Machka 

We just returned from a car-free weekend in Sydney. There were planes, trains, and lots of walking included in our methods of transportation, but no cars.

The trip was for a cycling conference.

Machka 

It's a long weekend in Canada ... I presume the Canadians here will be out cycling and travelling somewhere. Tell us all about it.

There are a number of long weekends coming up ... tell us where you've gone, post pics ... we'd love to see them.

Machka 

Let's hear about some more enjoyable car-free or car-light holidays.

Machka 

We were supposed to go back up to northern Tasmania on the June Queens Birthday long weekend, but the area we were heading ... and actually about 100 km around ... were flooded badly that weekend. For a while, we couldn't have even reached the place we were supposed to be staying.

That was rather disappointing, so we decided to go up in mid July.

It was meant to be a 3-day hub-and-spoke cycling tour ... but ended up being 1 day cycling 100 km, and then just kind of touring the area by van the other two days. There were dire forecasts for horrendous weather on Sunday ... which didn't happen, so we could have ridden. And more dire forecasts for Monday ... which did happen. In fact, not long after we left the area, the road in front of the place we stayed flooded again.

We did, however, have a really good (but chilly) ride on Saturday ... a really nice 100 km loop.

Machka 

In light of the recent Storm thread where it was revealed that the car free crowd are apparently avid cycletourists and campers ... let's hear some stories!!

Tell us about your long weekend adventures over the summer. Tell us about your longer travels!


Are you, indeed, a cycletourist and camper? Or is does your preferred travel adventure include trains and hotels?

Whichever it is, tell us what you do ... show us that it is possible to enjoy your holidays and travel without a motor vehicle or with limited use of a motor vehicle.

Machka 

Rowan and I are starting to talk about touring again now that the busy-ness of our winter audax-randonneuring schedule has subsided a little. We'd like to get a few short tours in over the spring/summer/autumn, if possible.

How about you? Did you get any cycling tours (or canoeing tours or train tours ... ) in over your summer?

Machka 

This weekend, we did an overnight cycling tour.

Saturday morning, we drove to our start location, set up the bicycles with our panniers, etc. ... and started the tour with a ferry ride to Bruny Island.

When we got there ... off we went into the howling wind and drizzle and cold. All day long we had head/cross wind gusts to 80 km/hour. Riding loaded touring bicycles up and down the hills on Bruny with that wind was a challenge and despite the fact that we stopped a few times along the way, we were quite tired when we got into our campground at Adventure Bay.

Where did we stop along the way? The Neck, of course, to take photos from the lookout. Then Bruny Island Providore to get fudge ... mmmm! Then the Bruny Island Berry Farm for pancakes with berries and ice cream.
https://www.brunyislandberryfarm.com.au/

We stayed in the campground at Adventure Bay when we did this tour last year, so we were welcomed back, and we pitched in the same spot where we camped last year. Last year we were able to spend the evening sitting outside and were also able to walk on the beach. This year, the rain rolled in and wind continued all evening so we took advantage of the camp kitchen and spent our evening there.

Fortunately, the wind died during the night, and when I got up about 3:30 am, the sky was clear and the stars were bright.

Sunday morning ... breakfast, packing up, and then a quick trip to the Bruny Island Cruises office to get our bicycles sorted and to pick up our tickets.
https://www.brunycruises.com.au/

And then, at 11 am, we set off on a 3-hour tour. You can see a video of a tour (not specifically ours) here:
https://vimeo.com/125360949

We had hoped to see whales this time (we did this tour last year too), but unfortunately, they've moved on. We did, however, get to see seals, sea birds, and dolphins. As well as spectacular scenery. Plus this time, there was a good swell out there which made for an exciting "ride" and drama at the "blowhole" which was very active today because of that swell. It was blowing huge spray which could be seen from a couple of kilometers off shore.

Back on the bicycles again, we stopped for a delicious lunch, and then made our way back to the ferry again. There was considerably less wind, but the hills are steeper on the way back. We topped the final hill to see the ferry coming across in the distance. So the descent was quick in order to make it ... and back to mainland Tasmania.

Saturday
38.2 km
447 metres of climbing

Sunday
39.5 km
451 metres of climbing

Machka 

Then there was Christmas.

Yes, we drove to our destination, but then we parked the van and didn't use it at all during our time there. The caravan park was just out of the centre of town, so going out to dinner was a comfortable walk away. And we also cycled to explore the area.


On Christmas Day ...

Machka 

Summer's coming in the northern hemisphere ... is anyone travelling somewhere?

Machka 

A little weekend short tour.

Saturday 24 June -- Rowan and I cycled what was probably the most difficult / challenging 200 km randonnee (long distance cycling event ) I've ever done. 210 km with 2700 metres of climbing in a heat we haven't experienced since we were in Queensland at Easter in 2016.

We made a guest appearance with the BC Randonneurs and did the 200K event of the Peace to Parliament "hell week". Some riders also did only the 200K, but some did the whole set of four rides from Fort St. John all the way down to Victoria.
Peace to Parliament - 4 brevets from Fort St John to Victoria in June 2017

Rowan was all right in the heat. He is usually the one who struggles with hot temperatures. But this time it was me. By about the half way point I knew I was battling heat exhaustion. I think May's surgery put a dent in my fitness level.

Nevertheless we finished the ride in Victoria within the time limit ... with 30 min to spare! Our total time was 13 hours.

And then went for a 2-3 km walk to find dinner!


