Monaro Cloudride. Maybe next year.

Well I finally made it out of Canberra and back to civilisation where I can access a computer. I have had lots and lots of thoughts and scribbled many of them down using old fashioned pen and paper in the time that I have had. I should start by saying that I did have an awesome time out there and enjoyed it much more than I had either anticipated or what follows may indicate.

Some random thoughts to start with because I don't really know where they fit.

1. I really struggled for motivation before this ride. I had put my hand up and paid for airfares a long time ago and that was as committed as I got. Have been really enjoying the riding I have been doing down here with the Audax and Hobart Gravel Grinders crews but I haven't done any training or ramp up in kilometres or anything serious like that. I suspect I really should have shown this race far more respect.

2. My body was really great for the two days I was out there which hasn't always been the case. Looked after my tender bits early instead of waiting to feel the pain. Didn't push myself at all when I was out there. There was no sprinting or racing or pushing harder up the hills. It was real old man cycling where you pick the right gear and the right tempo everytime and ride patiently but with an ever present sense of urgency.

3. I didn't take a sleeping bag or tent. Probably controversial but would consider doing exactly the same thing again for this race. Watch the weather forecast and take calculated risks. I had my bivy bag and an emergency blanket as well as all of my cycling clothing, down vest and beanie. I was certainly warm enough both nights I was out there. I don't know how sustainable such a strategy may be in the long term but it worked for a couple of nights. I did rip the emergency blanket on the second night getting out of my bivvy but I carried electrical tape as part of my emergency bike repair kit which would have fixed that.

4. I was more light weight than anyone which makes a big difference, particularly on this course with the cruel amount of climbing and hike a bike. The bike itself is the only place to sensibly lose more weight. I would love some uber light weight carbon rims and my Rohloff hub weighs much more than a 1x setup.

5. This really is an eating competition and eat early and eat often. You need to take a huge amount of food with you from the start line. There is no where to resupply prior to Nimitabel which I didn't reach until 1PM on day two. That is a lot of food to carry. I avoided sugar and lollies this time and  what a revelation. I never had the darkness descend. I did have a bag of dried pineapple which is probably just pure sugar and a good handful of dried figs. Wish I had taken more salad rolls with me as proper food.

Keep going, keep going, keep going. I did want to finish quickly, mainly because I did not want to be out there for 8 or 9 days hurting myself. Better to get it over with in 5 or 6 and get down to dads to recover. Most people were better cyclists than me, particularly on the downhills where I am ultra cautious. Get your tempo right and try not to stop. Just keep moving forward, progress happens. There was lots of hike a bike in this which I was concerned about before hand. Just do it. Accept it and do it. It was more fun than I had anticipated, just know that hike a bike eats everyone's time and not just yours. Maybe the huge amount of hike a bike was why my legs and arse were still feeling so good after two big days. Make sure your cycling shoes and socks are suitable for hike a bike.

My race experience. Fell behind early as I always seem to. The first couple of kilometres Calvin and Patrick set a cracking pace up front and maybe half the field tried to hang on, I was not one of them. I understand why they race like that but I never know if it would be the right thing for me or not. If bikepacking was a boxing match, trying to keep up with these guys in the early kilometres would be like letting the other guy punch you in the head half a dozen times before the opening bell.

I didn't push myself at any stage, maybe I should have. Acutely aware that most of these guys would have more straight line speed but a week is a long time to ride your bike. However you like doing it, maximise your strengths. I was passing everyone for the rest of the day, with the exception of the two Americans who were in a different league.

It did rain for most of the first day and when the rain stopped we were still enveloped in a really thick fog. Others have complained about nothing getting a chance to dry because of the fog but wear good wet weather kit and you are usually a bit wet due to perspiration. Build a bridge people, kind of what happens out there.

There is no where to resupply on day one. If you want to eat it, you have to take it with you. Hot Cross Buns compact really well, are tasty and calorie dense. I did have a can of coke handed to me by the wife of one of the riders out there on course for him. Wish I had a support crew out there to bring me salad rolls but always kind of thought it was contrary to most of the point of this race. The heavily introverted like getting away from everyone and you don't achieve that introspective Zen state if your other half shows up every 100km.

