Machka 

What are your Easter long weekend plans?

Are you planning to travel somewhere? If so, are you bringing your bicycle? Do you have an Easter weekend cycling event? Will you be participating in other sports over Easter?


In Australia, we have a long, long weekend. Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, and ANZAC Day on the Tuesday (it's officially on the Monday, but we get Tuesday off in lieu). And we're taking an RDO on Wednesday as well ... 6 days off!!

So we're loading up the van with bicycles and baggage, and heading for South Australia ... the Adelaide area. That's an area I've never been before so it will be interesting to explore. Hopefully we'll be able to get in quite a bit of cycling as we check the area out. We're heading out this evening ... just a few hours of work left!!


How about you??

Velo Vol 

My sister and family are visiting. We might go to the zoo.

StephenH

We don't get Good Friday or the Monday off, so it's not a long weekend.

Looks like I'll be doing a 200k permanent with some of the group working on the 1200k on Saturday, and then just local ride on Sunday afternoon.

Machka 

Why not? In Canada we always got either the Friday or Monday, or sometimes both. And here we get the extra day this year because of Anzac Day.

knowledgdropper

Easter will be spent with the future in-laws. I do get the following week off though (spring break in my school district). I plan to do some mid-week group rides that I'm never able to make it to normally. I may even sneak a century in there since I know I'll have plenty of recovery time.

Marauder9

Planning on some time with the family tomorrow possibly going to a working farm which is nearby.

Hopefully should find some time for a ride on Saturday/Sunday and Monday.

withsriracha

No Friday or Monday off here, though I am planning to get a little extra time with the family and head back home Monday morning, sneaking into work a little late. Taking the train 3 hours to my parents' house on Saturday...was planning to depart Saturday late afternoon and sneak a ride in Saturday morning, but looks like rain in the NYC area is going to foil those plans. It's been hard to get out as much as I'd like this spring because of all the rain!!!

Machka 

We're in South Australia now and have spent the day driving around scouting things out and seeing where we might like to ride. We're in a nice area, with a lot of variety in terrain ... and kilometres and kilometres of beach.


Here's a photo of one of the hills in the area ...

Jeepnut22 

Building up a new (mostly) bike in-between family obligations. Hopefully a new thread sometime next week on it.

tmass

Off today; and off to a Cabin on Tim's Ford Lake here in TN until Monday. Carrying 5 bikes on my MDX; the whole family rides and expects me to be the bike mechanic. What a deal, $119 a night for a cabin that sleeps 8 right on the lake. So fishing and biking all Easter holiday w/ a sunrise service on the lake Easter morning. This is truly some of the best family time when we get away and simplify.

Machka 

Late this morning we walked from our cabin to the beach, not far away, and played in the water there. It's so close, we can hear the ocean roaring when we're tucked in our cabin. I love the ocean!!

Then we selected what looked like a nice route to ride ... and it was. We drove out to a particular town and were setting up our tandem when a cyclist went by. By the time we got on the road, the cyclist had reached his turn-around point and was on his way back. He rode hard and caught up to us, and we got chatting.

Rowan was wearing his PBP jersey, and the cyclist asked us if we were long distance cyclists. The Carradice on the back of the tandem and the jersey gave it away. We got chatting and it turned out that although he has never done an Audax Australia event, he knew about them and was thinking of participating in them. He travelled with his cycling. He was wearing a Round the Bay in a Day jersey, which is a popular 200K event (although not Audax) in Melbourne, he had done a relatively lengthy event about a month ago in the area where we live, and he rode the Alpine Classic route a few weeks after the event just so he could see what the route was like.

He showed us around his town a little bit, and then we continued on our way. All up, we did 45.8 km on the tandem.

Very good day ... and with pizza to come for dinner.

NathanC

60km in the wet this morning after eating way too much at the Easter Show yesterday.

znomit

Man, us Kiwis aren't happy. ANZAC day doesn't move.

Not much riding, worked a couple of days and might spend that $ on some lighter wheels.

jamesdak 

If the weather cooperates I'm planning on a lot of riding. Started the extended weekend with a 59 mile jaunt yesterday. Had a "fun" 4 mile climb of about 8% grade starting at mile 8 and then had to climb back over the same mountain on the way back in. The wind was more taxing than the climbing though. Hope to get at least another 50 miles each day this weekend if the rain holds off. I'll ride in the rain for 20 miles or so but for 50 miles that gets to be a pain.

