Post by robt on Nov 24, 2020 14:00:34 GMT
Introductory note: This post and thread were spawned from the 'Touring Tents' thread. Please add tales and photos of your own cycle journeys (long or short, on Viscount or other bike) to give us all inspiration for our own post-lockdown adventures in 2021. Thanks! RobT.
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on Flickr
My Easter 2019 trip to Australia was a fabulous adventure. My brother, Vaughan, & I flew (with my 1995 Raleigh M-Trax 150 as luggage) from Birmingham the day after my 60th birthday, and we arrived into Melbourne in time to spend the weekend there watching the F1 Grand Prix with my son (who lives in Sydney) and an old workmate of mine. We spent the following week driving and sightseeing along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide, where my old workmate lives. Vaughan flew home from Adelaide (taking any luggage that I could manage without) and I caught The Overland train from Adelaide back to Melbourne, then a local train up to Tallarook. As a 're-purposed' railway route, the Great Victorian Rail Trail is mercifully short of steep climbs, which I was very thankful for, given the load I was hauling and, I later discovered, my woefully under-inflated tyres. The view along the trail is mostly like this:
Rail trail view by RMT@261, on Flickr
With more impressive moments like this:
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on Flickr
and this, provided by a delightful wayside cafe proprietor who'd moved from Bolton.
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on Flickr
I cycled the full length of the trail, including the Alexandra leg, to Mansfield, from where I headed north on roads to Benalla and Wangaratta. Mixing with traffic on the roads wasn't anywhere near as relaxing as the rail trail, so I was glad to arrive at the Big4 North Cedars holiday park towards the end of my first week's riding, having enjoyed very pleasant Australian autumn weather - temperatures in the mid-teens to low '20s (Centigrade) and very little wind or rain.
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on Flickr
My original plan was to carry on cycling for the second and third weeks, through/over the Snowy Mountains and Canberra, then along the coast up to Sydney. My son agreed to meet me at the weekends, so he set off on the Friday morning for the 9-hour drive down from Sydney to Bright, where we'd booked our weekend accommodation, as I woke in Wangaratta to very heavy rain (which is generally a cause for great celebration in Australia!). I took a good while to pack up and summon the courage to ride into the storm, and had managed a total of 12 miles before my son intercepted my route at Everton and offered me a lift to Bright, which I gratefully accepted.
a52e9efa-35ff-4c5f-b67f-5ac183f09277 by RMT@261, on Flickr
I spent the weekend enjoying my son's company and considered my options after he'd taken me for a drive up my planned route into the Snowy Mountains. As with many Australian place names, it carries a clue with it.
These hardy souls were taking part in the Bright Brewery Sportive:
DSC00183 by RMT@261, on Flickr
While this was the car's instruments' view of the world:
It’s cold outside! by RMT@261, on Flickr
James and I agreed that it would be sensible for me to travel back to Sydney with him and save him another very long round trip to Canberra the following weekend so, with some regret, I packed the bike and all my kit into the car and we headed North. Possibly my best decision of 2019.
The planned second and third weeks of my adventure weren't wasted, as I visited both the Blue Mountains and the coastal route to Wollongong from Sydney on my bike.
Hanging Rock by RMT@261, on Flickr
Wollongong by RMT@261, on Flickr
and spent a couple of days visiting Canberra by train. If you're ever there, make sure you visit the fantastic National War Memorial and the BentSpoke Brewing Company which is also fantastic, but in a different way.
Vaughan, my wife and my daughter flew out to Sydney for the Easter fortnight and we had a great time together to finish off my 6-week trip, including the humbling ANZAC Day dawn service at Terrigal. I feel so fortunate to have been able to make the trip.
Untitled by RMT@261, on Flickr
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on FlickrMy Easter 2019 trip to Australia was a fabulous adventure. My brother, Vaughan, & I flew (with my 1995 Raleigh M-Trax 150 as luggage) from Birmingham the day after my 60th birthday, and we arrived into Melbourne in time to spend the weekend there watching the F1 Grand Prix with my son (who lives in Sydney) and an old workmate of mine. We spent the following week driving and sightseeing along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide, where my old workmate lives. Vaughan flew home from Adelaide (taking any luggage that I could manage without) and I caught The Overland train from Adelaide back to Melbourne, then a local train up to Tallarook. As a 're-purposed' railway route, the Great Victorian Rail Trail is mercifully short of steep climbs, which I was very thankful for, given the load I was hauling and, I later discovered, my woefully under-inflated tyres. The view along the trail is mostly like this:
Rail trail view by RMT@261, on FlickrWith more impressive moments like this:
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on Flickrand this, provided by a delightful wayside cafe proprietor who'd moved from Bolton.
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on FlickrI cycled the full length of the trail, including the Alexandra leg, to Mansfield, from where I headed north on roads to Benalla and Wangaratta. Mixing with traffic on the roads wasn't anywhere near as relaxing as the rail trail, so I was glad to arrive at the Big4 North Cedars holiday park towards the end of my first week's riding, having enjoyed very pleasant Australian autumn weather - temperatures in the mid-teens to low '20s (Centigrade) and very little wind or rain.
Rail trail bike trip by RMT@261, on FlickrMy original plan was to carry on cycling for the second and third weeks, through/over the Snowy Mountains and Canberra, then along the coast up to Sydney. My son agreed to meet me at the weekends, so he set off on the Friday morning for the 9-hour drive down from Sydney to Bright, where we'd booked our weekend accommodation, as I woke in Wangaratta to very heavy rain (which is generally a cause for great celebration in Australia!). I took a good while to pack up and summon the courage to ride into the storm, and had managed a total of 12 miles before my son intercepted my route at Everton and offered me a lift to Bright, which I gratefully accepted.
a52e9efa-35ff-4c5f-b67f-5ac183f09277 by RMT@261, on Flickr I spent the weekend enjoying my son's company and considered my options after he'd taken me for a drive up my planned route into the Snowy Mountains. As with many Australian place names, it carries a clue with it.
These hardy souls were taking part in the Bright Brewery Sportive:
DSC00183 by RMT@261, on FlickrWhile this was the car's instruments' view of the world:
It’s cold outside! by RMT@261, on FlickrJames and I agreed that it would be sensible for me to travel back to Sydney with him and save him another very long round trip to Canberra the following weekend so, with some regret, I packed the bike and all my kit into the car and we headed North. Possibly my best decision of 2019.
The planned second and third weeks of my adventure weren't wasted, as I visited both the Blue Mountains and the coastal route to Wollongong from Sydney on my bike.
Hanging Rock by RMT@261, on FlickrWollongong by RMT@261, on Flickr and spent a couple of days visiting Canberra by train. If you're ever there, make sure you visit the fantastic National War Memorial and the BentSpoke Brewing Company which is also fantastic, but in a different way.
Vaughan, my wife and my daughter flew out to Sydney for the Easter fortnight and we had a great time together to finish off my 6-week trip, including the humbling ANZAC Day dawn service at Terrigal. I feel so fortunate to have been able to make the trip.
Untitled by RMT@261, on Flickr