With the rain there was thick gear jamming mud. Glad I had the Rohloff and it's single speed chain line. Carry chain lube and a rag. I didn't have a rag but used my long pants which was probably not the optimal situation. I am not sponsored or anything like that but Pro-link chain lube is excellent for bikepacking purposes with no fuss application.

On one of the crazy steep descents, a rock or stick slammed into my front brake, pushing it out of alignment so that the housing was preventing the rotor from moving freely, causing a mighty racket. In my addled and frustrated state, I couldn't see what the problem was or how to fix it. About 10 minutes later Nijat as the next rider pulled up and had a look and immediately spotted the problem. It took me maybe 15 more minutes to fiddle with things and get things aligned properly.

Then there was some very conservative riding with me not trusting the front brakes. The real consequence of this was with all the mud and grime, I totally used up the rear brakes by the end of the day so only had the front brakes which I didn't really trust on the vicious downhills. I spent about 10 minutes in the good light and clear head space at Numarella tennis courts early on day 2 and sorted both front and rear brakes out properly. Made a huge difference and felt a huge buzz of achievement about having fixed something that went wrong. I probably did it quickly and at the right time. Feel the positives, take your wins.

Did I stop too early on day 1? At the time there is no answer for this. I wanted to reach Numarella on day 1, which really should be achievable if everything goes right. As it was, I was in outright third position and no one passed me overnight as I slept. I would have been happy to ride through the night to reach Numarella but my GPS was playing up and I was lost in a guys paddock unable to find the track I was supposed to be riding on. The path was very indistinct and hard to follow and I kept running into huge swathes of bracken and downed trees completely blocking my path.

It was only 11PM when I pulled up stumps and with daylight savings finishing that evening, I was going to get an extra hour overnight. I was maybe a little frustrated and not thinking straight so very quickly made the call to get some sleep and have a better look in the morning hopefully a bit more rested. I fell asleep really quickly but was woken up about 3AM by noise, there was no wind and heavy fog. I thought it was another rider but was instead just a wombat. Noisy bastard.

I couldn't fall back asleep so packed up my stuff and was moving again by 3.30AM. I was feeling really good and found the path I was supposed to be on reasonably quickly. Once I was cycling again it was a very quick ride into Numarella and wish I had done that on the first night. Reality is that you can't fix that.

In one of the best cycling books that I have read (The Rider), Tim Krabbe writes, "On a bike your consciousness is small, the harder you work, the smaller it gets. Every thought that arises is immediately and utterly true, every unexpected event is something you'd known all along but had only forgotten for a moment." It does get very like that. I know that Tim Krabbe is writing about being limited or propelled by your thoughts and understandings. Did I stop too soon? The truth is in that I did stop in that guys paddock, the rest is in how I adapt and evolve around that situation.

You spend a lot of time with your own thoughts and your own version of the truth out there and that is probably pretty much what I write about. The guys up the front and those way behind experienced a different truth. I suspect big training rides help prepare for this. Learn a bit about your mind and whether to allow a thought pattern to continue to evolve or whether it is time to find that circuit breaker. I do a lot of maths, always very simple, times tables learnt in early primary school by rote instead of understanding.

Also counting in an OCD way in tempo with my cadence. I sometimes get stuck on numbers, Having started at one and reached eighty but skipping back to seventy until I reach eighty again. Back to seventy and through to eighty. Sometimes it is just two numbers, 97-98, 97-98, 97-98, never reaching 99. Then you realise and start obsessing about 99 and it's quirks. 99 symmetry. 99 Luft ballons. Barbara Weldon. You need to find a way to skip past the skip in the vinyl. Reset at 1 or 12 or 142, doesn't matter, it is like breathing again after holding your breath for a short time.

I left Numarella prior to 7AM and was feeling great even though I missed a turn and powered down a big hill that I then needed to ride back up. I had fixed the bike and refilled water bottles and found the tennis club house to make myself a couple of cups of coffee. I knew I was in outright third, making good process and suspected everyone behind me was only just rising from slumber. Numarella is a beautiful little town and I was feeling very appreciative of the tennis club for opening up for us smelly cyclists. Very trusting. They could probably make some money if they stocked the fridge with wagon wheels or mint patties.

