Bicycle tyres and the Internet conclusion

This week I finished my quest for the best deal on tyres. I checked the price of tyres at most Local Bike Shops (LBS). None of them could compete with Probikekit. As Paul who commented on last weeks post mentioned that the postage was now set at $9.95 and when I came across a couple of Michelin Speedium 2 tyres for $19.00, it meant that I had been able to get a set of tyres for just under $50.00. Many thanks to Paul and Probikekit.

However on the issue of LBS, I found myself at a loose end on Monday so I took myself to Stanmore. I went to the Cell Bikes Shop on Parramatta Road. They do stock Conti and Maxxis but found that there was nothing under $35.00.

Walked up to Stanmore Cycles and had a look there. I didn’t get any tyres at Stanmore Cycles. What I did get though was a lecture from the guy who owns/manages the shop. He pointed out rightfully that the tyres are the contact point between the road and the bike.  He also told me more than he intended when he said that he commuted on a $10000.00 road bike. For the record Stanmore Cycles sells tyres for $45 – $100.00. The tyres they were selling could be bought cheaper at other shops.

I then went to a couple of LBS I know that are near Centennial Park. I went to Centennial Park Cycles and found very little of interest. They appear to cater to the recreational market. Evidence of this was in the amount of mountain and hybrid bikes in the shop.

I then went to the Cheeky Monkey Multisport just up the road. Cheeky Monkey Multisport cater to serious road cyclists and triathletes. Their shop is pretty much wall to wall Cerevelos and Pinnerellos. They had some good tyres from Vittoria that were close to the price range and some Continental tyres.

I went to King Street Cycles in Newtown and found that the range there was similar to their repair depot Bike Repairs in Marrickville.  They kept Vittoria and Maxxis and very little else on hand. The girl at the counter did a good job of trying to sell me an expensive set of folding tyres which had carbon in their bead. They were $119 each and well and truly out of my league.

I also asked at the new Bike Depot shop on Enmore Road and found that they have very little in the way of tyres. None within my price range and mostly costly folding tyres. It seemed that the Local Bike Shops were well and truly understocked compared to the Internet.

I was still surprised at the lack of tyres in the stocks of the Local Bike Shops in Sydney’s Inner West. Yesterday on my way to visit family and friends in the Blue Mountains I went to Kingswood Cycles near Penrith and found they carried very little in the way of road bike tyres. I also found they carry only 3 road bikes per year (apparently from Gitane and Felt) and mainly cater to the local recreational riders. The guy working there was more than helpful. He suggested visiting Panther Cycles in Penrith, which are a road bike specialist.

I visited Panther cycles and found they carried little in the way of tyres. It was almost similar to Cheeky Monkey Multisport. They have quite a large number of road and triathlon bikes with a few MTBs and hybrids.

On the way to Panther Cycles I dropped in at Lifecycles near the Penrith Plaza. They mainly had Maxxis and Vitoria tyres. I have to admit that I have chosen the transition period for most bike shops.  The 2008-09 bicycles are now being sold off and the 2009-10 bikes are now being brought in. Some riders are replacing the cheap tyres that come as stock standard on their new bikes with better tyres. This may limit stock.

I also checked Blackman Cycles out and found that there were just folding tyres on display. I found they did have some folding tyres but these were on the expensive side.

Based on my research, I can conclusively say that the Internet based bike shops and wholesalers do stock a wide range of bike parts. You can get some very good stuff ranging from tyres and tubes to saddles and even wheel sets. Like most things sold on the Internet there are reputable suppliers such as Probikekit, Wiggle, Torpedo7 and Probikekit. Some LBS are now getting into Internet sales and I found a number of bike shops on the north side of Sydney getting into Internet sales.

What does this mean for cyclists? The Internet bike shops will benefit cyclists. They will have a greater opportunity to get quality components delivered right to their door. This will help cyclists in the outer suburbs and country towns get tyres, wheels, group sets and other components their city based cousins have open access to. Like everyone else they will have to be aware of the usual pitfalls of buying goods off the Internet and also the issue of returns and refunds.

What does it mean that the LBS? In my opinion the LBS will not hold much in the way of stock. If you want tyres for your bike now or even ASAP, you will have to put up with the what the LBS has on offer. It will not kill off the LBS. Cyclists will still get bikes serviced and repaired. I would not recommend purchasing a bicycle from the internet. Furthermore there is the issue of duty and GST if goods are purchased from overseas based bike shops. Goods that are valued in excess of $1000 have to be formally entered for Customs purposes and Duty and GST paid. Goods under $1000 are will be considered too small for duty. Some cyclists I know are ordering goods as a group to minimise postage and should be aware of the $1000 threshold for Duty and GST. Local based Internet sales will include GST in their costs.  I have noticed that some LBS in Western NSW use Internet based shops to get special orders in, but beyond that there is very little in the way of co-operation between the two groups.

I am now eagerly awaiting my new tyres and lookforward to letting you know how they go.

Bicycle tyres and the internet.

This week I found I have worn the tyres out on the Shogun Katana. They are old tyres. They came with a wheel set that I got from another bike that I bought off ebay and found did not fit me anymore.  They are Michilin Brand tyres and are quite good. They have stood up to on and off wear for about 2 years. Lindsay from Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club noticed the issue and identified the fault. The casing had going in the rear tyre meaning that we had a bulge that made the tyre unstable.

Lindsay recommended Continental Gator Skins. I have had some experiance with Continental tyres before and found them to be reasonable. I ran a Contential Ultra Sport on the back of the Red Hybrid for a number of years and found it to be reasonable. The only drawback to Continental tyres is cost. The thing with good tyres is that they need to have some form of puncture resistance. This is usually in the form of the casing or the bead which on good tyres is usually kevlar similar to that used in flack jackets.

A couple of months ago I found I wore the rear tyre out on the Green Trek, I bought another Schwable tyre from Cheeky Monkey at about $50. With this in mind, I decided to see what I could save on road bike tyres for the Katana by taking a look on the Internet. I would then compare them to local bicycle shops and work out if I am going to get a good bargain. I dencided to limit the amount I would pay for the set of tyres to $75.oo.

Starting with www.torpedo7.com.au  I had a look at the tyres available. They are selling Continental Ultra Sports for $29.95, the Michelin Erilium2 at $32.95 and the Michelin Speedium 2 at $29.99. Theydo not have the Continental Gator Skin. I ordered some stuff of Torpedo7 before and it took about a week to get to me. They are based in New Zealand but do have a presence here.  Postage is set at $9.00, so this will have to be factored in when ording.

