Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club Website

Picture this: Lying in your warm sleeping bag, you're gradually woken by early morning birdsong, and the warmth of the morning sunlight twinkling through the treetops onto your tent. You've just spent a night camped in the bush, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, a galaxy away from the cares of workaday life in the big busy city. You get up slowly, stretching your stiff legs, and looking forward to another perfect day of rolling steadily through country Australia on your trusty touring bike.

Or this: The sound of a motorscooter echoes up through the city streets into your pension room. You throw on some clothes, stuff your gear into your panniers, say au revoir to your happy hosts, and head out into the strange cobblestoned streets of this foreign city to forage for breakfast. Coffee? Of course! Croissants? Naturally! If only they made them like this at home!!

Many of our club riders are also passionate cycle tourists, enjoying everything from easy weekend rides around the wine region, to months spent covering vast distances, exploring foreign countries and cultures. In many ways, cycle touring is the ultimate cycling experience - you spend days, weeks, months meandering from place to place at your own speed, totally self-propelled. You choose exactly where you want to go next, and can celebrate the achievement of getting there! And after burning so much energy to get there, who cares how many calories are in that slice of German chocolate torte, those Laotian fried noodles, or that chunky meat pie with flaky pastry?

Because of the time required to go cycle-touring, this isn't something the club organises regularly, except for the annual tour of Tassie, associated with the annual penny-farthing racing (check out Lindsay's tour report). However, since we love cycle touring so much, we thought we'd include some of our experiences on this page so you can see just how great cycle touring is. And remember, if you ever want to find some interested ride partners for your upcoming weekend in the Hunter Valley, your week-long trip to the outback, or your three month cross-China odyssey, Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club might be just the place to look!