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Sunday, May 02, 2010

Exploring Launceston by Mountain Bike

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I’ll be working in Launceston for the next week, so I thought I’d come down a day and a bit earlier and explore the place by mountain bike.


I hired a basic hardtail bike from a local shop, donned my cold weather gear, and took off into the hills on this beautiful cloudless late autumn day.


The first part of the trip was up to Trevallyn Reserve which is perched atop some of the hills to the west of town.


The reserve has some pretty steep and rocky trails which were hard work to negotiate, but worth the effort. The view down the river towards the dam is spectacular.


After a quick break, I then headed to the Kate Reed reserve to the south of town. This has a lot more narrow single track than Trevallyn, and it was here I suffered a pretty nasty “Gumby Stack” where I fell off my bike for no reason other than I couldn’t pull my feet out of my clip-in pedals. Luckily my shoulder survived the fall and I have no broken bones.


I’ve never ridden in such cold weather before. It takes a lot more preparation than I’m used to. And you still get hot, and cold, and wet with perspiration.


But it’s a great way to explore a city. I’ll definitely try this again!

Looking towards the GorgeEarly morning near the SummitDewy trailsReachng for the CloudsThe Hoo Hoo HutLake TrevallynTrevallyn Dam




1 comment:

Mogwai Slayer said...

beautiful shots. love the scenery