Next on the list was Dean Woods Direct (www.deanwoods.com), which is run out of a bike shop in Wangaratta in Victoria. It is owned and run by Dean Woods a former champion track cyclist. They have the Continental Ultra Sports at $59.00 and the Continental Gatorskin Ultra at $75.00. They also offer a Michelin Lithion tyre and Tube combo for $89.00. I have found Dean Woods to be reasonable with the timing of their deliveries although you will pay more to get their gear quicker. However in the words of Ned Kelly such is life.

My next stop was www.cellbikes.com.au which are a site run from a shop in Stanmore in Sydney. I am likely to visit this shop sometime soon and will upgrade the post when I do. They list the Continental Gator Skin at $65 a pop. They also list the Continental Ultra sport foldable road bike tyres at $45 and the Maxxis Detonator road bike tyre at $34.95. I have dealt with Cellbikes before and found them to be reliable. I would also contrast the prices for tyres etc on their website with those in store. Occasionally they have been known to have extra stuff they do not list on their website in store.

The next stop is a new site Probike Kit. This is a site mostly based in the UK that has an Australian offshoot and Australian Prices. Nothing really exciting here, though they do have the Continental Gator Skin folding tyres at $31.14, the Michelin Speedium at $20.41 and Vittoria Zaffiro pro slick tyres at $23.91. I haven’t had much to do with Probikekit but I do know people who have. They are based in the UK and charge a flat rate of 12 pounds. Depending on the exchange rate used it is likely to put the price of the goods up significantly.

Pedals Plus – a website run by a chain of bikeshops in Bondi Junction, Mona Vale and St Ives has Vittoria Zafferos at $29.00. They state they will deliver the goods to anywhere in Australia for $9.95.

I then went to Woolys Wheels which is run by a bikeshop in Paddington. There was nothing exciting here either. I suspect that the sites run by bike shops actually would prefer customers actually come into the shop as opposed to buying on line.

All of this leads me to the my visits to bikeshops in Sydney. Yesterday Ivisited Innercity Cycles at Glebe and found I can get a Specialised road bike tyre for $35.00. I have replaced the front tyre on the Red Hybrid with one of these. It seems that they are just as good as the Continental tyres. 

I have also visited bikerepairs.com.au which are the repair depot for the King Street Cyclery. I found the Vittoria Zaffiros there on sale for $29.95. I am inclined to try the actual King Street Cyclery to see if they do have any more tyres available as the number of tyres there were limited.

The other bike shop I visited was CheekyMonkey/Cheeky Transport in Newtown. They have Schwable tyres there for $40.00 a pop. They are reliable and having used them on the Green Trek I would normally recommend them but they can be problematic.

My position on ordering gear on line is that it has to be compared with actually purchasing gear from the bike shop. The internet has given consumers in general greater choice however it does have some dangerous pit falls related to quality and price. You can get burned on line in the same way as you can get burned in a normal shop. Thre are some people who have some ethical hang ups with purchasing on line putting the Local Bike Shop in jeopardy. However as with all the other parts of the economy the openess to trading online can save you some money and some hassels if you actually do some research. As I have also pointed out the reach of some of the Local Bike Shops has been extended by the internet.

Grand for Charity – halfway point 549km.

Well with the recent Central Coast Century Challenge I am now half way through the Grand for Charity. There is a bit of a pause for winter with charity rides in Australia. There is the likelyhood of the ride for life in Centenniel Park some time in August. However it appears the earliest rides will be in September. I will give a good write up on these rides as they come up.

I will use this period to prepare for some long rides in the Spring and Summer. I particulary need to change the chain rings on the Red Hybrid – I have already changed the middle and will need to change the top one before anything else happens. I will wait till I get my Rudd money before I do that. I will also need to change the chain rings and the rear tyre on the Green Trek. While all of this is happening I will be using the Katana to do some commuting and some training rides.

In short I am impressed that I have reached the halfway point although I had intended to be a lot further on with it than I am. However we shall see what happens soon. The project is coming along just fine otherwise

The Central Coast Century Challenge report – Contribution to a Grand for Charity 100 Km

On Sunday the 24^th I took part in the Central Coast Century Challenge. I spent the night before at my uncle Brian’s and auntie Jean’s then went to the Mount Penang Gardens at Kariong for the ride. On the way I went to BiLo to get some energy bars. Unfortunately there were none so I got a couple of mars bars and a sneakers bar. I have done the ride before but given that the turn off to Kariong is not well sign posted. I wound up back on the freeway heading off to Sydney. I got to Kariong after I headed back to Gosford via the Old Pacific highway. As a consequence I got to the start late. I parked the bike late and watched the 50km riders head off.

When I went on the Tour de Hills, I had intended to do the century ride but wound up having to do the 70Km ride because I was stuck at the lineup for registration. This time it was different. I pre-registered; I collected my number and got a map of the course. I got briefed on when the various turn backs were going to be closed. Although I was tempted to do the 50 km course I resolved to do the 100. I got on my bike and began riding all out. I began pegging back 50Km riders as I went along.

As I headed towards Calga I began to relax and enjoy the countryside as it changed from light industrial sites to rural villages like Somersby and then onto the bush. It was a pretty good day. We had a week of rain and now we had sun and things got warm as we went along.

When I reached Calga I was faced with the choice of continuing with the 50 km course or doing my century. I chose to do the century and headed towards Mooney Mooney along the Kowan Road. As I road along I could see the other Century riders heading back toward Calga. Some of them called “lots of hills” as they went past. As I went down towards Mooney Mooney, I was some riders who appeared to have been in a mass crash. They were being looked after by the organizers. A short time later I was passed by an ambulance. Then a couple of moments later I was passed by two tow trucks. As I reached Mooney Mooney I was passed by the last of the 100km riders. A couple of girls as the end of the riders called “we thought we were last”. When I got to the turn around I got some water and rode on I slowly caught up with the last riders of the 100km ride and got talking to the girls who called out to me earlier.

When we reached the crash site the tow trucks and the ambulance were still there. I picked up the pace and left the other riders behind. When I got back to Calga I had a chat with a couple of people at the water point. One was a teacher who was supervising a student teacher who has a position lined up at the Kinross Woloroi school Orange. I am from the Central West area myself and we had a good chat. As the day went along the temperature got warmer and I unzipped my jersey to cool myself down. It worked.

