Ah, those crazy Orica-GreenEDGE guys .....

These guys are clearly enjoying themselves on the Vuelta this year !!

Life in the old bike yet ....

10 years back I bought a secondhand road bike from a guy at work for $650.. The bike had an interesting history - it had been won as a prize by a women for whom it was too big, sold to a friend who rode it sparingly for about 12 months - he was more of an MTB man - then sold to me through an ad on the staff bulletin board.

That was 2002 or 2003, can't quite recall which, and the bike was less than 2 years old and, to my eyes, the most fabulous piece of machinery I had ever set eyes on.

18C means head for the hills !

A sunny day in early August means a ride to the Dandenongs ! Getting to Sassafras via the Koonung, Mullum, Eastlink and Dandenong Creek Trails means 40kms of ups and downs (mostly ups ...) and a mini cherry cheescake and large hot chokky is ample reward for the effort ... well, in my opinion anyway.....

A Touch of Spring in the Air...?

I originally had something else on the agenda today but .... having missed riding the 2 previous days with other commitments I ditched my plans and went riding instead !!

And what a day ! A real touch of Melbourne spring in the air, and I stiched a couple of regular routes together for a 57 km loop which finished with the run down the Main Yarra Trail which I like so much.

Tikalara Park at the confluence of Mullum Mullum Ck and the Yarra River..... 

Minor Obstruction on the Mullum Trail today...

It's a good thing I was taking it easy today as I rolled around a gentle bend between Reynold's and Warrandyte Rd to find this tree down across the path....

Darwin & Kakadu, July 2012

With Tim now resident in Darwin we took the opportunity to visit, and head off on a 5day/4night trip to Kakadu & Katherine Gorge with Adventure Tours.

We had an awesome time on the tour, a good friendly bunch of 16, and a top driver/guide in Ryan, a young guy from 20kms north of Yarrawonga doing a great job in NT now.

Mt Donna Buang the back way ....!

Justin and I rode backwards (that is, clockwise) up Mt Donna Buang today. Started from Mt Evelyn, up Don Rd, turned right, ignored the Road Closed sign and headed up the dirt road to join the road up from Warby near the summit. A chilly descent via Cement Ck (where we saw a lyrebird casually stroll across the road ahead .... ) was followed by pie and hot chocolate at Warby before the run back along the trail to Mt Evelyn.

Strava Multiple Ride Mapper

A clever web app from Strava Multiple Ride Mapper allows you to display multiple rides on the one map. Here is a map of my rides for the last 6 months, except the Audax Alpine rides which were up around Bright, NE Victoria. - no wonder I'm always tired these days !!

....no riding today !!

Someone must have cleaned their bike in Melbourne yesterday ... or washed the car, I guess !!

Beyond the Dandenong Ranges

There is so much good riding so close to home - and a great day for it as well. A solid 100+km/1500m ride in perfect conditions. 


Taking a breather along Macclesfield Rd ... Mt Donna Buang beyond in the distance.