The Grand Depart - 8 July

And now for the Grand Depart...the pros already have 4 days of bone crunching, lung busting, high cadence mania behind them, but now I'm about to join the fray with my own depart. After 12 months of prep, over 6,000 kms of cycling and the exploration of many peaks (Charlottes, Buller, Lofty, Kangaroo Valley, Fitz, Honeysuckle, Corin, Black Mtn and Ainslie to name a few), its off to the high climbs of the French Alps and then the Pyrenees. In the process, I've managed to lose 9.5kg and gain some climbing legs. Many thanks to all my riding buddies along the way and my 'support' team at home and work. Many have passed on best wishes and I am inspired to give it my best shot. Stay posted for regular updates on the life of a 'domestique' on the alternative Tour De France.

Kingston Grind! - 4 July

One more time with feeling. Thanks for the send-off to my Kingston Sunday ride buddies - perrenials Jim, Gai and Leanne; and on this occasion Justin. Great to see John and Brad for coffee as well. The most important statistic for the day was the temperature: minus 3 degrees. Au revoir! See you on the other side of the tour.

Rendezvous Ck again - 3 Jul

With the Tour starting tonight and only five days til I set off, getting a serious training climb on the weekend was a must. Last night's weather was atrocious and I awoke at 6am to find fog, rain and freezing conditions. No way I could ride out to the Namadgi peaks, so I decided to sit pretty and go with a local contingency if the weather came good. By midday the sun was out and the temp was up, so I went with Plan A and drove out to near Top Nas. Boboyan Valley looked a picture, even if the headwind was a bit disconcerting. Got in about 2hrs40min of riding and 1200m of climbing over 50km. Pretty happy with that as it included Fitz's at 10.5 gradient and several other pinches of similar grade. Only one other cyclist to be seen and the road was very quiet, if still wet and hairy in a few places. Now its a couple more rides and the final prep for travel. I'd love to stay up and watch the tour start but I need my sleep.

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!