Jakedatc

working today... hopefully 50mi group ride tomorrow.. then birthday dinner after that.

Machka 

Sunday - Drove into Adelaide. This is the first time I have ever been to Adelaide so it was exciting and interesting for me.

First, Rowan took me up to Mt Lofty Lookout, a beautiful view over the city of Adelaide. I would definitely recommend going there and taking in the view! We took a look through the gift shop, and picked up a Bike SA route guide.

When we got into Adelaide, we found a place to park and then spent the next several hours cycling and walking around Adelaide's city centre area.

We started by selecting and following Bike SA's route guide for a route around the city centre ... and we ended up seeing parts of Adelaide I don't think we would have seen otherwise. We were taken on all sorts of little back lanes, across a parking structure, and here, there, and everywhere!! The route was classed as "easy", and it was relatively easy to ride in terms of terrain and distance, but it wasn't particularly easy when it came to road crossings and trying to find the little lanes we were supposed to be on. We gave up about halfway around ... partly because we decided it was too challenging following the route, and partly because we were distracted by an Austin Healey car show.

We stopped for a bite to eat, and then decided to follow the MUP along the Torrens River. The area along the river is very pretty ... Adelaide is full of parks which are lovely. We don't usually ride MUPs, and I was reminded why not. However, we put aside any desire to ride faster than 10 km/h and rode the MUP as a way of seeing parts of the city without getting lost.

Back into the city centre, we checked out the Rundle Mall - mainly walking - and some other parts of the city.

Although we only cycled 19.35 km, the whole trip took several hours. It was, however, an enjoyable several hours exploring a city I've never seen before.

A view of Adelaide


One of the back lanes the Bike SA route sent us on


Another of the back lanes the Bike SA route sent us on


The Torrens River in Adelaide with the MUP beside

thedeadone

Sounds like you are all having a good time. On the 23rd I rode 30 miles with a friend in the hills. 2.5 hour ride. today(24th) my family is going to my wifes mothers house for easter lunch. When I get back I will do a 17 mile flat ride.Monday--- I will go back to work,boo.

Jakedatc

Well 50mi ride turned out to be only 44ish (revised map but not revised mileage) but the weather was perfect and i teamed up with a few guys in the group that were all the same pace and that always makes it nice. couple of good hills to let my skinny ass get some revenge on the guys who coast past me on downhills

Wylde06

No long weekend here.

I got out and did 10 miles yesterday. First day on the bike in 2 weeks. Ive been doing PT for some lower back pain while riding, and at the end of my ride yesterday had a bit of pain. Hopefully I will be back on the bike regularly soon and racking in the miles..

jamesdak 

Well I only got in 20 miles yesterday instead of the 50 I wanted to do. Made up for it by doing another 60 mile ride with a long mountain climb in and out. Some how the wind seemed to always stay in my face today so I am wore out!

StephenH

We did our 200k permanent yesterday, and had a pretty good time. It was the same group plus a couple of extras that has been training for the rando stampede. But this time, we didn't all ride as a group so much, and got strung out more. It was windy and warm.
The route was an out-and-back. We were at the turn-around control when one of the riders says, "Want to see the old bridge?" So a few of us took off for the old bridge. Pictures below. I posted these on the bikejournal.com forums, and another poster pointed out several similar bridges around the state, one of them still being in use.




There was a long hill on the way into that last control, with a decorative lighthouse at the top. So I snapped a shot of it on the way out.



This afternoon, I got in 55 miles on local roads.

Machka 

Monday - No cycling, but we did spend almost an hour at the beach walking in the waves. It was a beautiful 23C out there, with blue sky and sunshine. A gorgeous mid-autumn day.

We also took a ride on an old steam train in the morning and drove to the other side of the peninsula to see what it was like over there in the early afternoon.

NCMTBIKER

I mountain biked this past thursday..dint get to road ride any this past easter weekend..

Machka 

42 km along the beach. We tried the much advertised local MUP/bicycle route for about half the route, and some parts of it were OK, but some parts were hard to follow and clogged with people.

Nevertheless ... the ocean is beautiful!! And the weather was great!

Machka 

Well, the weekend is over and we're back at home. We had a great time!!

How was your Easter weekend?