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About this Blog

First things first.  I am a retired bloke, getting on a bit with a max pedalling output around the 100 watt mark I should think.  So if you want to read of fast, long rides – go and look elsewhere!

This blog is about day rides, overnight camp rides and the occasional longer trips in Tasmania (and sometimes the Australian mainland) when all the stars align.

I mainly ride around the Norfolk Plains in northern Tasmania. The plains were originally part of the country of the Palawa people who lived here for thousands of years. In the early 1800s the Brits arrived and started the colonisation and dispossession process – which led to much conflict.

Around 1808 a penal and farming colony on Norfolk Island was in difficulty and the London decision makers decided to rehouse the Norfolk Islanders in Tasmania. The Norfolk Plains were determined to be one of the sites for relocation. 50 farm sites were identified around the Longford / Cressy district and the Islanders moved in.

Today we cycle through an area where early farming removed the trees and bush, ploughed fields, planted hawthorn hedges, poplar and willow trees and brought in gorse with sheep. It is now very much a human generated landscape.

Just so you know.  Tasmania is an island State of Australia – floating south of the main Australian island continent.

In recent years my bicycle collection has been reduced to two but then popped back up to 3 and is now back to 2.  Today I am riding a Greenspeed recumbent, a Magnum XL; the second bike is a Brompton. The third was a Bike E. It had been on loan to an old friend but was stolen from his garage in late 2024 so that’s that. I suspect the e-hub and battery were the real target as anyone riding a BikeE anywhere in Tasmania would stand out like the proverbial dogs whatsits.

The change to recumbent riding was driven by increasing arthritis which is becoming more of a nuisance each year.

In 2023 I built a Beriault Bicycle Camper – another thing to fill the shed and take away for overnight camps. I enjoyed it for a season but in 2025 it as just sat in the shed – it’s tricky for me to use now so I suspect it will be moving on soon.

Brompton at Salamanca, Hobart

Let’s get away !!