Author Archives: Will

Day 2: A short day, lots to see

Today’s Distance: 28km Total Distance: 87.2km

We stayed in a campground last night in Wonthaggi.  We packed up leisurely this morning and rearranged a few things in the panniers to make it easier during the day.  Some panniers we want to remain closed all day as they are water-proof and other panniers need to have food, jackets etc easily at hand.  We wouldn’t want to open the computer gear pannier in the rain to get a jacket.

It was a beautiful morning and we cycled from Wonthaggi to Cape Patterson.  Again there was a nice wide cycle lane.  There was nobody on the beach and it was spectacular.  We had a snack and went for a walk on the beach and admired the view.  After Cape Patterson we biked along the coast to Inverloch which is a nice tourist town.  It’s easy to tell how nice a town might be by how many camp grounds there are.

Tonight we are staying in a Big4 holiday park which is very flash.  A bit like a NZ Top10 Holiday Park, it has a heated swimming pool, big kitchen and all the amenities we need.  It gets dark at 6pm so having a camp kitchen is good as it means we don’t have to cook early or cook in the dark.

Today was a short day biking but that sets us up nicely for 50km tomorrow, most on a rail trail.  Also Josh said Inverloch is a nice place and we’ve enjoyed having most of the afternoon off.

Highlight of the day:  Cape Paterson beach.

Jen at Cape Paterson

Jen at Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson

Sand

Sand

Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson

Cape Paterson

Downtown Inverloch

Downtown Inverloch

Camping in Inverloch

Camping in Inverloch

Inverloch beach at very high tide

Inverloch beach at very high tide

Day 1 : Wow, what a great start!!

Today’s Distance: 52.9km Total Distance: 52.9km

What a great start to our cycling.  We got up early as we needed to leave the house in Somers by 6.45am to make sure we got to the ferry which was 12km away.  Better to leave plenty of time than be rushed and biking fast that early in the day.  It was a beautiful morning and we got to the ferry in plenty of time biking on paved cycle paths.  If there is a theme for today, it’s how good the cycle paths and rail trail are.  The only time we biked on a road there was a really large verge and plenty of room for everyone.

We caught the ferry from Stony Point across to Cowes on Phillip Island at 8am.  In Cowes we went to the post office and dispatched our extra stuff to Dave in Brisbane.  We then went to a café before we started biking.  Almost straight away we found a paved cycle path that ran near the road and went the full length of Phillip Island.  It was fantastic!!

After crossing the bridge to leave Phillip Island we cycled on the road through road works but with plenty of verge then met the rail trail.  The last 14km of the day was on the rail trail and we ended up in Wonthaggi, a mining town.  Wonthaggi has huge supermarkets, and a nice pub.  While on the rail trail we saw a rugged coast, with what we can only presume were wild kangaroos (no fence to keep them in).

Highlight of the day:  Starting our biking and the bike paths and trails.

Waiting for the Ferry

Waiting for the Ferry

The perfect still morning

The perfect still morning

Great bike trails on Phillip Island

Great bike trails on Phillip Island

Having a break

Having a break

The only road had a really wide verge

The only road had a really wide verge

Starting the Bass Coast Rail Trail

Starting the Bass Coast Rail Trail

Superb sea views from the trail

Superb sea views from the trail

Nearly finished the first day biking

Nearly finished the first day biking

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Somers on the Mornington Peninsular

We arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday and everything went really well.  We had a list of things to do like assembling the bikes, getting connected to the internet, grocery shopping etc.  Everything worked out well as we got a Telstra SIM for the phone at the airports, a maxi-taxi dropped us at Josh’s house, the bikes went together fine and the shopping was easily done at the supermarket around the corner.  The list of jobs seemed to disappear with ease.

On Wednesday night Josh and Lesley’s friends David and Joanne came around for dinner and we had a nice time chatting and catching up.  It was a successful though very long day as we were up for 21 hours due to the early flight and late night.

On Thursday Will’s cousin James and his fiancée Merryn picked us up and we drove down to the family holiday home at Somers on the Mornington Peninsular.   Cousin Alice arrived too and we celebrated with champagne then a nice lunch at the local restaurant.  In the afternoon we watched the ANZAC day footy between Essendon and Collingwood (James was pleased because Essendon won), cooked, drank wine and hung out chatting.  It was a fun afternoon evening and great to see the some family

Today we are relaxing and Josh, Lesley and kids will be arriving this afternoon for a couple of nights.

