The uphill started just off screen and ended before the first white dot on the blue line.. The whole rest of the way was downhill! Sweeeet ride!

After a long and beautiful ride along the Kiewa Valey Highway we took a sharp right turn onto the infamous Tawonga Gap Road....!! Which makes a serious incline over the mountain range separating Bright from Mount Beauty. Up up up... we rode. A lot of people started walking outright at the beginning of the road. I dreaded the thought of giving up too soon so I shifted to a low gear and peddled on. No one was passing me and after about a km I stopped passing other riders, we just strained and pushed, heaving one rotation of the chain-ring after the next. Finally I stopped riding, pulled over and had a drink. After the first stop and as I became tireder the temptation to stop became greater until it seemed I was stopping for a rest every 500 metres... (I'm sure I was riding further than that but not much) oddly as frequently as I was stopping not many passed me. Everyone struggled on this hill! 

Going up? (7km climb - 20km descent)

Sweet cool water for your climb

Yep! I wore the cycle gear!

Toward the top of the hill a group of us stopped at Lawler Spring, where sweet fresh water flows from the ground. 

Musical encouragement

At the top of the hill we were met with a juice jug band and jelly beans! 

Google maps describes the site as German Town, Tawonga Gap Rd but there is no town, just a lookout. From that point on we had a 20km down hill ride all the way into Bright! Orright!

Bits of rim metal not a good look for downhill breaking!

Top speed riding down the hill 67.5 km/h. Coulda gone a lot faster but my breaks were dodgy and I'd only replaced the front ones back in Yack... so it so chances of a prang were pretty high at faster speed. Managed most 35 - 45 km/h corners at 50. A couple of riders came off on the downhill and the Police had to start regulating groups descending. I was lucky to have a free ride down and not have to follow a police bike.

Unloading semitrailer No.5

My tent before the rain

Taking refuge from the storm

Being among the first to leave camp in the morning and having made it to the top of the hill on reasonable time I made Bright fairly early, in time to unload the truck and set up camp before rain.

I watched people ride in the rain. Latecomers had to ride in the Hail.

On that night I was lucky enough to go to sleep in warm dry tent in the middle of a very damp paddock.