Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

I was talking with Simon the other week about riding to Melbourne and the Flying to Tasmania before the Penny Farthing racing in February next year. Distance for the ride to Melbourne will be between 1000km and 1500km depending on the route taken, time frame is probably 2 weeks, flying to Tasmania on the 13th.

With the aim of trying to avoid the main highways as much as possible, especially the Hume, i came up with a few options, either coastal, inland (west of Hume), or my favourite... Alpine. So i thought i'd start mapping out a bit of a route on mapmyride.

Here's the Elevation profiles and distances for the Alpine route, though the last section from Bairnsdale to Melbourne i haven't decided on (train option there depending on time available, or 2 days riding).



This route hasn't been decided on yet (didn't even mention it to Simon), so if there's any suggestions let me know, and anyone interested in joining is welcome.

I'll find somewhere else to host the image, so it can be seen in fullsize.

DONE!!

ok jimmy im a maybe. (sorry TBONE)

That doesn't look too bad. I spoke to Brownie about the idea & he said we should catch the spirit of Tasmania down which would be a lot more fun & memorable than flying....

T-Bone

On your day that you have Moruya to Bega, you can continue to follow the coast and go via Bermagui, this is the way that we went on K4K.

Also, be aware that between Ulladulla and Batemens Bay, there isn't a lot of facilities, if you get a hot day, you will be drinking a lot of water, and there aren't many places where you can refill.

Also, there is no road that goes to Mt Kosciuszko, there is a road that goes to Charlotte's Pass, and that is the highest paved road in Australia. From Jindabyne, it is about an 85km round trip. Expect to take about 2 hours to get there, and about 1 to get back. Again, there is no drinkable water at the top.

Apart from that though, it looks like a good route.

James

Spirit of Tasmania would be an option, however, it would cost $136 each, for the cheapest option. At the moment Virgin have $49 tickets, plus $8 for checked in baggage, so it is a lot cheaper, but i don't mind too much really.

I think i mapped out that bit on the coast via Bermagui, gives a bit quiter roads at least.

Ulladulla and Batesmens Bay shouldn't be too bad, we can just put extra drinks in our panniers if needed.

I believe you can ride up to Rawsons Pass and then have to walk when going up Kosciuszko, but we may skip that day anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The less mountains the better, though they do povide good scenery....

looks good to me.
If you avoid the hills the scenery isn't as good and there will be more headwinds.

Marian's comment "May the Force be with you!"

Ok, i've been doing some thinking and need to know a couple of things from people making this trip.

1) Who's coming along? (So far i think it's Me, Simon, Tim, Lindsay)

2) Which day to leave Sydney, Friday or Saturday?
- Saturday will mean basically follwing my initial plan with a few small changes (Kosciuszko ascent is out). Leaving Friday will allow for a few slightly shorter days once we hit Victoria (though, this may also be possible by having 2 long days heading into melbourne)

3) Which day to fly to Tassie? Thursday 12th or Friday 13th? (would like to book tickets fairly soon)

Other things to note. Plan is to get to Melbourne on Wednesday 11th, as Simon mentioned plans to ride the 50km points race on the Thursday night, and then the Austral on the Saturday.

I'm definitely in. I'm asking for holidays from Feb the 2nd so I was thinking we should leave on Saturday 31st of January. I would like to arrive in Melbourne by Wednesday 11th or even Tuesday the 10th. But the racing isn't on till the Thursday night.

I was talking to Huw last night & he showed some interest also.

hang on is there a massive hill on the bega to jyndabyne leg? as well as it being 172 km?
Yeah im in

Don't worry. Im thinking that day will be cut back by 25km, by stopping at Berridale instead, and the next lengthened by 25km.

Leaving on Saturday it will be. Getting to Melbourne on the Tuesday would be making some longer days, so i think it really has to be the Wednesday.

cool
hey are we locked in for dates for this?

Pretty well locked in for dates.

Touring will start 31st of January.

Flying to Tassie on the 12th or 13th (time still to be decided on, we'll try and decide this over the next 2 days)

I'll be working out our Touring plans for Tassie soon.

