Our last riding day was scheduled to be our third big day in a row. It was definitely cold, but sunny and warming quickly. It featured a nice set of rollers into Hobart.
Day 6: Lake St. Clair to New Norfolk/Hobart Read More »
It was scheduled to be another big day; almost 140 km riding and 800 meters net altitude gain. We would be riding through Queenstown, a copper mining tow where the copper smelters released tons of sulphur into the air, which then fell as acid rain.
Day 5: Strahan to Lake St. Clair Read More »
Since Tammy had the bright idea to do 60 extra klicks, we had to get rolling pretty early. Claire continued to waffle throughout breakfast [Ha ha!] on whether she would do the extra mileage, and even after we were on the road she hadn’t totally made up her mind. But when it came time to make the decision, she turned the same direction as the rest of the gang. We were going to be isolated from humanity for almost 100 klicks, until we rolled into lunch at Zeehan.
Day 4: Tullah to Strahan, via Reece Dam Read More »
The morning started with a beautiful hike up towards Cradle Mountain, then a fast short ride into the small village of Tullah.
Day 3: Cradle Mountain to Tullah Read More »
The morning after the first day is always the hardest. Fortunately the next two days weren’t all that big; we were scheduled for about 60k today, up to Cradle Mountain, the most popular national park in Tasmania.
As is the norm when I tour with a group, I was running late and wound up being last on the road. The hearty breakfast had energized me, so despite my legs being somewhat tight, I was able to catch up with the rest of the Bay Area group, and we rode together to the top of a moderate rise, where we learned that “Fatigue Can Be Fatal.” (This became my mantra while battling 60kph headwinds a couple days later).
Day 2: Silver Ridge Retreat to Cradle Mountain Read More »
Our first riding day featured mostly mellow roads, encounters with actual Tasmanian Devils, and a wilderness lodge where we got to see a platypus, wallabies and possum.
Day 1: Launceston to Silver Ridge Retreat Read More »
Flying into Launceston, Tasmania, is, in itself, an amusing experience for a city boy. The airport is tiny, and “baggage claim” consists of going into the garage and waiting for the truck to pull up. It’s a city of 50,000 people, second largest on the island, but very small by any American standard. (Of course, that was the point). Here I met up with our guides, a father/son pair, Bob and Damien, with the improbable surname of “Boocock.”
We wound up travelling some 780 kilometers, with only 1700 meters of climbing or so—that’s less climb than a hard day ride around the Bay Area. It’s a trip that should be feasible for any reasonably fit cyclist. There are only a few sections with significant traffic, and nearly all of those have wide shoulders. Plus, southbound, there’s virtually no cross-traffic to deal with.
Day 9: Santa Monica to LAX Read More »
The route through Port Hueneme borders the navy base, on wide streets with moderate to heavy traffic. It’s not particularly pleasant, but it’s not very long before you get back on Highway 1 and it rejoins the coast. The traffic is fairly heavy at this point, but the road is wide and the scenery was the best we’d had since Morro Bay, so the ride was enjoyable.
Day 8: Port Hueneme to Santa Monica Read More »
We headed south along those ridiculous Southern California beaches. I wound up sucking John’s wheel most of the day. I think part of it was the route; it had turned flat, and alternated between commercial or frontage roads, and the shoulder of Highway 101, none of which makes for exciting riding.
Day 7: Goleta to Port Hueneme Read More »