Getting caught in a flood was the last thing Peter Foot expected when he cycled South Australia’s Oodnadatta Track. The man is regarding us as if we are slightly deranged. “You’re mad,” he says flatly, as if it were an unequivocal truth. I try to think of a witty riposte. “Tell us something we don’t
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If you like your bicycle tours to be mostly downhill, pass through staggeringly remote landscapes and contain a compulsory jet-boat ride, Leon Hill has the ride for you. The Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold trails, located in the stunning Otago region of New Zealand, are two of New Zealand’s newest cycle trails. They follow the
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Not just for A to B, Damian Antonio can show you how to use your bike to go from A to B to C, spend the night at D, have lunch at E and then cycle back to A. Tip, you’re going to need more than your bike pump and a banana. Cycling is a fantastic
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From the city to the deep outback, the Mawson Trail is a unique Australian bike ride. Leon Hill makes the tough journey on the Outback Odyssey event. There are some experiences that are unmistakably Australian—climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, gazing on Uluru at first light and cycling the Outback Odyssey. While the latter mightn’t be
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With a deadline for dinner drawing them on, Peter Foot recounts a beguiling journey through a surprising landscape. Mouldy carpet and body spray. I pull open the door and it hits me—full-bodied, tangy, evocative. It is the smell of the end carriage of a V/Line train. The smell of a thousand trips into the countryside.
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Just in time for some easy day-touring in the glorious conditions of autumn, Karen Graham suggests some of her favourite rail trails. We were lazing at a train station on a brisk autumn morning when a bike rider approached us. He slowed momentarily to say, “I have it on good authority that the train won’t
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The Ipswich 100 is an annual community ride with less bustle and more scenery, writes 2015 participant Scott Charlton. After a very early alarm, it proved to be an easy 40 minute drive west from Brisbane to the start of the Ipswich100 cycling event. Friendly marshals waving torches to direct participants into the car park at the University
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Hayden Thomson hears from two riders who proved—by handcycling through Laos— that disability doesn’t limit your ability to take on a challenge and inspire. After training for six months, Alex Gale‐Grime was well and truly prepared for the long ride ahead. After all, she had previously ridden CyclePower charity challenges in both Fiji and Thailand,
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Often overlooked, Townsville has much to offer the off-road rider, Sarah Down reveals. When it comes to holiday destinations, Queensland’s far-north city of Townsville tends to be overshadowed by its more tourism-focussed neighbour, Cairns. It also has a lesser reputation for mountain biking, with Smithfield Park—the home ground for the UCI Mountain World Cup events—gaining Cairns greater attention.
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In the world of long distance riding, the Audax club challenges the bold to be bolder still. Sarah Chaplin tells her story of taking on her biggest challenge. The Great Southern Randonnée (GSR) is a 1,200km event that’s held every four years in Victoria’s southwest and is one of Australia’s great Audax long distance rides. It begins
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