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North Coast Loop

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North Coast Loop click on image to enlarge   It would seem that the Rain Gods had taken pity on your humble servant and had granted me 3 mid-week days of sunshine, with no rain forecast.   So without further ado, I pulled out my remaining Grand Tour riding plans, and over a glass of a fine Shiraz, considered the "pros & cons" of each route. The South-West Loop was a no-go, for while the weather was going to be sunny, it was not going to be warm. The forecast was for overnight temperature down to minus 4*C (25*F), with daytime temps only around the 10*C (50*F) mark.   That will be a "pass" for me. The Western Loop was not much better with a temperature range forecast of 0*C ~ 12*C, so again I passed up the opportunity for hypothermia. That just left the North Coast Loop with temperature forecasts of 5*C ~ 17*C (40*F ~ 65*F), and while this is considered "cool by some and cold by many",  it would be tolerable if I "layered up". The downside was...
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Intermission

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 Intermission Anyone familiar with the lay of the land here in Oz knows that the Great Dividing Range is a mountainous area that runs the full length of the eastern seaboard in a north-south direction and separates the Western Plains from the Eastern Coastal fringe. It is not a particularly tall mountain range, with an average height of only 750 m / 2,100 ft, but it does run 3,500 km / 2,175 mi, from the tip of Cape York in northern Queensland to the  the Grampians in southern Victoria.   click on image to enlarge This weekend, Winter arrived early, with a polar blast dumping the first significant snowfalls on the Kosciusko Mountains area on the Victorian border and a light dusting of snow on the Southern and Central Tablelands of my State.  The Northern Tablelands missed the snowfall this week, but their time will come soon enough. Daytime temperatures on the Western Plains are now around 0*C~10*C, with a wind chill taking that down to around 0*C.  This wi...
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North West Loop

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  North West Loop click on image to enlarge It has been some weeks since my last bonus ride, way back in late March. This delay was not due to a lack of desire but rather a combination of Autumn school holidays, Easter public holidays, the ANZAC Day holiday, and extended above-average wet weather.   However, the coming of May promised some fine weather, and sure enough, the Rain Gods took pity on my poor soul and gifted me 3 continuous days of sunshine.  Needless to say, I did not waste this opportunity and quickly pulled out my plan for a 3-day North West ride. I also took pity on two of my riding companions, Tim & Harry, who were also starting to suffer from "cabin fever" and I invited them to join me. Tuesday morning dawned with clear blue skies, and we met up at the designated starting location in Berowra, on the northern edge of Sydney. Once underway, we took the dreaded M1 to Freemans Waterhole ( 90 km ) for the obligatory morning coffee and a chicko roll. ...
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The Southern Loop

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THE SOUTHERN LOOP click on image to enlarge Some people believe that the Earth is flat, others believe that the Apollo Moon landings were filmed on a back-lot in Hollywood.  Some are convinced that our climate is being affected by the Milankovitch Cycle or that the burning of fossil fuels is of no concern. I believe that the Earth is a sphere and that the Moon landings did occur, and while  I am unsure of the cause,  I am convinced that our climate is changing. The Summers' of my childhood, many decades ago, were always hot and dry and ran from mid  December to late February.  Nowadays, Summer seems to run from mid-November to late March and has become hotter and wetter. This year's Grand Tour started on 01 March, which coincides with the start of our Autumn, a period historically of cooling temperatures and reducing rainfall, making for pleasant riding conditions. Instead, this past month we have "enjoyed" multiple consecutive days where the temperature has bee...
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Routing

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 ROUTING If you have read my previous blog "Planning", you will know that I identified most, if not all the potential locations licensed to sell & serve alcohol within my home state.  These should fall within the "Bars and Taverns" bonus group, so Step 1 of my routing task was completed. Time now to think about which routes to take in order to bag the various bonus locations, and as I mentioned in a blog last year, we seem to have two schools of thought on how best to proceed. The first approach is the Think Less – Ride More school, which involves riding down your driveway, making a hard right-hand turn at the letterbox and disappearing into the distance looking for locations meeting this year's Grand Tour requirements. This school's theme song might be the classic " Get your motor running, head out onto the highway, looking for adventure, whatever comes our way . . . . " The second approach is the Plan the Ride / Ride the Plan school, which...
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Planning

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  Planning In   2024, the Grand Tour had a start date of 01 January, so it was during December last year that I waited with increasing anticipation for the announcement and details of the 2025 GT.  But alas, December came and went with no information other than a Kevin Costner type comment that " it will happen ".   I had growing hope in early January for a 01 February start date, but as we rolled into mid-January, it became obvious this date was not going to happen either. My hope then was for a 01 March date as my riding season was slipping away, however I was prepared for a 01 April date, which had been the preferred start date for many previous GTs.  Then on 26 January, the GT announcement was made, and the details were published. Coincidentally, 26 January is Australia Day when we celebrate the first British settlement in Terra Australis ( Great Southern Land ) in 1778.  It should be noted that this remote British settlement was only established b...
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