bikes

  It's been a year in which I've hardly been out of the saddle. I've clocked up over 10,000 kilometres of cycling in Australia, Asia and Europe, so it seems appropriate I nominate my Top Ten rides of 2012, in no particular order. For a more detailed blog on each of the rides, click on the link. Some of the blogs featured include videos of the ride. 10.   Col du Galibier, France :  Let's start at the top shall we? The top of the French Alps, that is. Of all the mountain climbs, Col du Galibier was my favourite. For an Australian, the thrill of cycling in-between two-metre-high snow drifts was thrilling and, given it was summer, refreshingly cool. This climb is an icon of the Tour de France, for good reason - sumptuous views, excellent road surface and all that history. 9.   Hua Hin to Ban Krut, Thailand :  Three days of riding along quiet backroads through beachside villages on the Gulf of Thailand. No hills, a strong wind at our back and fantastic food for lunch...

    My wife and I are spending a week at a friend's wonderful apartment at Ettalong Beach. The lounge room windows overlook the beach, a distant island, a few headlands and three windsurfers barrelling across the whitewater in a performance that is part surfing, part ballet.     My plan is to write every morning and hopefully finish my next manuscript, a novel for children titled HA! In the afternoon, I'll cycle to a new destination each day.     Today, I'm heading south to Pearl Beach and Patonga.     I begin with a wind-assisted hurry to Umina. Parts of this area are scornfully labelled 'Blacktown by the sea'. But on a sunny day, with a slight breeze whispering past Barrenjoey Headland, and the Tasman Sea a glorious blue, I'd prefer to label it 'Biarritz for bogans.'      It's a pity today is blowing a nasty southerly and visibility across the water is down to a few hundred metres. No matter. As I cycle past the Central Coast...