I headed down Peat’s Ridge Road. The road was hard and I wound up having a mars bar to give myself some extra energy to climb some of the toughest hills on the course. I rode on and went though Peat’s Ridge Village Eventually I pegged back some more riders who were still plugging along the hills or in one case eating getting supplies at a service station.

I got to the drinks post at the 61 km ride and I stocked up with bananas and water. I was relieved that the drinks post was still there because I was told that it would be closed at 12:00 or 12:30 I got talking to the people at the drinks post and found out it would not be there when we came back from the drinks post at the 71km point. Another rider who was with the Central Coast Triathlon club said he was uncertain about continuing on with the century ride as it was his first big ride after tearing a muscle in a triathlon event last year. We were assured when we came back from the 71km point the course would be a lot easier.

 I then headed down George Downs Drive towards the 71 km point at Kulnura. As I headed towards Kulnura, the motor traffic picked up notably. Most motorists were well behaved except an idiot P plater in a ute who made a screeching turn out of a drive way behind another rider. The hills on this section were reasonable and the sight of the water point at the general store was a welcome sight. I took my time refilling the water bottles and had a couple of bananas. I took a brief look around and noticed a yellow MG near the general store. I got myself ready for the ride back and headed off back up George Downs Drive. I As I rode back I was a few other riders heading towards the turn back point. When I reached the site of where the 61km point drinks station, it began to rain so I stopped and put my rain coat on.

With 83 kilometers under my belt things did get easier. Wisemans Ferry Road was smooth and relatively flat. I noticed the area had undergone some hazard reduction work for bushfires done. I got closer to the finish point the countryside began to change again. We went through bush again to rural villages such as Somersby which still seems to be protesting against another sand mine in the area. When I got to Kariong I went along some tough roads. One in particular had patches over the surface which gave the effect similar to riding across the cobble stones of the Paris-Roubaix. I there were also some issues with gravel in some parts. I wound up riding with some recreational riders as I got closer to the finish. I wasn’t sure if they were part of the ride but they were a lively group.

When I reached the finish point I rode in as the organizers were getting ready to pack up. I got a round of applause from some of the organizers who were waiting for the remaining riders. I got a couple of sausage sandwiches and a cup of coffee. I missed out on the show bag that was supposed to come with entry. Not that it mattered. I had finished what I intended to do. I got talking to one of the organizers form Erina Rotary about the charity which they were supporting with the ride. Coast Shelter is an organization that looks after the homeless on the Central Coast. It may be hard to believe that homelessness would happen in such a beautiful place but it does. The organizer explained that there were people who came up to the coast from Sydney and beyond believing that the rents and housing would be cheaper. However they have often been knocked for six but the expense. I am on the verge of getting my own home (with a bit of luck). I feel for those who are homeless. It is a situation I hope to avoid at all costs. So Coast Shelter is a good cause to support.

If I were to rate this ride I would rate it as a hard ride but it is not as hard as the Blaney to Bathurst but better than the Tour De Hills. I would like to thank My Auntie Jean and Uncle Brian as well as Liz and Peter Murphy for looking after me the night before and the Central Coast Touring Cycle Club for organising the ride.

The Bathurst to Blayney report – contribution to a Grand for Charity 110 km

I would like to start by thanking Bathurst Daybreak Rotary for organising such a great ride. I hope that the funds raised for Head Space go to treating the issues relating to depression that are affecting people not only in the Central West but everywhere. I signed up for the ride but didn’t get any accommodation. I spent Saturday night in Lithgow and then drove to Bathurst in the morning. When I got there I parked the car on William Street and got the bike ready. I then took a bus which left from the corner of William and Howick Streets after putting the bike onto a removalist truck that the organisers had arranged to for the trip to Blayney.. My number was Blayney truck and caught up with Mike and Nick later on. I got my registration number and my bag of goodies at removalist I caught up with Simon, Nick and Mike. I met Simon first at the BlayneyWhen I got to

It was an interesting trip to Blayney. There were plenty of riders from Randwick Botany Cycling Club and other cycling clubs in Sydney. There were even riders from the Drapac Porsche team. I saw at the back of the bus looking at the beautiful Central Tablelands Scenery.

 

731. 

One thing I did notice about the road between Bathurst and Blayney is that a lot of animals seem to get killed. I passed a dead snake, Kookaburra, Parrot and any number of dead Kangaroos. There are a lot of pot holes in some sections the road and I found myself finding some of them as I rode along. Mind you there were some really good sections of road where the surface was smooth and intact. The other thing was that the standard of motorist behaviour in this area was better. Whether it was the amount of warning signs or the fact that people are in less of a hurry in the Central Tablelands is up for debate.and my time wasinternet with Mum and Dad and then headed back to Sydney via Ruth’s place. I looked on the Lithgow and had a meal. I then got the bike ready for the trip back to Sydney and headed off. I spent a bit of time in BathurstAfter watching the last 3 riders finish I rode into

As I rode toward the first drink station I saw Simon fixing the puncture and did offer assistance but Simon said he was OK and appeared to have the job under control so I continued on. I saw a rider riding the other way and got the surprise. He was riding a bike modified for an amputated left arm. I rode on astounded.

Another rider who had a puncture earlier and I wound up making our way to Trunkey Creek – that appeared to be a down hill run and I made some time on the rest of the ride.

Towards the half way mark there was some more climbing. On this stage I became aware of the sag wagon trundling behind me. I got to the drinks station at half way and the guys driving the sag wagon told me that they were told to follow the last rider – which pretty much confirmed my suspicions that I was it. I also had a chat to the people at the drinks station who told me that as Blayney was higher than Bathurst I had done some climbing so the next stage was going to be down hill if not on the flat until I got to Mt Rockley. I continued on with the ride. I was determined to get the ride done. I had some of the energy gels and the banana that I got at the start.

Fortunately the people at the drinks station were right and next stage of the ride from the halfway point to Mt Rockely was down hill or flat. I made up some time on the rest of the 110 km riders. There was a point where the long and the short courses converged and I had company till I had to go on to Mount Rockely.

When I got to Mt Rockely I had a really hard time. The climb included a dirt section. I had to stop and use some of the remaining energy gels to give me a boost up the hill. I even had to walk some sections. I got to the final drinks station at the summit of the hill and wound up getting the last of the water. I decided to go all out to make sure that I was able to catch up with the rest of the ride.

