Felt F5 Road Bike

Though I may well be required to purchase a "tourer" for my proposed trip through Europe, depending on whether my other bike, the Surly Troll is something that I deem up to the job or not, this bike, my Felt is in fact the love of my life. 

A bike which has served me well, for coming up to six years, during which time, I have ridden well over 20,000KM, including almost the full length of Italy and had many fantastic days in the sun and rain!

It's probably one of the best investments I've ever made.

The handlebars as seen from when in the saddle.

The Go Pro Hero 3+ Camera on the front which I have used to record certain "rides", etc.

The Cycliq Fly6 Rear Light Camera under the saddle

Hopefully the only time I'll be using the footage from my cameras is to post videos up here, not as court, police or insurance claim, "evidence" as to how a particular incident unfolded....

European Adventure Update No.1

I've a slight confession to make. Whilst part of the reason for contemplating a trip through Europe is to stretch the legs, to visit some countries / places I've yet to explore, to catch up with some old friends and to revisit some cities or sights that I've previously enjoyed, part of it is also with a view to finding somewhere new to settle. 

Whilst I may reside in what is touted as being the "Most Liveable City in the World", I'm not so sure that holds true at present, hence the increasing attraction to the idea of moving to either Sicily (Italy) or Tenerife (Spain), not that either are on my proposed route. 

So what's the appeal with these island destinations, I hear you ask? 

Well! The moderate year round temperature, the more relaxed way of life, the difference in the cost of living relative to Australia, the opportunity to start life "afresh" and perhaps most importantly because of the cohesive / friendly manner in which European motorists interact with cyclists, as opposed to the sometimes aggressive / hostile behaviour that occurs here in Australia.

A European Adventure

I've being doing a bit of research and sketched out a bit of a rough plan for a potential route self-supported ride from Seville, Spain to St Petersburg, Russia, and whilst I haven't necessarily committed myself to it, it is a concept I am very much considering doing. 

I mean I haven't done anything in the way of identifying specific tourist sites or what have you, other than perhaps some of the iconic one's that I already had in mind to (re)visit "one day" anyhow.... 

I've examined what's achievable on a day to day basis, from a cycling perspective, for the the first couple of months or so, which will come to about 5,500 kilometres of riding and 50,000 metres of climbing, but I haven't checked out exists as far as what's available in the way of camping sites or hotels or what have you, on the route between Gibraltar and Berlin.

That'd be way too detailed for my way of traveling.

I mean my intention, if I do undertake this journey, is to do so at a leisurely pace, stopping to enjoy the sites and scenery along the way. Riding faster & further when the mood takes me, yet also having the freedom to also stop for a few days if the atmosphere or vibe of a location strikes a chord.

So what does the route I've plotted so far look like, I hear you ask, well.....

Gibraltar to Pamplona via Lisbon & Porto

Pamplona to Monaco via Toulouse, Avignon & Mont Ventoux 

Monaco to Berlin, via Milan, Passo dello Stelvio, & Innsbruck

Whilst I'm not sure what the logistics of flying into Gibraltar with a bike are, it's ultimately where I'd like to start my journey, rather than Seville, which is just up the road but which I do also know has the facilities to handle people arriving with bike boxes, etc. 

Obviously I am just going to have to do a bit of research. If not in a worst case scenario, I'll "commute" from Seville down to Gibraltar before starting my ride "for real"! Now, why the obsession with Gibraltar, I hear you ask, well:

• It's a "country" that I've not visited previously;
• It's somewhere that should be an easier spot to get over my jet lag, than Seville. I mean it is a fairly long flight from the Australian East Coast to Europe and if I can spend the first couple of days recuperating & getting myself organised before having to adapt to a foreign language the easier it makes things!

Once I do "hit the road" as it were, I am anticipating / planning on riding an average of about 75KM a day for the first month or so....In speaking with a couple of good colleagues Brian & Deb Bennett, who are very keen touring cyclists, it would seem that 100 - 125KM per day is also quite achievable, though that does depend of course on the terrain and the amount of gear being carried, etc.

Ultimately my aim would be to just take it one day at a time. I mean, it's not like I have to be anywhere by a specific date (except maybe St Petersburg for the return flight home to Australia), nor do I have to fit with anyone else's schedule or requirements.....

