Some months ago my son A, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, suggested that we participate in the United Energy Around the Bay ride. I said “yes.”
I still own the Ritchey Break-Away and the S&S Edge Pull Butterfly Latch Hard Case that I wrote about in 2019. You can read that post by clicking here.
I pulled the case out of storage nine days before my flight to Melbourne. It has been years since I last travelled with my Break-Away. In that time, the hard rubber tyres on the case wheels had completely perished. Those nubs on the plastic cores of the wheels made rolling the case untenable.
A series of emails to S&S Machine culminated in the delivery of replacement wheels via DHL. Shipping via the United States Postal Service would have taken too long. As I expected, the courier charge was a lot more than the cost of the wheels, but it was desperate times.
The replacement wheels were easy to install. I then had to remind myself about how to fit my Break-Away into the case. It was a Tetris-like task, but I eventually fit everything in.
Once the compression members (the white plastic tubes with circular caps) are in place, there is space to fit in shoes, bottles, tools and other small items. The compression members protect the bike by preventing the outside faces of the case from being pushed inward and crushing the bicycle frame.
A’s home is within riding distance of the Capital City Trail. The Capital City Trail is a 29 km shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which circles the Melbourne city centre and includes some inner eastern and northern suburbs.
The Capital City Trail incorporates sections of other trails, including the Merri Creek Trail, Main Yarra Trail, Moonee Ponds Creek Trail and Inner Circle Rail Trail.
The map below shows the Capital City Trail. The map on the right is the route A and I took. We followed the Capital City Trail for the most part, with two brief excursions you will read about.
This is the view down the Yarra River toward the city centre. Lots of rowing clubs were running “Learn to Row” sessions on the river. These are just a few of the dozens of boats on the water that morning.
10 km upriver, and the Yarra is considerably narrower. No boats on the water here.
Our first excursion off the trail was to the Uncle Drew Café in Clifton Hill.
It wasn’t the warmest day with an average ride temperature of 18º Celsius, but it was dry and the air was still. We sat outside and enjoyed very nice breakfasts and coffees.
Our second excursion off-trail was after 19 km. We headed due north to the appropriately named Off Course Bike Shop in Brunswick.
Rain was forecasted for the Around the Bay ride. A suggested that we get Ass Savers so we don’t spray rooster tails of water onto riders behind us. I also bought thicker and more water-resistant gloves than the thin pair I brought with me.
We were back home after a very pleasant 49 km. Notwithstanding the 750 metre drag up Walmer Street at an average grade of 6.1%. It was a good warm-up ride for the Around the Bay ride the following morning.
Old Roots, New Routes 