Following Tyre Tracks. During the Tour Divide, the tyre tracks weren't always obvious, maybe roads were much better over there, or there was thicker mud due to the rain over here? I was following Calvin and Patricks tyres for the whole of my ride. I was very aware of my own progress and pace but these other tyre tracks told of aggressive downhill lines and mad skills to just make the cornering at speeds I could only dream of and on the steep uphill where I was either grinding away in my lowest gear or valiantly pushing the steed, the preceding tracks told of supreme athletes dancing nimbly on pedals as they floated up hill quickly with very little effort. I started thinking it was important that I made my tracks as obvious as those tormenting me. Time to play some games with the slow fuckers behind me.

I hadn't seen anyone since about lunchtime on day one when Nijat drifted slowly off my back wheel up one of the climbs. I am very happy and it is probably a bit easier to ride like that. Nijat is a great guy and it would have been a pleasure to ride with him but I would have had to converse and that takes mental energy. I only saw a couple of dogs in Numarella, no commerce so there was no body out and about.

Then the pain starts with a very tough ride from Numarella to Nimitabel. About half way up the climb, (I had broken my glasses early on day one and more or less riding blind.) out in the middle of no where on some god forsaken goat track a stunningly attractive athletic goddess in her Gucci/Lorna Jane running kit is out trail running. I pulled off the track to let her pass/strike up a conversation , because I was feeling so pretty myself and she says that she is out trail running with her daughter who is behind her riding a horse. I immediately think of the horse v bicycle thread on the BN forums and make a note to pull over and let the horse pass appropriately. I make some lame joke about not having seen the Easter bunny out there that morning and she laughs and says something about the Easter bunny being evil before we both get moving again.

Heaps and heaps of hike a bike between Numarella and Nimitabel. Took me almost exactly 6 hours to go the 40km. Steve as the organiser had told us to budget for 5-7 hours which is probably about right. If I hadn't had navigation issues I might have knocked half an hour off and a stronger rider could take at least another half an hour off that again.

Really spectacular views and interesting countryside. No fog or rain on day two, just heavy cloud keeping the sun away and temperatures moderate. Just really good riding on tough terrain. Happy to reach Nimitabel and the much talked of Bakery as the first resupply opportunity. Was a fraction disappointed when the girl in the bakery told me that day light savings had finished the night before. Meant that I had slept for an hour longer than I had given myself credit for. I had been thinking, "gee, I only had like 3-4 hours sleep and was feeling great, I can replicate that again at least a couple of times in the race." Suddenly you find out that you may have had 5 hours sleep and you will need at least one night with more hours shut eye than that to keep feeling human.

The sleep and sleep patterns is something that I have spent a lot of time thinking about to help me finish this one faster, a bit about pushing some limits. I think I am learning more all the time on this and didn't feel anywhere near as crappy as I had anticipated. The Audax Oppy was good training for this. It may be that in the past the only time I have had to rely on such silly small amounts of sleep there was probably copious amounts of alcohol involved whereas this time, I was out alone on my bicycle in some amazing country in good weather and riding much better than I had predicted. Why not feel good?

Nimitabel. I probably made some mistakes at the bakery. I wanted to be fast and not get caught wasting time at the resupply points. I ordered a pie, two sausage rolls and a custard tart so there would be no waiting. I should have ordered four or five big salad roils with double cheese. I then got stuck talking to people that I didn't want to. I had course notes to look at but wasn't able to. Then my resupply at the general store was not good enough. I bought a couple of boxes of muesli bars that were way too sweet for my liking and a packet of mint slice biscuits which were awesome but started me in that slippery slope of sugar and chocolate consumption that I had avoided. I didn't need the sweet stuff and suspect that more salad rolls, hot cross buns and a big bag of salt and vinegar chips would have been better.

My push out of Nimitabel was very slow and I stopped and read the course notes once I got away from human contact so I could focus on the moment. It is a bit like getting drunk at this stage of the race. You can focus very well if you choose but only on one thing at a time and not the multitude of things that are required. Still an awesome place to ride.