The ride down from Mount Rockely was a fast down hill and I went all out to get to Perthville and then on to Bathurst. I rode past a rider who I thought was a recreational rider not taking part in the event. It turned out they were on the ride and had started out on the Long Course but had changed to the short course when the going got tough. I rode on through to Bathurst and the weather improved. I turned off toward Mount Panorama and found myself riding with a couple of girls on mountain bikes. They claimed to be the last of the 70 Km riders. We wound up riding into the Mount Panorama area together.

We went through a gate and then headed into the pits area finish line.

When I arrived at the finish line an official cut the timing transponder from the fork. I had a chat to the commissaire who told me that the head wind at the start would have made us pedal harder. He showed me a trophy – I wasn’t aware that there was a trophy for the event. I was quite pleased that I had finished.

things looked warmish so I was looking forward to getting out of my arm warmers and longs but that didn’t happen. We had a pretty hard head wind for the first 20 kilometres. I was dropped by the ride well and truly before the first drink station. BathurstI also got the timing transponder which I put onto the front fork. When we started the temperature was pretty cold. In

5:45:36. It wasn’t a bad ride but it was the toughest I have ever done. I will do it again but do the short course next time.

Easter Riding

 

The Chocolate RideWith the arrival of Easter I went out on the MASSBUG Chocolate ride. It was held on the 28^th of March. It left from the front of Petersham RSL and was quite a good ride. I have been on it before but this was special. I decided to take two panniers and some calico bags. As I was on holidays having recently come back from Brisbane I took the train from Springwood to Redfern. I rode from Redfern to Petersham due to track work on the Inner West line. I got there in time in fact I had time to spare.

The other riders included people from MASSBUG and Belinda Kier and a couple of her sons & Suzy Spiro and a few other people from Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club. We had a briefing from Fiona Campbell. We got a list of businesses we were visiting. We were told about the a point where the ride was going to have to take the lane riding in to Dulwich Hill. There were some really good bikes being used that day. Fiona brought her Dahon and a carry freedom trailer. There were others with trailers and nearly everyone had panniers.

We headed east along Trafalgar St and then joined the shared user path on the eastern side of the railway bridge and rode into Stanmore. We then headed up into Newtown and rode up to our first destination The Alfalfa House Co-operative in Enmore. I got a block of organic chocolate, while others went in for goods as diverse as bread, vegetables, seeds for growing vegetables at home and memberships of the Co-operative. Alfalfa house is a small shop so it was crowded and we found out at the next MASSBUG meeting we found out that the people working there were worked off their feet and the committee in charge of the co-operative asked for a warning next time that the Chocolate Ride was dropping in.

We then rode to TIMS in Marrickville and it was here that I had a mechanical. I must have over inflated the rear tyre as it was not bedded down. It had gone over the rim and was caught by the brake pad. Ian and I wound up deflating the tube and bedding it down and reinflating it. Unfortunately I missed out on the lovely Greek sweets and cakes at TIMS but it was not to matter. I have been there before and enjoyed the cuisine on offer.

We then went to a gelato wholesaler behind the metro and I stopped at the Metro to get some money from the ATM machine. I caught up with everyone and had a tub of gelato. Brenda Bailey said she was worried about my panniers getting caught into the rear wheel and that became my cue to fill them.

When we finished at the Gelato wholesaler we rode to Adora Chocolate. We headed through the back roads of Marrickville and rode to the Cooks River Cycle Path. When we got there we found that the soccer mums/dads/idiots had parked their cars over the entry to the cycle path. We waited while Fiona tooted for the owner to come and move their car. They didn’t so we moved around the cars. Fiona called the ranger and was assured that they were on their way to book the cars. We had a half hour break at Adora and had chocolate and iced coffees and water. We watched some of the bad driving on Illawarra road before heading off down the Cooks River Cycle Path.

We road to Dulwich Hill and got ready to ride up over the bridge over the railway bridge. We rode two abreast and took the lane we rode up through some of the back streets to Marrickville road Dulwich Hill and then we went either to a Delicatessen, a smoke house or to a Lebanese bakery. I went to the deli for a lasagne and then went to the Lebanese bakery for some Lady Fingers and Baklava. From Dulwich Hill we went through to Petersham.

We went to Petersham to the Georgiou’s Confectionery at 147 New Canterbury Road Petersham NSW 2049 for our Easter Shopping. I took a big calico bag and went in to the warehouse. I bought eight 1 Single Egg Baskets – they consisted of a 60g egg in a basket wrapped in plastic. I got these for Mum, Dad, Sarah, Ray, Jodie and Ruth. I got Damien some small eggs. These filled up the panniers and pleased Brenda no end. I gave Ruth a ring and told her to get some salad for the Lasagne and then got ready for the final stage to the Petersham shops.

We got ourselves together and then headed up New Canterbury Road to Petersham shops. We reached the shops and then got ready to disperse. I got 10 Portuguese tarts at a café and finally filled the panniers. I rode back to Redfern and caught a train to Strathfield and then changed for a Blue Mountains train. I got off at Warrimoo and went to Ruth’s After a powernap we had the lasagne and salad and a Portuguese tart and some of the Lebanese sweets. After dinner I went back to Springwood and then back to Mum and Dad’s place. Mum and Dad enjoyed the Portuguese tarts and Baklava and Ladies Fingers.

The Good Friday ride

Fortunately for all of us Good Friday is a public holiday. It was warm and I was ready for a good ride. I had a tough week and so I decided to do a bit of sight seeing around Parramatta. I had considered going to Cape Solander but decided to go to Parramatta. I got myself ready the night before. I got up at the usual time of 06:00 and rode down Unwins Bridge Road and then crossed the railway bridge and went on to the Cooks River Cycle Path. I rode up the path to Dulwich Hill where I was able to cross the bridge over the Cooks River with a few tight turns. I took a road section to bypass the sections of the path that were blocked for maintenance by Sydney Water.

I rejoined the path and rode on to Canterbury, where there was another section which was closed by Canterbury Council for maintenance. I decided to take another road section which went around Canterbury Racecourse. I went through some back streets to rejoin the Cooks River Cycle Path. I rejoined the path and proceeded on to South Strathfield.

When I got to South Strathfield I took some on road sections to Homebush. I used on road sections to get a bit more speed and also to avoid any issues with pedestrians etc. It does work but it is also handy to have the Cycle Path to bypass busy roads and difficult parts of the trip to Sydney Olympic Park.

