Tag: Day Ride

Another week – another 100k

Yep – done it again.  The CLC2018 ride gave me a good start, the Friday River Road run helped and the rest was ridden on the Brommie.

On Saturday I decided to trial what seemed to be a new bike track between Perth and Breadalbane.  There have been major roadworks here for the past 2 years or so building a dual carriageway link as part of the upgrades happening to the Midland Highway.  The old road was not used and it appears that as part of the works a bike path has been installed alongside the old highway.  The connection out of Perth requires a ride along the Midland Highway until a right hand turn is reached – hopefully the Council will develop a riding path to get cyclists to the old road safely.

The initial part of the old highway runs in a cutting blasted out of rock.  There is not enough room for a cycleway until you are through that bit – but once through there it is.

I have practiced my YouTube skills a bit and have a video I created this morning.  You can see it Here.

At the end of the vid there is a shot of a sign to Gibbets Hill.  There is a bit of history here as written up in Wikipedia :  

In 1837, five years after the practice ceased in England, the body of John McKay was gibbetted near the spot where he murdered Joseph Wilson near Perth.  There was great outcry, but the body was not removed until an acquaintance of Wilson passed the spot and horrified by the spectacle of McKay’s rotting corpse, pleaded with the authorities to remove it.  The location is still marked by a sign reading, “Gibbet Hill” on the right when heading to Launceston. This was the last case of gibbeting in a British colony.

I cycled up Gibbet Hill Rise hoping to find a sign or the gibbet or anything further about this.  Nothing.  The road had a number of nice, neat lifestyle houses on lifestyle blocks a far cry from a rotting corpse.  Please note I do not say “Lifestyle” with a sneer like some do.  I am happy for people to develop a more relaxed lifestyle – I know we enjoyed it when on a lifestyle block in the bush in the Huon Valley.  After keeping goats and ducks and managing veggies and fruit I am now quite content do veggies only on a much smaller scale!!

The clocks go back (I think it is) tonight as we come off summertime.  It will be a bit of a relief as it is dark in the mornings and the sun comes up late.  This means early morning rides are out due to squinty drivers finding it hard to see a cyclist.  What will next week bring?

Totals for week :

Total for week :  103 k            Total for year :  1,383 k

Vivente :   72 k                          Brompton :   31 k

CLC 2018 Ride #1. Downhill into Hobart

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Instead of a trip from the summit of Mount Wellington I compromised and went to Nieka.  This ride will be the last of this series in southern Tasmania and the first of my Cyce Life Challenge.

We arrived at Nieka; I unfolded Brommie and went to pick up the camera.  What do you know?  The SD card for BOTH cameras are back at Howden after I took them out to load pictures into the laptop last night!  Never mind, I have the fall-back ‘phone in the camera – I think.

Nieka to Hobart 1

The top of the road.  This cyclist was one of a large group pushing heavily for the crest.  There was little breathe left to acknowledge an odd looking cyclist waiting to set off from the top.  As you can see, the day was another top day.

 

Nieka to Hobart 2

When we arrived in Tasmania in the mid-80’s the trails on kunanyi / Mount Wellington were only for walkers.  Then a few were opened up to cyclists and now, it seems, bikes are acceptable anywhere.  The Pipeline Track and the track down to Fern Tree running from Nieka are linked to the Hobart water system infrastructure.  Nowadays water is also drawn from the River Derwent but in the early days – this was the only water supply.

Nieka to Hobart 3

On tracks like this there are all sorts of hardware off to the sides piping water down into the Waterworks Reserve used to service Hobart.   Today I began by rolling down the “Old” Huon Highway enjoying the views of kunanyi from the road.  After the ’67 bushfires many large gum trees on the mountain were killed off by the extreme heat generated.  In the 80’s we could see many of those trees standing out with their stark white barks and limbs with no leaves.  They are known as “Stags”.  Today the regrowth has hidden most of the Stags and, I assume, a number have now fallen down.  So the view is of a sea of green up to the altitude at which no trees will grow.  At Strickland Avenue I turned off.

Nieka to Hobart 4

The view is of the start of Strickland Avenue.  Mt Wellington (1271 metres) is in the background and the white tower on top holds TV broadcasting equipment.  There are two towers and they used to be one for the national broadcaster and one for commercial TV.  I don’t know if that remains true.   I continued to roll – down Strickland Ave.

Nieka to Hobart 5

There are many homes snuggled into the bush off the Avenue.  It is a delightful place to live and so close to Hobart.  It would be a nightmare in a bushfire though.

Nieka to Hobart 6

The road runs down to the Cascades Brewery.  The Brewery was established in 1824 using the clean waters coming off Mt Wellington.  It is now Australia’s oldest Brewery.  The complex includes cafes and gardens as well as offering tours of the Brewery.  From the gardens runs a shared walk/cycle track along the Hobart Rivulet through what is now called the Hobart Linear Park.  That is my route today.

Nieka to Hobart 7

The Rivulet just below Cascades.  A bit dry at the moment as we haven’t had a lot of rain.

Nieka to Hobart 8

A typical view of South Hobart showing houses up close to the Rivulet.  In the winter parts of the track are in the shade most of the day and it is not unknown for frost to lie all day.

Nieka to Hobart 9

In the early days the Rivulet was also used to power water wheels and drive industry.  These metal posts date back to the 1800s.  The buildings that can be seen through the trees is part of a very expensive retirement set-up.  Not one we will be living in.

Nieka to Hobart 10

The track ends about 2 blocks from the centre of Hobart.  In the ’67 fires, the bush around the Rivulet was a conductor of fire almost into the city.   Here the Rivulet remains  sort of in it’s natural state but soon it becomes a concrete channel in the interests of health and hygiene.

Nieka to Hobart 11

Soon the Rivulet goes underground as roads and businesses take over the surface.  I have  met people who have taken a lilo trip down the Rivulet through the tunnels under the city and out past the Hospital during a high water flow condition.  I believe this is now impossible due to “improvements” (read controls) to the route.

Nieka to Hobart 12

In the city symbols like this identify where the Rivulet flows underneath.  I have tried in the past to find out exactly where it pops out into the docks – and where it originally exited.  I failed on both counts.

Now it was time to support the local Community.

Nieka to Hobart 13

Purchase 1.  A coffee of course.

Nieka to Hobart 14

Purchase 2.  From the Brisbane Street Farmer’s Market I bought a kilo or two of South Arm Pink Eye potatoes.  Well, they were from Fawcett but that’s close enough to South Arm.  Pink Eyes in the supermarkets are a poor facsimile to the “real stuff” from the Arm.

That completes Ride #1 of the Challenge.

Total for week :  118 k            Total for year :  1,133 k

Vivente :   27 k                          Brompton :   91 k