I'll update the rest of the route details / profile, in due course, though I already have in mind where I'm aiming to go, what the route looks like and so on. I just haven't "plotted" it out, yet!

Tour de Burbs

Having recently returned to Melbourne, and feeling somewhat reminiscent for the good old days, I decided to take a wander down memory lane and do a bit of a tour of the area where I grew up. I mean it is where my love of the bike first began......

Initially when as a young lad, where I did a paper round, for many years (often spending as much time reading the paper as delivering it) and where I also used my bike to get to from A to B, whether that be to friend's places, the tennis courts where I played comps, or what have you....

It's also where I was based when I undertook some of the inaugural Bicycle Victoria organised rides. Rides they put on before the Around the Bay in a Day concept came about, etc... That was of course, till the fateful day I decided to participate in one Bicycle Victoria's first ever "Ride to Work" Days. Sure I managed to get to work I just didn't make it all the way home... 🚲 🚗 .... 🚑

The streets of Camberwell only became my ride training area many years later, when I decided to "try again" and bought myself a new bike, never envisioning of course, that I'd one day find myself riding in overseas, as I've done in Italy and parts of Latin America, or that it would become such an integral part of my life that I'd want to continue riding around the world..... I have to say, it's funny where life takes you at times..... At any rate, the link below will hopefully give you an idea of where it all began....

A Historic Tour de Burbs - Route Map

Oh and just by way of a little update, I managed to fulfill my weekly goal in three out of the four weeks in February, but I didn't get anywhere near doing the 800 KM's I'd been hoping to do, during the month. Ah well, shit happens!

Mt Pleasant Road

I thought I'd have a go at posting some footage that I'd taken using the Go Pro camera that I recently installed on the front of my handlebars underneath my Garmin bike computer.

Whilst I'll probably need / want to tweak the way that the footage is shot over the course of the next couple of months or so, in terms of distance ridden, file size and so on, I figured I had to start somewhere.

Now talking cameras, my Fly 6 Rear Light / Camera arrived in the mail a couple of days ago though I've yet to install it, because doing so means I am going to have to ditch my saddle bag (where I carry my repair kit, spare tube and so on). Once I've sourced a suitable replacement I'll post a photo of my road bike set-up. 

I'm unlikely to ever post footage taking using the rear camera however cause I can't see there being any point. It's looking where I've been, not where I am heading after all....

Getting back to my inaugural camera shoot, essentially a mate and I went for a ride up Mt Pleasant Road in Eltham on Friday. It's part of a route that's often used by the Melbourne cycling community, in order to get from the inner burbs, to the hills in the outer Eastern fringes of Melbourne. I went with a view of taking some video footage and partially so as to get a bit of practice at tackling a bit of a longer climb than I've been riding lately, not that it's a mountain by any means, and partially to see where my fitness was at on a Strava segment that I've ridden numerous times in the last five or six years.

It is coincidentally also a street on which I lived many years ago. In saying that I have to doff my helmet to my parents, particularly my mother, cause I've no idea how they coped without a reliable car all those years ago. It certainly can't have been easy...

Heck, I didn't find it easy and I was on a bike, though admittedly I was pushing it a little. Though not too greatly, as I was keeping a bit of an eye on my heart rate. I mean one does need to be a bit mindful not to do anything stupid when one's already had a heart attack, well at least till he's had a check-up / chat with his cardiologist! 😊 😊 😊

Inspiration

Whilst I don't know whether the Dalai Lama did in fact respond as suggested

What I do know is there's gotta be more to life than simply doing the 9-5 routine, etc...

In other words live your life to the fullest whilst you still can, cause tomorrow it maybe too late!

2017 - A new year. A new beginning!

I don't know whether there's something in the wind or simply the idea of potentially riding through Europe later this year that's doing it, but this month I've achieved, in fact, exceeded my weekly 100KM goal and have managed to put 670 kilometres in already!

It's nothing really, in the way of distance, when one considers that during both of my exploits overseas, I was doing 100KM a day, fairly consistently day in and day out for weeks at a time, but hey, you've got to start somewhere right?!

