Day 5 Rest in Canberra

This morning despite being a rest day we were up at around 7.00am and after breakfast in our room we rode to the nearby bike shop called Lonsdale Bikes to get a few bike bits!

We left the bikes for the day at the shop and after trying the scooter hire app we agreed public transport was probably a better way to see the sights of Canberra. We walked to the tourist information centre at Regatta Point where we were able to obtain bus cards to allow us to travel on the bus network. Being seniors this was all free!

The first stop was Parliament House which was great to visit. First time for me in the new Parliament House.

We then took the bus over to the War Memorial which was again a great place to visit.

After a bite of late lunch we made our way back to the bike shop and from there we rode back to the motel.

After doing the washing and cleaning the bike we the Ubered our way to the local shops for dinner.

The place we chose was a lovely pub and we ordered our meal….. then to our surprise the music went louder and a lovely young lady proceeded to undress herself to the music…. Yes we could not believe what we were seeing…. And no it was not a sleazy strip joint!

The rest of the diners were mainly ladies and they loved the performance!

It was straight out of the Moulin Rouge text book!!

We stayed and ate our meal and low and  behold she did a second performance!

After this we had a chat to her and a few of the younger girls in the audience and all were staggered on   our riding holiday and we ended up swapping Strava links!

Well I must admit this was a memorable night for us both…

A good day of rest ahead of the next 4 days of riding to Albury…. Let’s hope the weather is kind…. Although as I write this blog there is thunder, lightning and heavy rain!

War Memorial 

View from War Memorial to Parliament House 

Chris at the reflection pool at the War Memorial 

VC winner who was a scholar at Wesley College… my school!

View from the Parliament House to the War Memorial 


Parliament House

Day 4- Goulburn to Canberra

We started the day early but were held up having coffee at the bike shop where inevitably we were attracted to getting helmet lights as mine was not working all day on the rides so far. I think the battery is stuffed!

We made our way out of Goulburn around 9.30 am on a route that avoided the major highways and took in some lovely farm land initially and then some challenging climbing. All up we climbed nearly 1300 metres which is the record for the ride…

The interesting observation made by us both was the lack of farm animals in the paddocks … I can only think that it might have something to do with the wet weather in the region recently.

The other observation we made was the poor state of the sealed roads with significant potholes on all the roads! Presumably this also relates to the wet weather taking it’s toll on the roads.

After lunch at Collector at a lovely cafe where we had smashed avocado sandwich. Quite a surprise I the middle of nowhere but it was very popular!

After lunch it was on to a “killer “ of a climb up along to a razorback which we travelled along to the outskirts of Canberra. The initial climb had me walking for about a km with gradients of over 20% in some parts!

The view from the top was quite outstanding as the photos show.

The ride in to and through Canberra was enjoyable despite being on unmade roads for most of the traverse along the range.

The Canberra bike paths were terrific and took us through many of the suburbs which are interspersed with big open fields.

Quite outstanding planning.

The day was a big challenge but I was pleased to finish in okay shape but tired.

Dinner tonight was in our room with roast pork and coleslaw rolls…. All good to replenish the energy stocks

Looking forward to the day off tomorrow 

For some reason I am having trouble getting the photos to download and will have publish them later 

Enjoy the blog!!

Day 3- Mittagong to Goulburn

Today was always going to be a tough ride and it certainly did not disappoint!

We did 120 kms with 1316 metres of climbing!

The good news was the weather was really good for riding and the roads were quite quiet apart from a short 2 km ride on the Hume freeway!

The route took us through some lovely country from the Southern Highlands through to the Southern Tablelands.

Around Bowral, MossVale and Bundadoon the houses and properties we rode past were quite spectacular!

We stopped for coffee ( and scones for me!) at Moss Vale in an exceptional cafe in the old post office and had lunch in a cafe in Marulan.

The last part of the ride from Marulan to Goulburn was probably the most difficult with a really long climb ahead of a lovely downhill into Goulburn.

The other difficulty was our map route took us through a road that was closed and turned into a tip!

Unfortunately we has to make a backtrack and travel for a short period on the Hume freeway. The noise of the trucks was terrible but the road shoulder was very wide so there was good distance from the trucks and cars!

I was pleased with my riding today after an adjustment to the seat height and courtesy of a good night of sleep!

I must admit not doing longer rides has left me a bit out of shape but by the end of the whole journey I should be back!

At the end of the ride we had a bit of a SNAFU with the motel bookings with the room only having one bed!

We sorted this out by canceling the boot and going to the motel next door 

I am a little annoyed with this as I booked through booking.com with a special request for 2 beds which was ignored by the Carlton Suites motel…. Don’t book them.

Interesting to be in Goulburn which has some family history from my mothers family. Her mother was a Gray and the family were involved in the wool auction business in the early 1900’s. We also had many family holidays in Goulburn visiting family over the early years of my life… interesting fact was Dunc Gray is related to my mother as I said earlier and he won an Olympic gold medal for cycling at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The event was the mens track time trial!

How about that…. And here I am in Goulburn doing a bike ride from Sydney to Melbourne!