When I reached the path that lead to SOP I had to weave around a elderly pedestrian who appeared to be in a world of his own. I called “Passing on your right” and got around him but he still called out something unintelligible. I rode through to Bicentennial Park and then went on to Sydney Olympic Park. I was going to take a route though a path which had a gate. I found that the gate was closed and locked. Some pedestrians came along and one of them said she had the same idea about using the path. She and the other pedestrians climbed over the fence and proceeded on to their merry way. I wound up using the road and found a cordless phone before I left. The phone still had battery power and had some numbers. I tried to give them a ring but the phone was unable to find a base for it’s signal. I rode past the new apartments near Hill Road and then took the path near the archery centre.

I rode through a car park which was full of cars belonging to exhibitors for the Royal Easter Show. I found a security guard with a radio and handed him the phone telling him where I found it.

I took the Holker St Busway to Newington and used the Louise Savage pathway to get to Adderly Street Silverwater. I rode the path and the road till I got to the point where the path goes under the M4, where I went to Harris Park.

When I got to Harris Park I used some on road sections to get to Parramatta. I went around Parramatta. It has some old colonial architecture and has had a massive revamp to become Sydney’s second CBD. Due to restrictions on trading over the Easter period – namely Good Friday and Easter Sunday there was little traffic so I was able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Parramatta without any problems from Bogan motorists. I went close to where I suspect the old Parramatta goal was located. Parts of it have been turned into offices for the DOCS and the Corrective services. I then rode around Parramatta Stadium. I am not a fan of Parramatta Rugby League Football Club. In fact I follow the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs their rivals. It was interesting to note that they had a statue of Eric Groethe who captained their last premiership side.

I wound up having to go off road for a bit – this is where the Trek 730 came into it’s element it is a hybrid with touring/trekking tyres from Schwalbe and these worked well. I rode around a cricket oval and crossed a bridge and into Parramatta Park. According to a sign I had rode through the Old Government Farm. I did a couple of loops of Parra park which is Western Sydney’s answer to Centennial Park. It is a fascinating place. For starters it had old Government House. Parramatta was considered as an alternative seat of government for NSW and a Government House was established there. There was a number of monuments with cannons and even an observatory. I like Parra park because it has some really interesting architecture – the gate house is something reminiscent of Europe which is much like parts of the suburb. However the rush to make Parra into second CBD may take some of this architecture away. I decided to head back to Tempe after 3 laps.

I rode through the CBD and then onto the path at Harris Park. I rode through Newington and SOP to Bicentennial Park. I then took Pommeroy street to the Cooks River Cycle path and rode back to Tempe with some on road sections thrown in at Marrickville. While riding through South Strathfield I had an idiot riding sans helmet tailing me. I allowed him to pass and he went off at speed. The idiot must have caused some consternation for a couple with a child on a tricycle. I called “Passing you on your right” and they thanked me with a look that indicated that the idiot had surprised them. Fortunately the Idiot had not caused problems from an intellectually disable kid on a bike with massive training wheels being helped by his carers. I came across another intellectually disabled kid on a Kmart bike who asked me how far it was to Olympic Park. I told him not long – he had asked the Idiot.

I got to Marrickville and went down Renwick Street where I passed another member of Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club on his way west on a Bianchi. I got home and had a shower and a power nap. I got myself together and went back to Lithgow. In all it was not a bad day although I could have done without the locked gate and the Idiot.

 

Slow news day in Melbourne: Bicycle registration and other Bullshit

From todays Age: My comments will be in brackets. But I will start with the observation that if the cyclist depicted put a set of panniers and or a rack pack on the rack that number plate would be completly obscured!

A growing army of cyclists want to be free to ride free. But some drivers say it’s time they paid a rego fee

• Reid Sexton
• April 12, 2009

There have been calls to charge cyclists a registration fee to help pay for the State Government’s $115 million bike strategy, and to help identify rogue cyclists. Photo: Justin McManus

 

ASK Harry Barber if he thinks cyclists should pay a registration fee to ride their bikes and he is straight to the point.

It would be ridiculous, the Bicycle Victoria chief says, to tax transport that costs less to fund than other modes and contributes virtually nothing to carbon emissions.

But recent talk suggests the boom in cycling is accompanied by a similar rise in people who think cyclists should have to pay — and be held accountable — for their time on the road.

In February, 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell called for a registration fee or tax at the point of sale to help pay for the State Government’s new $115 million bike strategy (Mitchell has not heard about second had bikes or custom building).

His call echoed that of then Federal Opposition spokesman on sports, Pat Farmer, who last year said cyclists should pay registration to fund infrastructure and safety campaigns (Neil Mitchell is a Victorian and probably is not aware that Pat Farmer made his statements as a diversion from the fact that he had moved from his electorate in Campbelltown – a working class electorate he only just held onto in the middle of a landslide election. In the end the diversion did not work with Farmer set to leave politics at the end of the parliamentary term – good ridance to bad rubbish!)

The latest Transport Accident Commission data shows that in the five years to 2007, the number of cyclists lodging successful claims after an accident with motorised transport rose significantly each year while the number of other claims plateaued or fell.

In 2003, 3.6 per cent of approved claims for taxpayer assistance for medical bills came from cyclists. By 2007, cyclists made up 5.4 per cent of approved claims.

This figure is roughly in line with the boom that led to around 22,000 people riding to work at the time of the 2006 census, a rise of around 50 per cent in five years.

All indicators suggest that number has grown steadily since then, but the issue of medical funding is not the only one that has people thinking cyclists should pay for their road use.

A survey commissioned last month by car insurer Budget Direct found 50 per cent of Melbourne motorists surveyed supported the introduction of a cyclist registration fee (with claims from cyclists against them rising I guess they had to use some sort of spin to try to attack cycling and possibly drum up new motorists for their insurance business).

Some who want cyclists registered said bike riders should pay for infrastructure costs like other road users, but most said cyclists should be registered so they could be identified if they broke road rules (Like the motorists who steal number plates so they can steal petrol no doubt!).

Budget Direct spokeswoman Richelle Ward said drivers were tired of putting up with cyclists who regularly flouted the law but could not be reported. “A lot of people feel very strongly about this,” she said.

“It’s nothing sinister but a lot of people are saying they get nervous when bicycles do silly things on the road … they feel cyclists should be held accountable (with successful claims indicating that the motorist was at fault some thing tells me that Richell should stop attacking cyclists).