A couple of river crossings went really well. Don't think about it, just wade right through quickly. You will be across before you realise how cold and wet your feet are. Start riding again. I have wasted a lot of time in the past trying to do this differently, just get across.

In comparison to the rest of the ride, it was actually a fast and fun ride through to Cathcart from Nimitabel. You do go through a National Park on Easter long weekend so I did have to contend with car traffic for the first time in the ride. Most of the drivers were very good and slowed down, gave me plenty of space but I did have one complete fucking idiot happy to drive his Chevvy Ignoramus straight at me at speed. I mean you are on a dirt track in a National Park, enjoy the serenity you fool instead of feeling the need to be so angry at the cyclist you read about in the Daily Telegraph. Just because you haven't been healthy enough to see your own tiny penis let alone sustain the kind of erection that may provide some kind of pleasure no matter how fleeting to yourself let alone a mutually agreeable partner. Hmmmm, maybe I was getting a bit grumpy at this stage myself.

It was a good place to ride none the less. The climbs and descents were less steep and to prevent erosion they have these ski jump  mounds at regular intervals all the way. I was thinking that this really plays into my hands as the profile would prevent others from cycling that much faster and more aggressively than me. For once I would be competitive on the road.

As always pride does truly cometh before a fall. Just when you think that you have things under control is when things are most likely to turn pear shaped. I had some problems with the GPS on Saturday turning it back on after it timed itself out when I was lost in the guys paddock late in the night. I suspect that water on the pins at the dyno end is an issue and I should have had electrical tape covering all this to keep the moisture out. This is the second etrex that I have blown up and that gets very expensive very quickly. I have always like my setup, certainly in preference to any others I have seen with the SON28 hub, ewerk regulator, etrex 30 and Exposure Revo light.

Anyway, about half way between Nimitabel and Cathcart I was feeling good, making some progress and planning a much later push into the night to keep resupply options open when my GPS just stopped. Unfortunately the GPS was my only source of navigation and I was well out of mobile range. The panic about being lost was surprisingly quickly replace with acceptance that my ride was over and I can just kind of make my way back to civilisation with plenty of food and warm clothes with me on a busier trail I was never in any real danger.

Unfortunately in my desperate attempts to get things working again, I had changed the batteries in the GPS (no difference) and did not clip the etrex back into the mount properly. I have read negative reviews about the mount and needing to tether the unit as well but I have never had a problem and know that it was an error on my part that I lost my GPS when I hit a bump at speed and it rattled loose. The unit even in it's broken state was worth a significant amount of money to me and I was very down about things when I realised it was missing. 

As soon as I got back in mobile range at the top of one of the ridges, I made a phone call to Steve as the race organiser with my tail of woe. I had had an hour or so to ponder things prior to making the call and was pretty reconciled with my situation at this point. Steve did all the right things about getting me to Bombala and seeing if I could come up with a solution but it had been a very expensive trip for me already and I probably would have been putting myself in quite some danger progressing through some of Australia's most rugged countryside without GPS or any previous knowledge or experience of the area.

Cathcart was another really nice looking little town even if it was well after dark when I arrived and everything was closed. Easter Sunday, probably fair enough. A very impressive Art Deco Memorial Hall had public toilets and showers which I would have loved but had no towel. Anyway, that was my race. Looks like there won't be too many finishers. Tough race but well worth the attempt and if you come with the right setup, attitude and levels of fitness, should be achievable.

Post race speculation. All academic really. I know I will speculate in my own little mind but need to keep that to myself. I cannot allow this to be a pattern. It appears I finish any race wondering "what if?" I am guessing that is probably pretty normal for everyone but I am not certain it is healthy or good or not. I know that I have a lot to learn and I continue to make errors, many errors. The guys up front, much younger than me are not making these errors, I know they are still learning as well.

Was it right to come in with such low expectations and levels of motivation? I wasn't trained or prepared properly which made me very uncommitted to finishing. I was so no nervous before the ride that I even had a great nights sleep before hand which never happens. I couldn't get excited or motivated so why go and rac? I enjoy touring and will go and do that again next. Anyone else up for a Helsinki to Moscow ride?

