Cycling

The Red Lantern Ride – Xi’an City Wall

Anne1 Comment

P1100260A wonderful delight in Xi’an was cycling around the old city wall.  In fact we liked it so much that after completing our morning ride with Karin and Wei we returned the following day to do a sunset ride.  Steve aptly named the circuit the “Red Lantern Ride”.

*

Plenty of room to ride
Plenty of room to ride
Xi’an is one of the few cities in China where the complete city wall is still standing and that’s pretty amazing because it was built in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty.  This is a huge structure, the walls are 12 metres tall, 12-14 metres wide at the top and 15-18 metres thick at the bottom.  The walls form a rectangle with a perimeter of 13.7 km.

*

P1100242

Initially the wall was built with earth, quick lime and glutinous rice extract.  This made it Continue reading →

Fit enough for the Otago Rail Trail?

Anne20 Comments

P1070035Whenever we think about undertaking a bike trip in unknown territory I get scared that I won’t be able to do it. I fear I might become stranded somewhere, half way up a hill, too tired to go any further and with no way to get home. Physical exercise has never been my thing so contemplating riding 152 km does not come easy to me. I’ve had to turn back on one bike trip and get frustrated trying to find information that gives me a real sense of how difficult the trip will be. I want to be challenged but not distressed.

So this blog is for someone like me who wants to know what to expect from four days on the Otago Rail Trail. Steve has written his account of the journey in the posts The Otago Rail Trail – Clyde to Wedderbern & The Otago Rail Trail – Wedderburn to Middlemarch.

Our party of four were all over 50 years old and at 58 I am the oldest and the least fit. I’d been Continue reading →

Day two on the Otago Rail Trail

SteveLeave a comment

P1070088_editedDay 2 on the Otago Rail Trail provided a feast of memories. Freshly stewed apricots, summer snow, Lauder Ukulele Festival, Men-Oh-Pause, courageous stroke survivor, the summit (618m above sea level), 544m of cycle climb, open fire, hard labour on the line, bird watching and Waitangi Day. I feel a story in the making.

 

Lycra, Prawns & Pinot

Steve2 Comments

Cycling shouldn’t just be about sweat and spinning wheels across the pavement. We mamil’s (middle-aged men in lycra) are far more couth than that!

Prawns & Pinot

The idea of a Prawn and Pinot ride came to me last Easter, when I recognised that our favourite route not only included the parklands and foreshore of Moreton Bay, but went right past the moorings of the Moreton Bay prawn trawler fleet on Cabbage Tree Creek.

Since that time I have enjoyed the experience on three occasions. The latest was yesterday on Continue reading →

My Inner Road Rager

Anne4 Comments

I’veP1060765_edited been cycling to work most days for  a year, a round trip of about 15 km, not bad for a 58 year old. It’s been a challenge for me. I’ve never enjoyed exercise but started leisure cycling when we moved to Brisbane  8 years ago. I’d enjoyed riding a bike as a kid so to me it was the least painful way to do some exercise.

On holiday in 2013 I was cycling with a group of women who were in their 70’s and they made it up the hills. I didn’t. This challenged me Continue reading →

From Leather to Lycra

Steve4 Comments

I hate the label “mid life crisis”!

The Leather
The Leather

I don’t think I was having one when I bought the Harley at age 45, but I was probably a perfect fit for the stereo typical label. It was just a time in my life when it was what I wanted and could afford it. Did it matter that I didn’t even have a motor bike licence? Not to me it didn’t.

Hang on…..before you get all righteous, let me explain.

When I returned from Papua New Guinea in 2000, I was fortunate to get in early on the Peter Lik train………destination, world domination. I was employed by Peter as his group CEO at the time when Peter had one small photographic Gallery in Cairns, North Queensland. Within four years, Continue reading →