“The problem isn’t (children) on the road. It’s when cyclists are ducking in and out of traffic and running red lights.”

Victoria Police defended its record of catching errant cyclists, saying it was not aware of issues regarding identification of cyclists who commit road offences.

Harry Barber concedes a minority of cyclists break the law but said better enforcement rather than better identification would solve the problem. “Enforcement is a job for police, (not motorists),” he said.

“This is not a matter of passing a lot of laws that aren’t enforced.

“The police have plenty of laws that they can enforce but they have other priorities and are pretty busy.”

Mr Barber said most cyclists were also motorists and so already funded the TAC through car registration fees.

But he said if non-drivers were asked to provide TAC funding then it would have to extend to pedestrians and public transport users, because they were also at risk of being injured by a car.

Mr Barber said cycling infrastructure provided taxpayers with value for money by moving more people for less cost than other transport modes.

He cited the recent safety upgrade of bike lanes on Rathdowne Street in Carlton — which has boosted the number of riders who use it by 100 a day — for $150,000.

This is a fraction of what it would cost to get a comparable number of people on buses or moving through Melbourne’s congested road network by car, he said. “Asking cyclists to pay is having it exactly the wrong way around,” he said.

“The saving that using a bike delivers (to taxpayers) is enormous … then there are the climate and health benefits.”

But in Brisbane, the idea of using cyclist registration fees to fund bicycle infrastructure appears to be gaining pace.

Last week, just under half of 400 cyclists surveyed said they would support a licensing scheme, with most saying their support would be withdrawn if the money was not put towards creating better bike paths.

The survey organiser said it showed that people were now prepared to pay to ride if it meant guaranteeing their safety.

Cyclist James Storer, 34, rides his bike to work most days from Carnegie to South Melbourne.

He would back a bike levy of around $200 but only if it funded education campaigns to improve the relationship between cyclists and motorists (A voluntary $200 donation the the Amy Gillett Foundaton could achieve the same thing).

His friend and fellow cyclist Nathan Gallacher said only a nominal fee would be appropriate, and even then only for identification purposes.

“If you look at the damage to roads and the environment caused by cars … a bike does zero damage in comparison.”

A VicRoads spokesman said it did not have the resources to make bicycle registration a viable option.

Biking around Brisbane

On Saturday I went to Brisbane to see a friend of mine. I had also intended to participate in either the Mt Coo- tha Challenge or the Great Brisbane Bike Ride. These rides are held to celebrate the end of Bike Week in Queensland. I had fully intended on taking the Shogun Katana in pretty much the same way I took it down to Victoria for the Amy Gillett Ride. However when I looked up the City Rail website for information on track work I found I would have a battle getting the bike to and from the airport. The Airport line was closed for track work (with Busses replacing trains from Central to the Airport) and there was track work on the return journey to Mum and Dad’s place with the same deal.

I had toyed with the idea of a cab from Central to the Airport but that would have blown the budget for the trip and would not have solved the issue with regards trains out west. I wound up capitulating and left the bike and bike gear at home. I found that this decision was the best as City Rail had used state transit busses (bikes are prohibited on STA busses) and there was not much in the way of space. There were guys who had brought surf boards on board and they were forced to stand for the journey to the domestic terminal.

I got to the Virgin Blue Terminal and checked in after a fashion. It was a good flight. I got myself a room at the Chifley at Lennon’s and settled in to watch the aftermath of the Queensland Election. There were other cyclists staying at the hotel. One guy came from Toowoomba and had a carbon fibre Trek with him as he and his girlfriend waited for the lift.

The next day I went for a walk around South Bank and eventually found myself walking across the Goodwill Bridge and into the Botanical Gardens. As I did I watched enviously the riders from both rides arrived at South Bank.

There are a number of Shared User Paths (SUPs) in the South Bank area and I noticed a contrast between them and the SUPs I have cycled and walked on in Sydney and Canberra.

The first point of contrast was the signage. The signage in Sydney is minimalist and what there is generally advises cyclists to give way to pedestrians. The signage in Brisbane additionally advised pedestrians not to block the path. There were also signage painted onto the path that advised pedestrians to keep to the extreme left and for cyclists to sound their bell and give way to pedestrians. This appears to have kept the pedestrian cyclist conflict down. In addition there is signage at blind spots and narrow points where cyclists are advised to slow down.

There were also areas where pedestrians and cyclists were separated. These were in areas such as the Bicentennial path, where the path was wide enough for two way traffic (of both pedestrians and cyclists) to pass each other.

Fortunately I noticed a family group riding, the children were in a Chariot trailer towed by the wife and both adults were riding Mountain Bikes. I noticed that there was a sticker advertising Valet Cycle Hire. I asked the riders where they hired the bikes from and they gave me a mobile phone number. I continued my walk into the Botanical Gardens and found a white van with a trailer. From an A frame sign I found out that it was were the bikes were hired. I had a look at what was on offer and it went from children’s bikes to Adults MTBs mostly entry level. There wasn’t much on offer as most of the bikes had been hired earlier in the day. I decided to continue on with some other things I had planned. Before I left I spoke to the guy who hired the bikes. He handed me a map of the SUPs in the Brisbane area and I told him I would be back the next morning for a ride.

After a visit to the QLD parliament and dinner with my friend Jodie. I returned to the hotel.

While there I found out that there had been a guy murdered by Outlaw Motor Cycle Gang members at the domestic airport back in Sydney. From what the news showed he had been chased by gang members into the check in area. There he was bludgeoned to death with bollards used to manage cues of waiting passengers. With my luck fresh in my mind I went to bed.

The next morning I got my gear together and checked out. I went straight to the same spot in the Botanical gardens where I found the guy and his partner setting up for the day. I filled out the conditions of hire form and got a red Diamondback MTB and a helmet and went for a spin. On the advice of the guy I rode through the Botanical Gardens and across the Goodwill Bridge. I then rode towards New Farm and my goal of the Story Bridge – Brisbane’s landmark the equivalent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

After a backtrack, a bit of guesswork and some on road sections, I found the SUP across the Story Bridge. It is pretty much a SUP. I am surprised that they have not made a second crossing for cyclists only (much like the Sydney Harbour Bridge) but it worked pretty well. I rode along the path only dismounting as directed by a sign which directed cyclists to dismount as there were maintenance works in the area. The path had been narrowed slightly and an old woman went through the area. She asked me if I was dismounting as she had almost been injured that morning. I replied I was and was just waiting for her to go through, so I would have enough room for me and the bike.

