bikes

I�m very fortunate that my occupation allows me time to indulge in a daily bike ride. Usually, I hop on my road bike and complete a 28km circuit of back roads near my house in the Blue Mountains. It�s rather hilly, as you�d expect, but the grind is more than compensated by spectacular views and quiet roads.  However, lately I�ve noticed that my focus on the ride has shifted slightly from a sense of calm and joy at cycling in such beautiful surroundings to being keenly aware of the car approaching me from behind. I guess I�ve read, or written too many articles on the dangers of road cycling. I�ve even bought a Fly6 rear-facing video camera and flashing light-set to hopefully mitigate against the perceived dangers of distracted motorists. Don�t get me wrong. I still love my daily ride. But the presence of looming vehicles driven by texting motorists set me thinking. I live on Narrow Neck Road in the Blue Mountains, just a few hundred metres uphill from the majestic Narrow Neck plate...

Today�s ride starts in a car park looking up to a hill recently denuded of trees by Forestry NSW. I�m a few kilometres west of the village of Hampton, which consists of a pub, a general store and a spectacular view east to the Blue Mountains escarpment. After electronically pawing over  Google Maps, I�ve created an itinerary from here, west to Oberon, south-east to Jenolan Caves and back up the mountain to this car park, a circuit of seventy-eight kilometres, with quite a bit of up and down in between. It�s a cool morning of 11 degrees as I set out, accompanied by bird song and the occasional roar of a logging truck. To my left are high plateau sheep pastures of lush green grass and trickling streams. To my right, forested hills yet to feel the wrath of the chainsaws.  Although Hampton and Oberon share a similar elevation of 1100 metres above sea level, the road between them dips and climbs incessantly. It�s hard to get a rhythm with these constant variations, but on a clear s...

  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...

When I was a child, I had a plastic toy camera, pilfered from a Weet-Bix box. It didn�t take photos, of course. It was free junk, a few centimetres of cubic plastic, painted in the design of a Kodak. I played with it for a few minutes before correctly deciding a football and the backyard offered more enjoyment. Now, as a middle-aged man, I�m susceptible to buying gadgets like the GoPro Hero2 HD video camera that mounts on the handlebars of my bicycle or helmet. This camera is no bigger than the cereal plastic toy of the sixties, only it offers hours of enjoyment... and befuddlement. But, more of that later. I�m not a tech-head. If you want the detailed specifications, go to the GoPro web-site . After two weeks of Hero2 ownership, these are my initial impressions. Yes, it�s tiny. And relatively easy to operate. There are only two buttons to click, for recording video and taking pictures and for adjusting the settings. It comes with a waterproof housing, great for rainy days on the bike,...

The iconic Six Foot Track is one of the most popular bush walks in the Blue Mountains, three days of trekking from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves. The end of its first stage, the Megalong Valley cemetery is the destination of one of my favourite bike rides in the mountains. The ride starts in the village of Blackheath, home to at least ten coffee shops and the Victory Theatre... no movies, just antiques and crockery from your Grandma�s house. To reach the start of the ride, you cross the train tracks and immediately turn left. The signs point to Shipley Plateau and Megalong Valley. Before the sweeping seven-kilometre downhill ride to the valley floor, I always warm-up with a short pedal along the plateau, past suburban houses, the occasional mock-Italian villa and Logan Brae apple orchard, still selling fresh fruit and juice, and sublime apple jelly. At the Shipley Plateau Volunteer Fire Brigade, a life-like white cockatoo sits glued to the street sign, obviously on the lookout for bus...

The first time I rode my mountain bike up Megalong Street hill, I dry-retched. I needed a new bike, stronger legs and better-performing lungs. I bought a road bike and, for the past eighteen months, have been working on the legs and lungs. How can I say this, without sounding like an arrogant prig... but, I like riding up hills now. I actively seek them out. I'm willing to drive for a few hours to ride up the Category One climb from Kangaroo Valley to Moss Vale. Lovely hill that one - perfect road surface, tree cover so the sun is never a worry, and a relatively predictable gradient (average 7% over eight kilometres). Living in the Blue Mountains, I don't usually have to go so far for hills. Five hundred metres to be precise... Here's a saddle-eye view, no sorry, horrible image that one... here's a handlebar-eye view of my daily ride. It's starts each morning with a right turn onto quiet Cliff Drive. I pedal towards the Great Western Highway, which is not great and ...