All good so far and Lind forward to the ride to Canberra 

Interesting trail along a river near Moss Vale

Coffee at Moss Vale/ Chris is posing for the photo 

Day 2 - Sydney- Melbourne ride/ Campbelltown to Mittagong

We had an early start again this morning being up at around 6.00 am. The weather was good with a cool start and temperatures in the low 20’s … and no rain!!!

We had to make a choice early on in the ride whether we took part of the ride along the Hume freeway or not!

Not much of a choice really as the thought of going along the road shoulder with BDouble trucks and a lot of traffic really made the alternate route much better and as it turned out far quieter and more scenic!

We had a coffee stop at Camden and lunch at Picton following in a large part the old Hume Highway. The road was good with some traffic…. Every now and then our route took us on side roads which were both challenging in terms of climbing and rewarding in terms of being quiet where we could enjoy the countryside.

The country between the major town’s was interesting in that there were a lot of very expensive houses on farm lots. Seems an ideal place to have a place to chill out if you lived in Sydney!

To be frank… on a couple of the climbs I walked my bike as my legs were “ cooked “…seems the legs are struggling at this stage. I am sure they will come good as the ride progresses.

Today we rode about 75 kms and climbed about 1160 metres!!

Big day.

Looking forward to a lighter day tomorrow!

A nice view of the Camden valley 

Another view of the Valley…. Note the bike paths are well organised 

On one of our climbs…recent road erosion from the rain!

Home for the night…. Melrose Motel. My dads middle name was Melrose!

Day 1 - Sydney Melbourne Ride- Sydney to Campbelltown

After a restful night of sleep it was up at 6.00 am and breakfast before heading out on the ride

It was with great trepidation we looked out the windows to see it was raining….bugger!

Getting our bikes from the garage we were met with a huge downpour of rain and waited for it to subside which it did thankfully!

So off we went in the drizzle which cleared as we moved out of Sydney 

The travel for the day was mainly on bike paths which were pretty well looked after 

The first part of the trip included travel past the Olympic Park which looked completely deserted and frankly a Bit tired!

We tried to get in to the main stadium but were prevented by security guards 

The trip to Campbelltown included stops for coffee near Parramatta and lunch at Leppington

We arrived at the motel at about 3.30 in the sunshine 

The motel is very comfortable with good facilities 

A good day 1 of the ride with 82 kms covered and about 700 metres of climbs 

A great first day despite a wet start!

The Olympic stadium….not a soul in sight!


A wet start!!

Shakedown After Arriving in Sydney

Yesterday was an early start with my son , Chris picking me up at 7.00 am for the ride to the airport. Very grateful for the ride as the bike box was rather large( see photo)

I was a bit concerned that the box might be too big for Qantas , but had no problem at all. In fact the bike transport was very smooth with the bike arriving intact at Sydney airport. 

After taking a taxi I arrived at the Sydney Youth Hostel which is right across the road from the main Sydney railway station.

I met Chris and it was great to see him again after a long time due to Covid and all the pandemic restrictions.

It was then time to assemble the bike which apart from trouble with pumping the tyres up was relatively quick. The issue with pumping the tyres related to the valve not seating when the pump was removed and we spent some time pumping and re-pumping the tyres when the valve blew off!

In the end we got one tyre pumped up and had to take the other wheel to a bike shop to get them to help.

After all of this we decided to go by ferry to Manly for dinner. It was a really pleasant trip across the harbour and after a short walk to the beach we found an Italian place for a bowl of pasta….good food!

After dinner it was back on the speed ferry and tram to the youth hostel and in to bed!

This morning we were up and about at 7.00 am and on our bikes at about 8.00 am for the shakedown ride

The weather was good for the day. Virtually no wind and warm sun.

The ride was planned by us using cycle.travel and was a loop around the inner harbour on the western side of the harbour… it took in some very pleasant scenery along Darling Harbour and crossed a number of bridges including Anzac, Gladesville and of course the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

On the way we had breakfast near the Opera House, lunch in North Sydney and made a visit to the bike shop in Sydney central to sort out a couple of things.

The ride was about 50 kms monsoon bike paths and was enjoyable plus it gave me a real chance to set the bike up for the days of riding ahead.

We arrived back at the Hostel and showered and sorted out washing and a few grocery items for breakfast.

Not sure where we will have dinner tonight but think it it maybe local with an early night ahead of an early start for the ride tomorrow.

A good couple of days to start the ride… looking forward to the days ahead!!!!

There are no photos at this stage as I am having trouble downloading them….sorry will send them later!!!!

grrrrrrr!!!!

Sydney Melbourne Ride

I am leaving tomorrow for a ride with my Kiwi mate Chris where we are looking to ride from Sydney to Melbourne 

The ride will take about 2 weeks and we are following the Hume Highway roughly. We have 2 rest days in both Canberra and Albury. It is unsupported and we are planning on staying at cheaper motel style accommodation most of which has been pre booked.

We will be riding about 1200 kms and climbing about 9500 metres 

Tomorrow I catch the plane to Sydney and have packed the bike and gear in the bike box.

Hope you enjoy the blog as we make our journey.