I enjoy the racing because I am out there cycling and my competitive nature pushes you further for longer. I kind of think I could be pretty good at racing in this format if I ever got organised. If I am good at it, what is holding me back? How is this for screwed in the head. I was clearly outright 3rd and like to think pushing on strongly  for well over a day prior to losing my GPS. Whilst out there I was pushing hard and did want to ride harder for longer than I had in the past. I was well aware that I was third and that probably scared me a bit never having done that well in the past.

Why be scared of doing well? I was thinking third - podium. You beauty and then third, that is nearly the best place. First is too much pressure and expectation for every and any other time that I jump on the bike. Second is just the guy who didn't win but third is podium. You rode hard, lifted and extended to claim a coveted spot up there with the guys who really know how to ride. Something to be proud of. All of this fits in the speculation basket. I was a DNF.

Get out there and enjoy, really happy to have supported this ride and I hope it succeeds in a very similar format from here on in.

Fleche Opperman 2015

Not so much a recreational ride this one. There is just nothing recreational about riding until 3.30 in the morning and setting your alarm for less than two hours later so that you can have time for breakfast and pack everything back up again to be on the road by 6.00AM.

I have really enjoyed my slow immersion into all things Audax down here, with the excellent relaxed riding, quiet country roads and fantastic people that have made me feel most welcome after a big interstate move where I have no real connection. It was a no brainer to tag along with Dave when he nominated "the Oppy" as the single best Audax ride on the calendar.

Dave had promised all of the things that had drawn me to Audax along with a totally flat course and a huge welcoming party in Rochester where you finish complete with Brass Band pumping out the latest and greatest German beer drinking songs.

I am not really across the rules for the Oppy which probably means I am not a particularly good fit for being an Audax member, most of them being a bit OCD on rules and regulations. The general gist is you have 24 hours to cycle a minimum distance of 360km, including having to do at least 25km in the final two hours. Oh and it is all done in teams.

Our team pushed off from Tooborac just a bit south west of Bendigo in glorious cool morning weather. The first 125km passed by pretty quickly as we were all feeling pretty good and if anything, we probably had the wind with us.

A succession of really pretty little towns followed through the afternoon and some good cycling although at this stage the team were starting to experience some mechanical issues, including quite a number of punctures and a broken spoke. None of them game changing but we did find them eating quite heavily into our ambitious schedule.

Being a team event, unless you are the one with the puncture or have special super-powers in bicycle mechanics (not me) it just means you are spending more time standing around waiting to get rolling again than you normally would. Didn't really worry me but it did mean that we were still riding very, very late into the evening.

The other impediment to our progress was a strengthening breeze that shifted and strengthened so that we always seemed to be riding directly into the wind as our big loop moved from a northerly direction to head west and then southerly.

It was a bit of a pity that some of the pretty little towns up in that part of the world were shielded by the cover of darkness, it would have been excellent to check them out a bit more and a slower paced tour in Northern Victoria would be truly excellent.

A bit of excitement on the final push into Rochester with another puncture pushing us hard up against the cut off time and with a final sprint finish and much bad mathematics and head scratching about required average speed to make it, we managed to cross the finish line with just three minutes to spare in the 24 hour event.

Souvenir photo taken at the Oppy statue and it was off to the Audax provided breakfast of bacon and eggs. Managed to stay awake through the speeches and grabbed a second serving of breakfast. Sporting a very impressive saddle rash but was a bit happy about how good I was still feeling on the bicycle during the very early hours of the morning when I had thought that I was probably just going to want to sleep.

It was also fun to be riding as part of a team and be a bit social with the guys, just don't listen to Dave when he says you are going to be welcomed into Rochester by a thronging crowd cheering your cycling greatness being supported by  indecently clad dancing persons of the gender of your choosing, along with a flyover by the RAAF and the medal presentation by the President of France.

Bronte Audax ride

Sometimes events conspire to make a ride absolutely awesome.

Was supposed to be a back to back Audax event riding 150km on the Saturday from Hobart out to Bronte Lagoon in the middle of Tasmania's hydro territory, which is all pretty interesting and then retreating the 150km back to Hobart on Sunday.

