Author: Ben

I heard a patron say, ‘Doesn’t anybody ride motorbikes anymore?’ as I rolled up the the beer garden of the Longley International Hotel on Saturday afternoon. The Hotel has long been the haunt of the bearded and tattooed variety of Bikies (best avoided), but on this occasion I was one of three unrelated sweaty push bikers stopping in for a beer. As the temperature was pushing 30c, I had decided the best way to start my semi-regular loop was with two cooling pints of Cascade Pale and a quick nude swim in the neighboring waterhole. Both the beer and the swim worked as I powered up the hill to Kaoota without bitching, descended the tramway with minimal braking and maximum smile. This is how a good life is fabricated.

Pretty much every route I can think of on the Tasman Peninsula involves a serious amount of climbing. There are no ‘easy’ rides, every ride involves sweat, gritted teeth and a determination to go. Some nights I don’t feel like getting all Lance on the Col Du Galibier, I’m more inclined to avoid the ascent and keep the incline somewhat horizontal. Last night I found that ride. It does exist here and it was so obvious I don’t know how I missed it. Spun my usual route from Taranna through Masons Point to Eaglehawk Neck and was about to point the bike upwards when I glanced across the isthmus to Old Jetty Road… it has light undulations, no major climbs, the bitumen terminates soon after the junction becoming gravel then a fire trail before ending at a locked gate some 6 kilometres distant. Ticks all the boxes. The perfect 25 kilometre after-work route.

Kiwi and I finally got around to tackling the Tunnel Bay ride yesterday. Decided to roll following an extended route, riding via White Beach, Mount Spaulding, Stormlea to Tunnel Bay with a sidetrip to Shipstern Bluff. Sounds easy on paper right? Not so easy when ground truthed, there were hills, ALOT of BIG hills. Very early in the day I came to the realisation that my current physique is not compatible with singlespeeding… I was walking often. I was swearing often. I was wishing for lower gears often.  Having never ridden this route before (or researched it) I was expecting to get lost, which suprisingly didn’t happen. Miracle? Possibly given my previous track record.  Highlight of the day? A swim at Tunnel Bay. It was about 30c, so the dip brought the near boiling blood temparture back down to an acceptable level. We shared the beach with a very dead whale calf. He smelt fairly bad but was worth getting up-close-and-personal with just to check his baleen. Awesome teeth rig those whales have. Lowlight of the day? Sprinting 500m at days end to avoid being eaten by an 85kg dog! Years of track training came to the fore as I spun my 32×22 gear faster than and egg-beater set on high to escape those gnashing jaws!! Don’t think we’ll exit via that route if there is a ‘next-time’.

Sama Hut, Mount Wellington – it has mobile telephone coverage. Who knew?

“You’ve been drinking!”

Every good bike ride should start at a pub. Every good bike ride should start with the opening exclamation; “I HAVEN’T EVEN DONE ANYTHING YET!!” – Hunners, Knopwoods.

Matt Rayment my brother, this one is for you. A current photo of my dirt whip, the GT Peace 9R. This image was captured today as I rode across the forest moon of Endor. Below is a picture of Matt’s pony, photographed near the Hobbit village of Bree. Imagination invoked to avoid cursing the hills found in these parts (seriously, take a look at a profile map of the Tasman Peninsula.. vert!).