andy jennings

I've posted about how I plan short trips in my home region. I'm fortunate that Vline   allows bikes on trains, so I can get to the start easily and return the same way. Unfortunately this is not the case in any other states in Australia. Having said that you have to be careful in picking which services to take. You can't book ahead. One very important page you should check is the  "service changes"  page: when they work on the tracks (mostly in winter, but not always) they substitute buses for trains, and the buses won't take your bicycle. Most of these rides are based around  rail trails  - Victoria has lots of them. I have mapped each of these tours, so you can see how it plays out in detail, right down to the lunch stop and the camping location. Some of you may be able to travel up to double the pace, but you get the idea. Great Victorian Rail Trail Track My Tour track  The Google Map display allows you to see the path I took, at least rou...

It's really Tom's fault. After all, if you can cycle Norway in the winter   then Australia should be possible, surely? Australians tend to live close to the sea. So when they take off by bicycle they tend to follow the coast. Lots of bike tourers also. Some even go the whole way around. I've cycled the coast of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales. Not all of it, but a lot of it. I'm in awe of people who go the whole way around, but the distances in Western Australia are beyond my reach now. If you are Australian, be prepared for comments like "why ?" or "there's nothing there...". Out here you won't meet many Australians. Some adventurous Germans, or Swedes, or Japanese. Despite having some of the most wonderful scenery in the world, Australians are highly urbanised and mostly not mentally equipped for the outback. I want to recommend two tours I've done that are in the "less pedalled" category. Not quite as unusual...