Probably fly back to Sydney on the Monday 22nd (but each person can decide on this, in case they wish to return on the Sunday night)

I'm planning on flying down to Tassie on the 15th in the morning. Can we start touring either midday onwards or leave it till the 16th?

I think I will probably fly back from Tassie on the Monday the 22nd as well.

This looks an amazing ride - so good luck, guys! I'll be back at work
On a more prosaic levels, what was used to create those great elevation diagrams?
Simon.

On a more prosaic levels, what was used to create those great elevation diagrams? Simon.

From looking at the tag on each profile it looks like Map My Fitness to me (used to be called Map My Ride)

altering the touring plans for Tassie won't be a big problem, so i'll keep the start criteria in mind.

We will be flying in to Launceston on the 13th of Feb.
We were going to join up to watch the penny century and tour for following week.
Has anyone given any thought as to where we will be going?
The ride down looks great but we cant get that much time off and the distances in the hilly parts might be a bit long on the tandem. We will be carrying all our camping gear as well as we will be joining a group of tandems to ride down the east coast on the 22nd.

Just for peoples information. I was booking my flight from Tassie with Virgin, and i noticed sporting equipment(bikes) is no longer set at a 5kg amount, you now only get 5kg extra on your baggage limit, meaning 28kg total with the cheap flights. So make sure you keep the weights down to avoid any excess baggage charges.

ok - looks like I am in for this! The ride to melbourne that is - don't have enough leave for tassie too.

Lindsay - will be in contact re what I need to do to get the bike tour ready.

cheers

Good to hear, the more people the better. I'll finalise the route in the next few days hopefully, just need to decide on a couple more things.

I'll be uploading our route tomorrow, just have to put in a few changes.

So, what i need now is a confirmation of people who will be coming along for the trip. This is so i can start booking some of the accomodation since i don't really want to be searching for accomodation after a days riding.

I'm in.

Ok, my tourer list so far includes:

Me
Lindsay
Simon
Tim
James M

T-Bone,

Is the start day still 31 January arrive in Melbourne 10 Feb?

Just finalising my leave.

Cheers
James

I'm very interested - this is gonna be one of the big highlights of 2009, I reckon!

I'll most probably be there, kicking you guy's asses over the passes. Or not.

Is the start day still 31 January arrive in Melbourne 10 Feb?

Start day is Saturday 31st January, and at the moment the plan is to ride into Melbourne on Wednesday 11th February, however we will be staying pretty close anyway.

I'm deciding on the last few days at the moment, just need to make a phone call to check some of the accomodation costs.

Good to hear you're coming Huw!!

Here's the current Touring Route The 180km day and following day is able to be shortened by catching a train if necessary. Can't really shorten too much else as we are going from place to place, and i've tried avoiding the busier roads where possible.

The only day we might want to have a timeframe is Day 7 into Bright, as the activity for the day is the 3pm Brewery tour.

We will be riding along railtrails on 3 seperate occasions, possibly 4 depending on the surface.

I also still need to make sure we can get accomodation at Mirboo North, and confirm where we want to stay on Day 11 (might make the second leg shorter) as the afternoon Ferry from Phillip Island leaves at 5:25pm.

If there are places you'd like to see along the way, accomodation reccomendations (i'm thinking mostly cabins at caravan parks) or changes/improvements/suggestions to the route you have, let me know. Big changes are possible for days 9 onwards if you know some good places to visit.

I'll write up a full itinery once i get some accomodation booked, and find some places to visit.

looks great. nice one t-bone.

i know the climb out of bega up to cooma / jindabyne very well ... 2 christmases ago i went through there and it was snowing!

nimmitabel can also be very very cold and exposed to the wind - so we will need some warm gear on another note there are some very good pie shops in that part of the world!

Pie shops are good!!!

I've got a good warm cycling jacket, and leg and arm warmers are always a must when touring, have to be prepared for weather of any kind, but hopefully we won't have to deal with snow.

its in miles?!

its in miles?!

