Another Woods Point tour ...

After riding north to south from Wangaratta home to Melbourne via Jamieson and Woods Point last March, we decided to try the south to north route.

We started from Lilydale again rode to Reefton, Woods Point and Jamieson, and  and returned around the recently (last 2 years ?) sealed Eildon-Jamieson Rd and back via Marysville and the Acheron Way.

Veneto & The Dolomites Sept 2014: Part 2

The first 3 days of riding primed us with a few decent climbs and a 100+km day into Levico-Terme. We stayed at the relatively luxurious Hotel Sorisso, had another great dinner and rested up for the next day's possibilities. 

On Day 4 there was the option of an easy ride around the lakes or a climb into the nearby hills with Rich ....

Veneto & The Dolomites Sept 2014: Part 1

[photo: Rich Swenson]

It has finally come and, all too quickly, gone - my cycling trip to Veneto & the Dolomites with Veloski Sports Tours. These guys were recommended by a friend of a friend from work of Bernadette's .... long story. The short story is Larry and Davey from Veloski are the nicest guys and run a great trip!

I arrived a day early on Saturday 30th August (happy birthday to me...) and was picked up from Venice-Marco Polo airport, along with my roommate Rich Swenson (from Minnesota, USA). Rich proved to be a pretty good match as a roomie - entertaining, easy going, and with only as many quirky habits as me .... and happliy the rest of the group proved interesting and amiable company as well. riding with these guys was fun, and dinners were a very enjoyable finale to each day.

Buongiorno !!

Flying to Europe from Melbourne is always a long haul, but using a mid-east airline (Qatar Airways) involves a 14 hour flight MEL-Doha as the first sector. This gets 2/3 of it away in one hop but not sure how it'll be on the way home.

Anyway ..... I arrived in Venice without problem and was met at the airport by Larry and Davey from Veloski Tours and met my roomie Rich Swenson from Minnesota as well. Rich and I both arrived a day early and so on Sunday we took a warm up ride to Asolo and thereabouts to get set for the start of the tour proper on Monday.

Trip Training for Italy

Planning a cycling trip to Europe in September is exciting, but has one major drawback - you have to keep riding right through the winter in Melbourne ....

But it's not all bad, if you can pick your days. Since booking the trip - which will involve nearly 1000 kms in 13 rides over 14 days - mostly in the Dolomites - I have managed 2300 kms in 41 rides in 3 months ... sounds like enough doesn't it ... ?

Oh well, weather looks rubbish for the rest of this week then I have another 3 good weeks of riding to do before I taper off a little the week of my departure - when I probably should pack.

Today I varied things a bit and put the Fulcrum CX7 wheels/28c tyres on the 'new' GIANT Defy 1 and rode some windy hills around Park Orchards and South Warrandyte before looping back via the Main Yarra Trail and setting some wind assisted PBs in the process. Man, that thing flies - well... compared to the CAADX anyway.

Winter Ride in Melbourne

 Confluence of the Yarra and
Mullum-Mullum Creek

Retirement is tough but someone has to stand up to calls from Abbott&Hockey wanting everyone to work until they drop ... I volunteered 4 years ago, and I reckon I'm making a decent fist of it so far !

Italy: Venice and the Dolomites.

I've taken the plunge and booked a cycling trip for Sept 2014 to Italy. After lots of umming-and-aahhing, and an aborted trip in 2013 I'm heading into Venice on my 59th birthday for 2 weeks of riding the Veneto and the Dolomites.

There will be about 1100kms of riding and dawg knows how much climbing, but it's a great incentive for me to keep riding, stay fit amd maybe even lose a few kilos. I'll either come back riding like a champ or a completely broken man .... !!

I took the advice of a friend of a friend and chose Veloski Sports, a Seattle based tour company for the trip. Hopefully come October there will be several photo-laden posts on reddyneddy to remind me of a great trip into cycling nirvana.

You know winter is here when ...

.... your bike looks like this after a ride !!

Might be time to fit the mudguards methinks ...

Momma gets a bike !!

Bernie's new 2013 GIANT Rove 2

Remember this day - March 29, 2014 - as today we got Bernie her first ever bike. Yep at the ripe old age of 39 (?!?) Bernie has taken ownership of a new 2013 GIANT Rove 2, a women's specific hybrid model, sized and specced just right for her.

We hope that with regular practice (Bernie is a total novice ... ) she will be a competent and confident rider by next year when we head overseas.

We will get some local riding in over the Easter holidays and try to keep it going from there - I'm sure Bernie will quickly progress from cycling novice to mother superior !

Some more pics - Woods Point Tour

Here's some extra photos from the tour ...