Unfortunately the weather forecast for Saturday was truly awful and Dave who was my lift from Huonville into Hobart rang me late on Friday and suggested we hop a ride later in the day in a car up to Bronte and avoid the stupid early start riding up hill in terrible weather. Since I was enjoying a late night with some Shakespeare in Hobart Botanical Gardens, it sounded like a reasonable idea at the time.

Saturday ended up being not too bad, curse you BoM, I was a little disappointed to have missed out on a Saturday ride when we made it to Bronte with hardly a drop of rain seen. Felt a bit soft but really impressed with the accommodation that had been organised at a fishing shack right on the shores of the lagoon. Not really a lagoon, it is actually a very large lake, I believe created as part of the building of the hydro and lots of fishing taking place.

Too many beers on the Saturday night and a few of us hatched the grand plan to make up for the lack of Saturday riding with an extra ride on Sunday morning into Derwent Bridge making the ride 210km for the day. Started off feeling very dusty indeed and regretted my health and lifestyle decisions of the Saturday night. It was a reasonably gentle uphill ride being pushed along by a noticably strong tail wind for the 25km from Bronte into Derwent Bridge for the turn around point. Unfortunately you don't really notice the stiff tailwind until you turn around and notice it is a positively erect head wind on the way down the hill.

Really beautiful part of the state with some amazing hills away in the distance and interesting bushland and gentle rolling hills to ride over in the Tasmanian Central Highlands.

Once we got back to Bronte, the fun really began. I am no good with town names and they weren't really towns we were passing through, just left over villages from when the hydro was being built, all seeming to end with -tina. We had some really long descents off the top of the highlands and a couple of longish sharp climbs just to keep the smile on my face.

Until we reached the bottom of the first climb I had been coasting along having a great time talking about adventures with a couple of guys heading off for another crack at PBP and some great stories and plans that they have. Blokes that if you met in the street you may mistakenly think were quiet conservative stay at home gardening types who have actually travelled some remote corners of the globe doing some amazing things. You do meet some real character on Audax rides.

The other group of riders including my lift from Hobart back out to Huonville had opted against doing the full 210 and had headed straight back to Hobart with a shorter ride and I was keen to catch up so they didn't have to wait for me for too long after they finished.

Cranked out a pretty consistent pace and in true Audax style avoided any stopped time in my pursuit of the rabbits up ahead. The one break I had in the middle was lunch break at Ouse roadhouse to have the brevet card stamped. Wandered up to the counter with my usual armful of nutritionists nightmare. A bottle of creamy soda, a custard tart from the fridge a bag of mixed lollies for the road and asked for a chiko roll. The lady behind the counter asked if I wanted salt on the chiko roll and the guy behind me kind of laughed and joked with me about "nah, bodies a temple", didn't get a rise out of the lady serving who I think thought we were being smart arses.

Ride from Ouse to Hamilton is really nice with that real temperate rain forest. A bit more traffic but all very well behaved. A long but very manageable climb into Hamilton. It was much steeper than I had recollected but nothing too challenging and any other day would have seen Tasmania's ever present westerlies pushing you along.

Finally caught up with the front runners in New Norfolk which was a bit of a relief. I was a bit concerned about my navigation from there into Hobart and they were really good guys to chat with and gave me an excuse to slow down and enjoy things a bit more. I was soft and opted out of my turn at the front of the peleton but we were making reasonable progress and I always get a bit nervous riding in groups with people I haven't done much cycling with.

Must apologise for total lack of photos again. In my haste and foggy minded state on the Sunday morning, I left my camera in my bag for the car rather than putting it in my back pocket.

Excellent ride, feeling pretty good. Should have ridden up on the Saturday, glad I did the extra distance on the Sunday.

Observations/musings for the day.
1.    How good is that shower after a long ride?
2.    Has anyone ever heard anything good said by PBP riders about their experience? I only ever hear miserable tales of woe. Bad weather, cyclist mistakes, things pinched, language difficulties, injuries, tougher course than expected. Yet everyone is always keen to go back?
3.    If you want the custard tart at Ouse roadhouse, get there early.

Halls Track Attack. The letter box ride.

Halls Track Road has always been one of those gravel questions I have been too scared to ask. She looks all cherubic innocence at the start but have long suspected that reasonably shortly there would be tears and something about please for the love of all things holy, get me off this goat track.

