Three peaks plus - 26 June

With precious training time ticking away, I decided on a very cold Canberra Saturday to stay close to home and climb the local summits. So, it was a couple of repeats up Black Mtn, a climb of Mt Ainslie and then a quick ascent of Mt Pleasant to finish things off. The summit roads were still wet in parts late in the afternoon even though the rain had stopped overnight - just to add a bit hairiness to the descents. I got some photos at long last of each of the summits, including my first video. All in the name of practice! And given the momentous week in politics, I thought I'd take one early shot across Julia's bow. Anyway, 2hrs 15mins, 860m of climbing and top speed of descent 68km/hr later, it was back home to a warm shower and get ready for tomorrow's ride.

Rendezvous Creek - 19 June

This was a ride of discovery and imagination. Namadgi National Park bookends the southern part of ACT and guards the way through endless ridges and valleys to the Snowys near Adaminaby. I always wanted to explore this little known route - home to the fearsome Fitz's Hill (10 degrees plus grade)and several other longer, steep climbs up to 1400metres. Today time and light defeated my larger ambition, but I still used the late afternoon to fit in 2hrs10min and 950m of climbing. Great country to ride in. Enough to whet my appetite til next time. My ride metrics are captured on Garmin Connect. Follow the link by clicking on 'Details' below. Look for the 'Player' button in the top right of the first page to re-play the ride.

Bald Hill - June 14

The road from Bungendore to Tarago, NSW features the massive Bald Hill wind farm and skirts the eastern edge of Lake George. The rolling hill country suits long, recovery rides enjoyed in solitude. My dose lasted 72kms, 3 hours and 540 metres of climbing.

Beach Rd Blitz - 5 June

Thanks to my old riding buddies (Ian and Alex) and some new riders (David and Marco), this week's highlight was a blast down Beach Rd from St Kilda to Mt Eliza and back. On the way, we did some avid climbing to the top of Humphrey's Rd, Frankston. A good hit-out at 3hrs 25 mins and about 95 kms - and sometimes cracking 40k/hr. Lots of bike traffic on the way down. Blew out a little at the 80k mark and got a puncture right near Brighton Baths. Great to see my riding buddies again and swap some stories about the upcoming tour. Good for a laugh at the Frankston Comfort Station!