With that in mind however and whilst I won't change my overall goal for the year, which would change somewhat if I end up going to Europe anyhow, I'm going to aim to do 200 kilometres a week for the remainder of Summer... 

I mean, the weather's good and it's not like I don't have time on my hands!

Lights Action Camera....

Whilst I've yet to even begin to explore what's possible in terms of recording my cycling adventures / training rides on the Go Pro camera. The camera I bought a couple of years ago in anticipation of "documenting" my trip through South America, but ultimately didn't end using because of:

• The lack of preparation time I had between it's purchase and the ride starting.
• The inability to keep everything that I was already running fully charged.
• The disk space limitations of my laptop computer.

Anyhow, that said, I am currently contemplating the idea of

• Learning how it works; and also
• Purchasing a Cycliq Fly6 Rear Light Camera

Why, well on the basis of the dangerous & inconsiderate attitude that many Australian motorists frequently display towards cyclists.

Now I know that it won't stop any potential incidents occurring but it will provide a bit of piece of mind that should something happen, that I've evidence to pass on to the authorities and / or my solicitors as to what's occurred.

With 2016 drawing to a close.....

No matter how many times I’ve watched Monty Python’s movie “The Meaning of Life” admittedly there may be better hints about what life is really about, I am still unable to find or appreciate a reason for my own life and suspect that not having any family, a job or a sense of direction as to where I should be heading, probably really doesn’t help.

As a consequence I am contemplating the idea of tackling the future with the idea of “living for the moment”, commencing with:

• Doing a self - supported bike ride from Seville (Spain) to Saint Petersburg (Russia) this year;
• Selling my house;
• Potentially then doing the Tour de Afrique ride of Cairo (Egypt) to Capetown (Sth Africa) in 2018.

Now I know this all sounds a little bizarre, but what the heck you only live once, I’ve reached the midpoint in my life (if I haven’t exceeded it already) and have personally knocked on the Pearly Gates twice. Fortunately I have been refused admission both times but.... I'm not so sure I’ll be so lucky the third time round, so for now am avoiding the Salmon Mousse! 😊 😊 😊 😊

On top of that all, is also the fear that one day down the track, I could find myself beginning to suffer from the same muscle wasting disease (a bit akin to MS) that took my mother’s life, there being a belief within the medical community that it does have some heredity aspects...

As a result, rather than continue to live life aimlessly, I am going to concentrate on what brings me happiness and to an extent that involves just getting on my bike and riding. If nothing else, it means I can also:

• Pretend most of the world's problems don't exist (an advantage in not being bilingual or having reliable internet access;
• Remain fit & active, which is just so good / imperative for both my mental & physical health;
• Continue to explore the world and see / experience different cultures and scenery for whilst I have been lucky enough to visit many countries, there are still things I’d like to experience, learn about and see with my own eyes.

How / Why - Because that way I can close my eyes and pretend it's all not happening, and instead just worry about, what tomorrow's route distance & profile is, how many coffee or drink stops there'll be along the way and what I'm likely to see during the day & once I get to the day's end destination.

Whilst I know that I said that I wouldn't do any more guided cycling trips, following on from what happened when I was with Bike Dreams in South America a couple of years ago, but in terms of my 2018 goal, I'm not too sure that I want to negotiate some African countries between Cairo and Capetown, without knowing that there's at least some degree of support. I also understand that TdA are also a little more stringent with regard to the behaviour expected of its patrons, to one another, staff and the community in general... 

Of course all of this is purely conjecture / wishful thinking at the moment, and I may see things in a new light during the course of the next couple of months or so, but for now... 

I'd better lift my game!

Whilst you're all out and about, doing all those Christmas chores, driving yourself nuts in shopping centres and so on, it looks like I'll be out and about on my bike riding... I have to ride at least 500 - 600 kilometres this month, if I am to at least get over the 4000 KM mark for the year..... 

My goal for 2016 was at least 5200 kilometres, being a 100KM a week, but....

• Life; and 
• Being too dammed picky about the weather

Got in the way of achieving that little goal

At least, if I ride the 500KM I've got down in my head to do this month, then I'll double what I did last year. That should hopefully ensure that my bikes don't start collecting dust or seizing up from lack of use. Only question now, is which bike to ride......

The Surly Troll

The Felt - Old Faithful