Appropriately psyched up, today was the day to get out there and give it a go.

I just cannot get excited about the ride down the Cygnet Coast Road even though it runs parallel to one of the nicest stretches of river you will see in this country. Cars go too fast and too close in their headlong rush to get wherever their important day is taking them.

It is always good to turn off up Pelverata Road where things immediately turn to gravel. Whilst there are very few cars, the surface has noticeably deteriorated over the last 6 months with pot holes and washboarding. Not really an issue for me today on the Triton with her low pressure 2.3s, but maybe not as pleasant if I was Warbirding.

I was enjoying the signs on Pelverata Road today. Twisty turny bits next 11km, just says fun to me.

And don't you worry about your vampires Mr Dusk to Dawn, down here in Tassie we have giant kangaroos that will lift your car up and throw it around like a toy.

Halls Track Road turns off Pelverata Road at Pelverata itself. Pretty good option to take as the road is sealed again at Pelverata, which is a little bit less fun when I am on the 29er. In effect, by taking Halls Track Road I can cycle to Sandfly on nearly all gravel once I turn off the dreaded Cygnet Coast Road.

The other real bonus of Halls Track Road is that it doesn't climb at the stupid gradient that Pelverata does, it kind of bends around the mountain a bit more making it easier to ride and just a bit more fun. I'll take a GPS with me one day just to sort out the different altitudes on the 3 options for getting over the mountain into Hobart.

Halls Track Road has an excellent surface for the first couple of kilometres at least. Reminded me about a conversation I once had about how good it is to be able to hear the gravel crunching under your tyres. Engagement of the senses.

Apparently I was still enjoying it at this stage.

Getting closer to the summit there was definitely some dodgier surface. Not certain young Benny is going to enjoy the descent on his skinny 28s back down the Track.

Crested not long after that and kind of bumped along the top of the mountain for a few kilometres and decided to stop and get a photo of the mighty steed. Held up by magic stick.

Exactly where I stopped had apparently been used as a rubbish tip by one of the locals. If anyone is looking for a pedal car, just yell out.

It was an excellent descent down some long flowing hills on a much improved surface. Someone who enjoys that kind of thing may probably have gone much faster than I did.

Had to take this photo for dad. Who doesn't want an old Toyota in the shed? Don't know which one will last longer, the Toyota or the shed.

Some excellent letter boxes spotted today. I had always thought that rows of letter boxes out in the middle of no where was a very Australian thing but can recall seeing things like this in Montana as well. I really should have had a camera with me back then.

Letter box of the day goes to the Rooster.

Had so much fun riding Halls Track Road that when I reached Sandfly I decided to turn around and head back up and over the hill again rather than taking the sealed option on Pelverata Road. Glad I did, enjoyed the longer ride. It was either a bit steeper from this side or I was a little bit less good on the bicycle. Photo says when you engage gear 1 on the Rohloff, it is a long way back around to gear 14. The Rohloff aficionados will know what kind of bird that is on the shifter, but the bird is telling me I am in 1st gear for the climb back up Halls Track Road.

Spotted this sign on the ride back over. What an excellent idea for a sign on a quiet dirt road, should see more of that.

Not a very long ride today, maybe 60km? but it was exactly what I needed. Got out there, blew away some cobwebs, explored somewhere I have not cycled before and could feel my mind starting to operate properly again for being out there. No racing or being worried about being left behind just me out there on a bicycle.

It is probably time to start getting serious on the bicycle again which will involve plugging a GPS in again and counting kilometres and getting out there on days when I don't feel like it or will feel guilt for cycling when I should be doing other important things but today was just a good day to ride a bicycle.

Bruny Island Audax adventure.

Pretty good day out on Bruny. Would struggle to get better weather for a bike ride ever, anywhere in the world. Clear skies, low 20s and the gentle northerly that had pushed us south on the outward leg turned into a gentle southerly sea breeze for the push back north.

Down to Kettering by 7.30 for the 7.45 ferry. Just be aware people, even at the height of tourist season in a very pleasant little seaside town that lives off the tourists coming through the Bruny Island terminal there is no where selling coffee at this hour of the day. How is any self respecting human being let alone someone on a gravel grinding bike supposed to function?