Distance: 212.1km (including the ride up to our B&B)
Elevation: 2,729m
Moving Time: 11:39:32
Elapsed Time: 13:36:03
Speed: Avg: 18.2km/h | Max: 50.4km/h


Sunday 25 June -- After a deep 8 hours of sleep, we were up for a delicious breakfast at our B&B, and then off again.

We needed to cycle back to Duncan to complete the circle. Today's ride gave us a chance to ride some of the cycling trails in Victoria and that was a really pleasant part of the ride. Then up and over a hill to the ferry to take us across to the second half of the journey. That second half of the journey was a little bit more difficult with a few more climbs ... and heat. The official "in the shade" temp reached 32C, but our on-bike computers showed as high as 40C while we were cycling.

We finally stopped for lunch where we ate salty food and had quite a lot to drink to rehydrate.

From there, we only had about 10 km to go, and were into our destination in no time to complete a challenging little short tour loop (a randonnee + recovery ride) on a hot, hot weekend!

Distance: 51.6km
Elevation: 422m
Moving Time: 3:24:10
Elapsed Time: 5:52:08
Speed: Avg: 15.2km/h | Max: 47.9km/h

Machka 

It's summer in the northern hemisphere ... let's hear about your travels!

wipekitty

I travel quite a bit for work, and trips far enough away to require flights tend to be car free. I work for the government, and our budget is limited - it is difficult to get reimbursed for luxuries like cabs and rental cars if more economical options are available, and any money that is approved for these items cuts into the budget for things like food and lodging.

So, I ride my bike to the local airport (airfare from there is usually cheaper than airfare from a major airport plus the expense of traveling 300 miles RT) and use a combination of public transit, walking, and sometimes, bike share in the destination city. I genuinely enjoy taking the bus in places I don't live - I like overhearing conversations and learning a bit about what life is like in other cities, and in the case of foreign cities, I like trying to figure out what people speaking other languages are saying.

Machka 

Do they let you keep your bicycle at the airport?

One of my friends here was asking generally whether or not our local airport would let us lock up a bicycle at the airport for a few days and the response was doubtful.

wipekitty

Yes, they do! I was a bit concerned due to increased security, but the airport administrator I spoke with said it would be fine. I once left a bike for 12 days, and it was still there when I returned!

There has always been a bicycle rack, though it used to be located in the employee parking area hidden behind a storage shed, sometimes next to old grills and snowbanks. After a recent renovation, they moved the bike rack to a little section right next to motorcycle parking. It's really kind of cute.

Machka 

You're fortunate!

Someone here was debating whether they'd let him keep his bicycle at our airport, but the general consensus was ... no, probably not. I can't actually think where there might be racks.

cooker

Been holidaying this past week on a boat/bike tour in Europe. We slept on the ship and biked a ways down the river during the day, while the ship cruised to the next mooring spot. It's been car-light in that my bro and I were shuttled from the euro airport to the boat in a van (2 hr) but didn't set foot in a land vehicle again, until a week later when the same van took us 15 min to the same airport.

Then we flew to Copenhagen last night, and planned to take the subway into town, but there was a huge lineup, so we took a cab. We rented bikes this am and met our nephew, who gave us a tour of Christiana - a weird neighbourhood of squatters who have taken over an old military area in the harbour and turned it into a kind of rebel republic. They're half hippie anarchists, and half criminal biker dudes. Tomorrow we meet up with his mother (our sister), who has promised to show us the better side of town, also by bike.

Roody

That sounds like a great trip! I wouldn't mind hearing more about it, especially the Christiana part.

cooker

It's a gritty place where activists occupied it illegally in the 1970s, and after 30 years of somewhat hostile confrontations they won the right to stay on for some indeterminate period as leaseholders, and they now pay taxes, get electricity and so on. Larger abandoned military buildings are used as concert halls and communal workshops. For years the backbone of the economy was the illegal marijuana trade but they self-policed against selling harder drugs. One section is a criminal/biker area and I don't think most of the residents are happy about that. There is an original island and two long, parallel, man-made, treed sand spits that once held defensive walls around the harbour, and self-constructed cottages are distributed along them, with foot bridges here and there. A lot of residents support themselves as artisans and artists. The most high-profile product is the Christiania bike, similar to a Bakfiets, which is now commercially available. My nephew led us through on sketchy bike paths, and it feels a bit like a 1960s hippie commune with cellphones. As you leave, you pass under a sign that says "Now entering the EU".

cooker

Some shots of Christiania, Denmark (including one with the eponymous bike) which I biked through with the bro and neph

jon c. 

Looks quite a bit different than the pictures I've seen, which obviously focused on the very worst sections.

cooker

Parts of it are still pretty rough. There are fancy new "arts and crafts" style cottages, modern-looking ones like the white stacked boxes (containers?) above, and some really run-down lean-tos.

I-Like-To-Bike

See many school age children in this community? How do they get formally educated, if at all.

cooker

Tons of kids. It's right on the edge of the downtown of the city, so public schools are very accessible.
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Fre...5!4d12.6081154

cooker

Christiania on the left, school on the right:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@55.67431...7i13312!8i6656

Bike lanes everywhere.

elocs

I've been car-free since I retired 4 years ago. I reject the tired old cliché that you're supposed to want to travel when you retire. Whenever I get to where I have traveled I wish I was home. There's no place I want to go and there's no place I need to travel to for holidays or any other time, so I don't. Retirement is great. I prefer my life to remain simple and traveling is stress and aggravation I don't need.