No need to worry about that Tim, just focus on what's important:

man thats not till we get to tazzy
Thats a tasmanian brand
And it tastes so good when you drink it from the right sort of cup

Hey James, I can't get much time off work so I was thinking of coming along for the first two days then riding back to Nowra on day 3. Is there accomodation left in Nowra and Moruya for one more?

I'm booking today, so i can add you in to the accommodation.

Matt you're booked in for Nowra and Moruya!!

woo hoo!!! man matt you will love it.
Im gettig pumped as for this! ive started editing last years video, its now only 2 and a half hours long... i dont know where to go from here with it, it would be good to make a few different videos out of it, at the moment it has every ones race stuff that i had recorded on it, i dont know if i should chuck that on dvd for every one involved first before fixing it up more. James ask your dad if he is interested in doing the next step of editing :S

Man there really was alot of ice coffee involved in last years touring!

Thanks James. This wil be my first go at touring so three days should be a nice little test run.

Tim, your bike is well on it's way to being complete, should be able to have it finished on the weekend. Only things i've had to buy so far were some brake calipers (luckily Al had some very nice ones) and a Headset. I'll have to get some cables as well, and that's about it. Currently you'll be using downtube shifters, unless another option turns up.

edit: got a front derailleur as well.

man james your a legend!!! im away this weekend though :S i had dates mixed up with last weekend (simmos bux party, they changed it with out telling me).

Ok, all the accommodation is booked for our Journey to Melbourne. I'll send everyone a pm this afternoon about the costs, or everyone can pm me their email.

I'm also deciding if i should book us in for a Brewery tour in Bright or if we're better off just dropping by for a Beer. The tour starts at 3pm, and we have 140km to ride before then, plus we may want to look around Beechworth a bit, so we may be better off just dropping by, so we're not too restricted by a schedule. Let me know your opinions.

I've entered Evandale and am planning to Penny ride to Melbourne or as far as I get. But not Mt Hotham as you do but starting Su 1Feb from Campbelltown. Maybe we can join up in Melbourne. Which ferry have you booked?

Glad to hear you're coming down to Evandale again Eugen. I'll give you a call tomorrow if i get a chance.

Me, Lindsay, and Huw are booked on the Ferry for Wednesday 11th February.

I'm also deciding if i should book us in for a Brewery tour in Bright or if we're better off just dropping by for a Beer. The tour starts at 3pm, and we have 140km to ride before then, plus we may want to look around Beechworth a bit, so we may be better off just dropping by, so we're not too restricted by a schedule. Let me know your opinions.

I think you're right about having a less restrictive schedule - I'm happy to forego the brewery tour and just have a beer when we get there.

That's what i decided. Plus it means there'll be time to have a beer with Lunch at the brewery in Beechworth.

I had a few days in Jindabyne this year before heading down to Bright for the Alpine Classic. Drove to Bright via Thredbo and Khancoban. To think that you guys rode Jindabyne-Khancoban on a very hot day, on fully-loaded touring bikes with a few hard days already ridden - awesome. Especially if Camilla is right in thinking that the day might in fact have started in Berridale and ended in Corriong, adding another lazy 50kms of mountainous terrain to an already-horrific route. I don't know how you stayed hydrated between Thredbo and Khancoban because there's bugger-all but eucalypts for about 85kms. Maybe you found some streams. Anyway, hats off, 4 years after the fact.

Thankyou Ted. It was Berridale to Khancoban. I was a rather trying day as there was a few more hills towards the end that we knew of... And yes, buggerall after Thredbo. Also the temperature was rising as we were only 2 days off the Victorian Bushfires and we were riding straight into that district.

The highlight for me was riding behind the Snowy Mountains, which I'd never done before & a lovely feed at the Alpine Inn Hotel...

It was one of those days that me and Simon ran put of water in the 45 degree heat, so for the next few days I was carrying 5-8 liters of water (up that Gotham hill!) me and Simon had hardly ridden a hill in our lives before the trip! So were slow and had to leave at 4 or so in the morning!