I think 7 cyclists for the day. 15 minutes on the ferry allowed for lots of admiring of bicycles and catch up with new people I hadn't met before. Got chatting with a guy who did the Transcontinental race last year and is all fired up for another crack this year. Had some great stories of being lost in France, Stelvio in the snow and lawlessness in Albania. Sounded like a huge adventure and an excellent demonstration of why people get hooked on touring.

Strategy for the day. There is always a diverse range of cycling abilities on Audax rides despite the sadly constricted demographic of participants, which means you really can pick your pace and there will be someone to cycle with if that is what you choose. I have always been a solidly committed mid pack rider and that suits me just fine. Unfortunately my good mate Benny is off the bike for a month or so after surgery on a dodgy shoulder. This time, I had been keen to ride with Dave who did such a sterling effort organising the ASH Dash a month ago. Dave enjoys riding sweep and has his timings sorted out so that he beats the cut off and hopefully has enough time for a creamy soda and paddle pop before the ferry arrives.

Difficult start straight off the ferry with a couple of quite steep pinches to start with. Unfortunately this meant that I put my head down and worked quite hard for the first couple of kilometres and when I looked up we had left Dave and a couple of the other guys behind. Once we reached the flat bit, the majority of the ride, found myself riding with the guy who did the Transcontinental and a bloke training up big for a 600km Audax in a few weeks as his qualifier for PBP. These guys were keen and if I had any idea how much I was going to hurt later in the day I would have casually backed off and rejoined my mates in the midpack who I know would already have been talking about beer despite it being only 9 in the morning.





















Still, enjoying the ride.

The course for the day was an out and back format from the ferry terminal 60km south to the Light House and then return. Hilly at both ends otherwise just some gentle rollers to keep you on your toes through the day. Traffic was awesome with very few cars and those that we did see highly respectful in their interaction with cyclists. Big thank you guys.

Plenty of photo opportunities all the way down to the light house. With spectacular views out to the Southern Ocean.

Was actually still feeling pretty good when we reached the light house as the halfway point but was disappointed that there was no food truck there selling hot jam donuts and creamy soda. Why are Tasmanians so bad at capitalising on business opportunities? Reality was we were in a National Park where I am pretty happy that they don't do that kind of thing and also tourism is highly seasonal down here and it would be very difficult to keep a business going in the 10 months of the year when mainlanders fly north not south.

Hung around at the light house for about half an hour, regaining some composure and psyching myself up for the 60km ride back to the ferry which I knew was going to hurt but the whole in for a penny in for a pound stupid boy thinking had the better of me. Was happy to find a gentle sea breeze pushing me along.

About halfway back we stopped at the Alonnah General Store next door to the pub and reprovisioned. I gutsed a burger and a soft drink, found a tap and refilled my water bottles. Totally spent and a little sunburnt I knew that my mates in the mid pack were going to be stopping at the pub and enjoying a beer when they turned up in 40 odd minutes time but pushed on with the fast guys none the less. Riding made a little more enjoyable by the coastline.

I could say that I decided to slow down and enjoy the ride a little more which I have certainly done in the past but really not long after pushing off from lunch I was totally spent and surprisingly quickly the other two guys rode away from me. Not a bad thing, I do really enjoy cycling on my own and it was only 30km to the ferry to enjoy.

It was a different way to cycle and probably a good thing for me to do that every now and again. I have done a lot of big days in the saddle and am probably reasonably fit but this was in a different league. I have never felt myself cramping up whilst still on the bike purely from the days effort and I have had much, much longer riding than this.

As is always the way when you dig too deep and pay the penalty, the blackness that descends extends to all things. The ferry back to Kettering leaves every hour and I arrive literally two minutes after the ferry departs with the other guys on board. Sitting down at the little kiosk with my well earned paddle pop and can of pink fizz, check face book and my mid pack mates are posting photos from the pub back at Alonnah sitting on the front porch beer in hand looking out across the water.

Let's consider this one a lesson well learned. Awesome place to just go and ride bikes, perfect weather, next time just relax and enjoy being out there. Find some good gravel all. Hmmm, wonder when the next one is.