SYDNEY SPRING CYCLE

Here I am with wife Fay and daughter Deb after we'd done the Sydney Spring Cycle. Deb towed Logan (also in photo) and Owen (unavailable) in the chariot.... ALL THE WAY! We did about 46 km. Free train travel was available to get to the starting point and to get home after we'd made it to the Olympic Site.

Experience the thrill of riding over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, [the advertising went on] pedalling through some of Sydney’s most beautiful scenery, and then celebrating your ride in festive style at Sydney Olympic Park… The City of Sydney Spring Cycle is Sydney’s most popular annual recreational cycling event where thousands of cyclists of all ages and abilities join together to enjoy a Sunday cycle through some of the most picturesque surroundings of the city. You can enjoy a fun bike ride while raising money for MS Australia and the Oncology Children’s Foundation – the event beneficiary charities!

Pretty cool going over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Only allowed to ride on the bridge on occasions like this, otherwise you have to ride on the separate bike "path".

While train travel was free for entrants, the carriages were a bit congested. You can just make out Fay, Deb and Logan.

Hope they found their own bikes when it came time to get off!

These two guys were quite happy to get home at about 1:30 pm. They were initially put into the chariot at 5:30 am!!!! Of course they got a few opportunities to have a romp during the day.

Looks good..... but at the end of the day we averaged a paltry 12+ kph!!

This was one of about 4 possible routes. Congrats to the organizers. Well done indeed.

$85 if you'd like one.

TWO WHEEL INDUSTRIES

If you're not into bikes.... I mean bicycles..... just move on, OK?




In Newcastle there's this really cool bike shop - TWO WHEEL INDUSTRIES - with great bikes, great gear and plenty of professional advice.

It all happened on 1 Feb 2007 when Fay went shopping in Newcastle for a sewing machine. I guess she just hesitated a bit or something.... and we finished up with a lovely BH road bike from TWO WHEEL INDUSTRIES at 679 Hunter Street Newcastle. Marek (that's the owner pictured below) offered me a lovely carbon fibre bike with Ultegra running gear for $3800. Except that he "gave it to me" for $2500. What a gorgeous bike. He measured me up and set the bike up for me. By 3 pm he had it all put together with the necessary pedals, computer, pump etc. All up three grand as I remember.

One of the unfortunate things that happened was that I had problems with the bike computer. I think it was just one of those things. Anyway, Marek has replaced the computer with a new one and even upgraded me to a VDO C3DS. I think it does everything except tell me what television channel the cricket is on!
I have promised Marek I'll be more careful of this wireless computer.

So, thanks Marek and the team at TWO WHEEL INDUSTRIES. Fortunately with my daughter Peta living here in Newcastle I have an excuse to wander up here and of course bring the BH. I come to see Mutley, Jon, Dinah and Kerry (Saddos).

TWO WHEEL INDUSTRIES has heaps of bikes such as ORBEA, CANNONDALE and MONGOOSE plus some I've never even heard of. The BH is actually a Spanish bike and was the preferred choice for one of the teams in this year's Tour de France.

If you like bikes, make your way to Marek's shop here in downtown Newcastle. You will be well looked after.

We're here in Newcastle for a few more days before heading home to the south coast.

NZ - A COOL PLACE

On Fri 28 Aug we headed from Wanaka to Haast. Unfortunately we were not meant to get to Haast (West Coast) that day. There was a rock slide which spread across the road and took at least 2 hours to clear a track through. We decided to head to Queenstown instead.

A very typical view with water, mountains and snow. Very picturesque.

Some of the scrub (our name) was unreal. It's no wonder they made Lord of The Rings there. Bit scarey!

We were not quite game enough to try rafting.... maybe it was out of season.... yes, that's it.... out of season!

We stayed at Wyndham Resort, Wanaka for 4 days. The hot pool (behind the slide) was part of our daily ritual. A lovely resort. We'll be back.

More water, mountains and.... yes, you guessed it... snow!

Looks a bit unreal. Think there are a few sheep in this photo. We sure saw plenty of them.

We were amazed at the Moeraki Boulders. There were heaps of them. They were all just about round. Quite a sight. Thought about bringing one back to Cudmirrah.

OK, we've told you about water, mountains and snow. Now we'll introduce deer and giant hedges! Wouldn't like to be a gardener on the South Island.

We stayed at Christchurch, Wanaka, stunning Lake Tekapo, fascinating Akaroa and then back to Christchurch.

Have you been to the South Island? I know Mick has. Thanks for your suggestions Mate. We'll pop a few more photos on later in the week. Meanwhile, it's great to be home.