Sitting on the verandah, listening to the birds, surrounded by gum trees on a street called Koala Court all seems very Australian and is the perfect way to start our holiday.

Somers

Let The Adventure Begin

We’re off!!!

The house is tidied and clean and we handed it over to our house-sitters Marilyn and Jan.  We’ve loaded up the car with bikes, gear and curtain material for the Newtons, and we are driving to Christchurch.

Months of planning has gone into this day.  All the buying of gear, bookings, lists, testing and packing is finally over and we are off on our adventure.  It seems like this day would never come and seems surreal to be on the way.

Tomorrow we’ll spend in Christchurch picking up a few odds and ends, dropping off the curtain material, and maybe a wee bit of visiting if we get time.

Early early early on Wednesday we fly to Melbourne.  Originally we booked mid morning flight but the time got changed and we now have 6am flights.  That means checking in at 4am!!!  I told Air NZ I wasn’t impressed by the change of flight time.

Exciting times ahead!

 

Packing

A long day of packing and sorting and getting the house ready for the house sitters. We had to take the bikes apart to get them in bike boxes. That meant removing carriors, mirrors, handle bars etc. We have a little list of things to get for the trip, but in general, we are happy with the big day.

Packing

The Countdown

To entertain you all, here is a photo of us in 1990 cycle touring from Christchurch to Picton, aged 21.  No Instagram photo effects here, this is what the pre-digital world really looked like.

Most people thought we were mad cycling to Hanmer Springs, through the Rainbow road to St Arnaud, then down to Picton, when we could have driven to Picton in the car in 4 hours.  Most people still think we are mad cycling from Melbourne to Brisbane.

We leave in 2 weeks and things are super busy getting ready.  We have all our gear ready and the house is ready for the house sitters but there is still a lot of work to get done before we leave.  Websites to finish and parent/teacher meetings for Jen.

Blog posts will come more often now as we pack, depart and start our journey.  Getting excited!!

Cycle touring in 1991.

Cycle touring in 1990

I need weather advice from Melbourne friends.

For a while I’ve been looking at the weather forecasts for the state of Victoria and I need some advice from Melbourne friends, or other weather boffins.

It seems to me that most high pressure systems pass to the south of Australia.  That means during a high, the predominant wind will be from the east.  Only a low pressure system would provide a westerly wind along the south coast of Australia.  Obviously if the high was further north then the south coast would get a westerly.

Why does this matter?  We will be biking from Cowes on Philip Island to Bairnsdale before heading up the Snowy River to Jindabyne.  If the predominant wind along the south coast is an easterly, we’ll be biking 450km into a headwind.

I’ve read that the predominant weather in Bass Straight is a westerly.  I’m confused.

So can any of you confirm the predominant wind in Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsular, Gippsland or anywhere along the south coast?

Chairs

I got chair envy.

I read a number of blogs of other cycle tourers on the website www.crazyguyonabike.com.  A cyclists I’ve been following got a chair, a lightweight camping chair.  One of the things that I get sick of after months of camping is always sitting on the ground.  Sometimes after a hard day’s biking you just want to recline.

So I looked into them and found the Alite Designs Monarch Chair.  The lightest off-the-ground chair I could find in the world.  The unique thing about the Alite Monarch is that it only has two legs.  It’s kind of like permanently swinging on a chair, something we all got told off for at school.  Your legs act as the balance for the chair with little effort invloved.

Remarkably comfortable, light, compact and portable.  I hope mine lasts as I’m near the top of the recommended weight range.

Some Previous Cycle Tours

Jen and I have been on many cycle tours before.  Our first was in 1991 from Christchurch to Nelson via Molesworth Station.  We’ve also cycled in France, the West Coast of NZ and Southland.

Here are some old and new photos.

Cycling through Molesworth Sation, 1991

 

Cycling in France in 1996.

 

A warm-up cycle to test the new gear.

 

Jen in Manapouri on our 5 day Southland warm-up ride.