Bike Training Underway in Tasmanian Autumn

As the days start to shorten and winter emerges in Tasmania, riding over the hills of Phuket in sticky humid conditions in December provides a great incentive for winter training.


This weekend involved two 30km rides.


On Saturdays ride we took the Hobart city cycleway down to the picturesque Derwent River, under the Tasman Bridge and then out through the Northern suburbs, past the vineyards at Berriedale, to the turnaround at the Cadburys' chocolate factory. Great conditions with little wind and little or no traffic to deal with.


Along the way the huge excavations at the Morilla Winery are changing the landscape with a massive vault being progressively etched into the headland on the river to house the antiquities collected by its owner.


Autumn leaves are forming and the vines are "rusting up" and leaves falling. The 7.15am start provides the first hint of coldness in the air which requires a layer to be added as we head off.


A good time recorded for the trip and a hard squirt up the Cadbury's hill sees us hitting the top at record speed.


On Sunday we joined a couple of guys from Hobart Water and headed south along the Derwent River to climb Bonnet Hill and return.


The track takes us along the wharf and up through the sandstones wharehouses of the Salamanca area. We then head south through the heritage buildings of Battery Point and onto Sandy Bay Road. Sandy Bay Road takes us along past the shopping centre and University down through the lavish houses of lower Sandy Bay and onto the lower Channel Highway at Taroona. From there we start the climb past the lower reaches of Taroona and the old Shot Tower until we reach the top of Bonnet Hill.


The day is clear and crisp and we are able to get some great views of the river as we climb through the tree lined roads to the top of Bonnet Hill.


The Hobart Water boys lost touch on the way down the river but one of them blitzed the hill and passed me about 3/4s of the way up. More climbing training for me is the clear message!


We form a solid train on the way down the hill and back into Hobart. The Hobart Water strong hill climber attempts a couple of breakaways but we reel him in and get to the end together.


Back to the gym this week with three sessions planned and two weekend rides. On Sunday we will probably stretch out the Bonnet Hill ride another 5kms to go futher South to Kingston and then climb back over the hill to Hobart.


I had a search on the Phuket website to find a profile for the bike course. No success as yet!


I will probably find some similar sized climbs around Mt Wellington. I figure the sooner the training on these climbs starts the easier it will be in December.


Shorter days will see us shifting our rides from early mornings to middle of the day during the next month or so.


Good training lads - I will keep you up to date and look forward to hearing of your progress.