After I crossed the Story Bridge. I rode out towards New Farm and a board walk SUP that lead to the path back through the Riverside Centre.

On one section the Path was closed by the Brisbane Ports Authority for maintenance and was diverted onto the footpath. I found that in Queensland cycling on the footpath is legal. There are two versions of how this came about. One I have heard is that under Queensland law the footpath is considered part of the road. The other is that the QLD government decided allowed footpath cycling to reduce the danger from motor vehicles driven by bogans. There is also a similar situation in the ACT and I have often wondered if Harold Scruby and the Pedestrian Council would change their minds on the issue if they visited Canberra and now Brisbane? When I rejoined the path towards the Riverside Centre I found it was pretty much plain sailing from there. I got back to the Botanical Gardens and decided I would try the Bicentennial path.

The Bicentennial path leads out towards the University of Queensland at St Lucia. I rode along this path marvelling at the amount of shade and how wide it was. There was a point where maintenance was in progress and the pedestrians were advised to walk in single file. The traffic on the path was also controlled by traffic controllers otherwise known as Lollipop men. I followed the Path all the way out to Indooroopilly. I also went part of the way to St Lucia. I only returned to the Botanical Gardens because of I had to catch a flight later that day and rode back.

When I returned I pointed out I had some problems changing up to the big chain ring – that was not much of a problem. I asked how far I had gone after explaining the route and was told the best part of 20km.

I would be remiss if I did not give out the details for Valet Cycle Hire. They can be found in the Botanical Gardens near the QLD Parliament and can be contacted on 0408003198. They have Tandems, MTBs, children’s bikes as well as Chariot trailers for children. I handed back the bike and helmet and got myself to Central Station where I caught the Air Train to the airport and flew back to Sydney. When I got back to Sydney wound up walking to Petersham and caught the train to the Strathfield and then went on my merry way to the Mountains.

Haphazard Harold’s latest missive “Will these people ever give up?” Maj Kilgore Apocalypse Now

 

Haphazard Harold

 

 

 

 

Having recently returned from the ACT it’s disappointing that Harold has to go trolling against bicycle infrastructure, particularly shared user paths. The Big Canberra Bike Ride as previously reported took riders both on a journey through Canberra both on the road and on Shared User Paths. Everything about it went well. No bogans yelling at the riders from the safety and comfort of their cars, shared paths that were in good repair and riders who used common sense when using the shared paths.

It seems that Haphazard Harold has decided to keep the issues raised in his previous missive in an interview for the Inner-West Weekly, which was posted in their on line edition. In this report Haphazard Harold had decided to extend his ambit claims that cycle paths should be abolished with “

a plan that includes insurance for pedestrians, fines for speeding and other offences such as negligent cycling, and a comprehensive identification system such as numberplates on bikes.”

Fortunately the reporter for the Inner-West Weekly was principled enough to seek out an opinion from the RTA which stated

all cyclists in NSW were governed by state laws which prohibit riding in a “negligent or reckless fashion”. “The legal advice obtained by the Pedestrian Council does not raise anything new which would warrant a change to existing RTA policies,”. Pretty much what I and everyone else thought and it would appear that Harold’s desire to get rid of shared paths will go the same way that his efforts to get rid of bull bars from four wheel drives went. Nowhere!

It is worth refuting some of his latest claims. Firstly Haphazard Harold claims “

said shared bike paths, such as the Bay Run foreshore and Cooks River bike path, were “a farce”. The only people who have made The Bay Run foreshore a farce have been pedestrians who won’t stay in the pedestrian sections of the path. Many walk two abreast and use the sections marked for cyclists. As for the Cooks River bike path there are usually no problems the path is wide enough for everyone’s needs.

The hypocrisy from Haphazard Harold continues with “

councils must enforce a 10km/h speed limit on bike paths ”. Given Harold’s backing of the state government’s decision to reduce the demerits for motorists exceeding the speed limit by more than 15 km an hour it this sounds too cute by far. If it is just a “misdemeanour” for motorists to exceed the speed limit by not more than 10km per hour what about cyclists doing the same? Haphazard Harold’s proposal for a “comprehensive identification system such as numberplates on bikes” is similar to the other idiocy that came from Paul (Pot)tinger and the Mosman Farmer. The best response to those proposals came from the Cycling Promotion Fund http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au/images/stories/factsheets/Issue_Sheet_5_Bicycles_belong_on_the_road.pdf

As seen from this document the amount of money raised from the registration of cars and other government imposts on cars is way overshadowed by the costs to society incurred by motor vehicles.

If Harold really wanted to improve the safety of cyclists and pedestrians he would be pushing for more safer cycle paths not less.

Just to sort things out It seems to my mind to be a good idea to provide a rebuttal of arguments for bicycle registration. The long and the short is

It’s too costly, It’s unenforceable, It would be detrimental to the broader social benefits of cycling, Compliance would be minimalist (especially among those it’s supposed to catch.

 

Bicycle Victoria spokesman Harry Barber said The Germans tried to do it to the Dutch during World War II and it didn’t work,” to quote Treadly and Me (see http://treadly.net/2007/04/05/bike-number-plates-dumb-idea-redux/) “it only provoked resistance. And without taking the comparison to Nazis too far, how much fun would cyclists have swapping registration plates backwards and forwards between themselves, and between all sorts of different bikes”. Something that has come up during the spate of petrol thefts during the recent period where petrol was $1.50 and above, was the number of numberplates stolen from cars, there has also been issues with people modifying numberplates with electrical tape and texta pens and what has become an urban legend about people using hair sprays to fool speed cameras – no one can say the same cannot happen to number plates on bikes.

As Chris Gerhard points out “

Consider the effectiveness. Number plates on cars don’t stop them jumping lights or speeding so there is no reason to think this measure would be effective for cyclists”. There are a huge number of hit and run drivers who have not been caught. It seems Harold Scruby (now known as Haphazard Harold) doesn’t do anything to urge continuing investigation of these cases. These drivers would have been driving registered cars and the fact that they were registered did not deter them from committing homicide with their registered motor vehicles.A number plate on a bike no more identifies the rider than a number plate on a car identifies the driver.

