On sunburns and being lost...

Hi all,
It's been a busy couple of days in Melbourne - got my bike, got a library card (don't ask!) and managed to get myself home on the bike... eventually. It's definitely taking some getting used to, having never ridden a road bike before, having never ridden on the left hand side of the road before and having never had to look at a map while on a bike! The good people at The Freedom Machine in Port Melbourne set me up with the beautiful Giant Avail you will soon see below. It was definitely my kind of place: they had me on the bike with a video camera so they could measure the angles my legs, feet and back were making during pedalling. It was very high tech and you all know I like to measure things!

My ride home was interesting to say the least. On the map, it looks like there are clear bike paths from where I was in Port Melbourne most of the way home to the place I'm staying in West Footscray. Not so! I was getting lost all over the place and had to stop for directions a million times! I saw many industrial things that I didn't expect to come across on my "waterfront ride" home... Getting into downtown during rush hour was a little stressful - they bike paths were wonderful through the city, but wow, there are hundreds of cyclists here who are all very competent (and wearing fluorescents!) and probably did not appreciate a slightly wobbly (very wobbly) nervous Canadian who was leaping off her bike ever 5 seconds to check the map. Managed to follow some people who looked like they knew where they were going and got into Footscray no problem... until I ended up in another industrial park with no more bike paths. Very long story short, I covered most of Footscray, Middle Footscray and West Footscray by trial and error (because at this point, I was off the map!) and eventually found my way home. Eep!

Riding today went MUCH better. I took the same path (well, the path I mostly meant to take) as yesterday down into Port Melbourne and, with only one oops into the industrial docks, I made it to the Freedom Machine to get the guys to add a bell and see if they could move my brakes in closer (my small hands were having a bit of trouble reaching them). I even tested out riding with the panniers 1/3 loaded and had no real trouble with them unless the wind picks up! Got the bike sorted and made my way further along the waterfront into St. Kilda, stopped for fish and chips and was thoroughly enjoying the ride until the bike paths ended and I was off-roading with my road bike - sand, gravel, grass, you name it! - and got myself terribly lost again. After a very frustrating walk/ride through a really trendy area, I finally made it to the tram station to head downtown... not realizing bikes aren't allowed on trams! A new adventure to find a train station and then finally made it downtown to meet with some Otesha team members at the office. Whew! At 35 km taking 3 hours, I am biking just about as fast as I can run! Eep!

All in all, it's been quite the adventure and I feel like I'm getting to know Melbourne through sheer determination - my navigating skills being horrific!

Hope you enjoy the pics!
Cheers,
Candice

PS> Yikes I am a bit sunburned! Hands, knees and calves, which I forgot to sunscreen. Oops!

The house in West Footscray, thanks Ange!





















Leaving the Otesha office today

My ride home yesterday along the water

The new bike! Her name is Blue!

The bike shop in Port Melbourne, thanks Tyson and James!