The impracticality is screamingly obvious when as Gerhard points out again “

Consider the size of a number plate. It has to be unique to cope with the 30 million bikes so seven digits. Seven digits on the back of a push bike. Pretty big then or not readable. If it is big that will make most bikes, like the ones I ride to work on illegal as there is no room for a number plate once you have lights, reflectors etc. All “racing” bikes would be illegal and most mountain bikes”

In short what Haphazard Harold is trying to do is pretty much like most anti-cycling whingers try to do and deter cycling – by pushing for a registration system, a system that would be

prohibitive in cost and would deter people from owning and riding a bike. In short Harold’s plan sounds about as futile as a plan that would force pedestrians to wear number plates and carry lights at night (red at the back and white at the front).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Canberra Bike Ride (contribution to A Grand for Charity = 25 km)

On Saturday, I went down to Wollongong to catch up with Ruth. I took the Katana down with me. We decided to spend a weekend down in Canberra, we would have a look at a few of the local attractions – the National Gallery, the Parliament and the War Memorial. I would also do the Big Canberra Bike Ride, which is a muck around community ride – it isn’t timed and is something enjoyed by all who participate in it.

It is also used as a fund raiser for the Heart Foundation. Heart Disease has been a major killer of Australians. This has been down to things like diet and exercise, as well as stress and smoking. I support the heart foundation because my dad and other members of my family have had issues with heart disease.

I enjoyed the train ride down to North Wollongong where I arranged to meet Ruth. There was a drunk on the train and we had entertainment from Central to Sutherland. I also got discussing the financial crisis with two guys from Brisbane who had hitched hiked up to Sydney from Adelaide and had a chat with a young mother who had brought a child and a ton of shopping on the train.

Everything went well – I got to North Wollongong and met Ruth outside the train station. It turned out Ruth had arranged to get a tow ball fitted to her Hyundai Getz, it turned out that she and her mother got skinned by the mechanic. The tow ball did not fit the bike rack. I assured both Ruth and her mother that everything was OK and that everything was going to be fine. I was able to disassemble the bike and put it into the back.

We headed off to Canberra via the Macquarie Pass. It is on an Audax Raid, so it was interesting to see the layout of the land and find just how challenging it could be as a ride. We stopped at the Robertson Pie Shop but it was closed so we had some salad for dinner before pushing on to the Hume Highway via Sutton Forrest. We got to Canberra at about 10pm and got a room at the Carotell. We unpacked the car and I reassemble the bike.

At 6 I headed off to the Big Canberra Bike Ride, I rode down the Federal Highway and up Northbourne Avenue. I went through the town centre and followed a path around to the point a Lake Burleigh Griffin where the ride was going to head off. This point opposite Old Parliament House offered a brilliant view of the hot air balloons taking off. It was spectacular. There was even a small sailing boat on the lake. There were some unusual hot air balloons, one shaped like a birthday cake with the words “Happy Birthday” on the side complete with candles, a Bertie Beatle, and a Kookaburra. When the birthday cake took off one of the organisers who had access to the PA system said “Happy Birthday Canberra!”.

I was early enough to sign on and get myself ready. Everyone was in a pretty relaxed and friendly mood. I noticed quite a lot of recumbent bikes – something which is pretty much peculiar to Canberra. There was one with an American and an Australian flag flying from orange safety flag pole. It turned out the rider was from the states. The event was sponsored by Australian Ethical Investments and was organised by Pedal Power – the ACT peak cycling body. They had a stand where they took memberships, sold books, jerseys and t-shirts. Towards the start of the ride there were speeches from Australian Ethical Investments – they claimed that they had avoided most of the corporate excesses which have lead to the collapses that are being seen today. There was a speech by Simon Corbell – the ACT Attorney General, who urged us to have a safe ride and talked up his governments activities in increasing cycling in the ACT. Then there was a speech by Pedal Power who urged everyone to join and have a safe ride and finally the usual safety blurb by the ACT police – this was delivered by a motor cycle policeman who’s uniform only needed the helmet from the show Chips for him to be confused with a highway patrolman from the US. We were finally underway and had to dismount to cross a bridge that was part of a new RG Menzies path. The ride went out onto the roads around Canberra and was controlled by Pedal Power volunteers with fluoro vests and road works flags. We enjoyed a view of the War Memorial and then went through the north eastern suburbs of Canberra to the Dickson Tradies Club where there was a morning tea and consisting of croissants, muffins and a cup of tea of coffee. It also doubled as a toilet stop. As we went through Dickson I was passed by the motorcycle cop who asked “Are you having fun yet?”. We then headed up Northbourne Avenue and went through the town centre. We went over the bridge across lake Burleigh Griffin and then onto a shared user path that led to Canberra’s south western suburbs. Everything worked well on this ride. There were few pedestrians. People were polite and let people know when they were passing. They also rode slowly past the pedestrians, who generally kept to the left of the path. All this makes me wonder if Harold Scruby has ever been to the ACT and seen how things work there. It would seem that the residents of the ACT have a better relationship with each other than Sydneysiders do.

When we rejoined the road we went through some obviously well to do suburbs. The houses were well maintained and there were a number of private schools which were obviously doing just as well. We went down one of the wider streets and had a good descent towards Parliament House. We stopped at the lights and then resumed our journey towards the lake. When we rode passed the Parliament there were a number of Australian Federal Police Protective Service bike patrol riders watching the ride. I noticed their newish Avanti MTBs. We finally joined one of the main roads that lead to the lake and joined the Shared User Path that lead back to the start of the ride.

When I got back I collected my certificate stating I had completed the 25km ride. I got some info from Pedal Power on Ride to Work Day and a membership form. I hung around for the draw for the Diamond Back MTB which I did not win (fortunately). There was a bit of tension in the atmosphere when it was announced that the Diamond Back had been imported by Pacific Brands – the company who is laying off thousands of it’s Australian work force to set up manufacturing it’s Bonds undies and singlets etc in China. I also missed out on the other prizes as expected. I had a look at an old Penny Farthing brought around by the Canberra Bicycle Museum before I headed off.

I rang Ruth and arranged to meet her at the Carotell. I rode out to Dickson and found a Woolworths Supermarket which was open and got some pizza type bread rolls for lunch and some extra supplies. On my way there I saw an altercation between a motorist and a cyclist – it was just words and the usual come out and have a go stuff – so it was nothing serious. I rode back and found my way back to the Carotell. Ruth arrived a short time later and we enjoyed lunch.

We visited Cockington Green and the next day the National Gallery and the Parliament, before heading off to Ruth’s place at Warrimoo.