The Official Home of The Ghostriders' Cycling Group
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"Life is Better on Two Wheels !"Annual Australia Day Ride - Thursday January 26th
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| Some of the successful Cathedral Peak summitteers gathered at the top of the mountain. In the foreground you can see Noel Wolstencroft who acted as guide for the walk. |
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The new 2012 Ghostrider calendar is now available completely free of charge for immediate download. The calendar contains all our sceheduled rides for the next 12 months, as well as all public and school holidays. The format is pdf so can be opened and printed on any computer with Acrobat Reader. You could even forward a copy on to all your cycling and family friends. This year's calendar features some inspiring images from our recent 2011 European Ride. You can download the complete new calendar HERE.
On Saturday October 22nd we conducted our first ever ride to the Point Nepean National Park. Although some less hardy souls looked at the sky and decided not to ride, those that did ride were rewarded with an amazing day out. Not only did the rain stay away but we had a fascinating insight into a little known part of Australia's history. For me this was also something of a personal pilrimmage, since my great great grandparents came to Australia on the ill fated Ticonderoga in 1852. This ship was later known as the Plague ship because of the high number of passengers who either died in transit or after arrival in Australia. I even found a picture of my great great grandmother in the special exhibit. You can see more images and read the ride story HERE
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Entry to the Museum section - including a special exhibit on the ill fated Ticonderoga |
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View from the fortified lookout down towards Point Nepean. Queenscliff is visible in the distance. |
After all the hype and anticipation it's all over for another 12 months. Not only did this year's riders enjoy very kind conditions but we have the surprise result of a new King of the Mountain. After we thought that Jurie had a permanent claim to this title Andrew Seen comes out of nowhere and sets a new blistering time of 1 hr 27 mins. That has certainly raised the benchmark for future events. It was good to see so many riders (both fast and not so fast) come out and pit their legs against the mountain. It looks like the Lungbuster will continue for many more years into the future. More details and top times will be published in the next newsletter. Thanks again to Jurie and Connie and their small army of helpers for making this year's event a big success.
Our amazing 2011 European Adventure has now been completed. Here are a few initial images to give you some idea of the incredible experiences we shared together.
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Our peloton of uniformed Ghostriders approaching Passau in Germany at the end of the first leg of our ride |
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Beautiful scenery on the Danube near the border between Germany and Austria |
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| Lionel surveys the amazing bend in the Danube at the so called "Schloniger Loop" - Austria |
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| We came across this unexpected collection of real "Ghostriders" gathered to welcome us. Note the unearthly apparition to the left of the image. This was NOT visible when the picture was taken ! |
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I am excited to say that our 2012 Turkish Delights Trip has such a dramatic response that it is already confirmed. This trip will take us to a completely different corner of the world. Turkey is situated right on the junction between Europe and Asia and has an history leading back thousands of years. In 324 AD Emperor Constantine chose Byzantium (renamed Constantinople and later Istanbul) to be the headquarters of the Eastern Roman Empire. The country of Turkey straddles a strategic position which has made it an important trading centre since the start of recorded history. Its strategic importance was recently demonstrated by the ill fated landing at Gallipoli in World War I. Since that time there has been a blood bond between the Turks and the Australians and this is evidenced by the overwheleming hospitality that the modern Turks extend to all Australians visiting their country.
Along the way we will be cycling, trekking, training, sailing and sightseeing our way through Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Karaman, Konya, Antalya, Fethiye, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Troy and of course, Gallipoli. Turkey has an amazing array of experiences for the traveller and our trip has been planned so that we will experience as many different facets of this country as possible. Not only is the history breathtaking, but the country has incredible natural wilderness areas as well, which we will see on our trek in the Taurus Mountains. Some other highlights will include taking a night train to Ankara, sailing over a sunken city, exploring a complete underground city, visiting the monastery of the whirling dervishes, cycling among the cave houses of Cappadocia and exploring the numerous Roman and other ruins.
Now that the Turkey adventure is finalised I can let you know what I have been working on next. For the past couple of years I have been looking at another trek in Nepal. In 2009 we took 27 Ghostriders and friends to the Annapurna region to trek to Kopra Ridge. In April 2013 I would like to take another group of trekkers to explore the Everest region of the Himalayas. This will not be a cycling trip but rather a mountainous trek on the roof of the world.
I have also been looking at a much less challenging (but wonderfully enjoyable) trip for later in the year. This would take the form of an extended ride in the chateaux region of France for Aug/Sep of 2013. This would be an ideal opportunity to involve your non cycling partners and friends as the riding will be gentle but spectacular.
Looking even further ahead I would love to take another group to experience South America in 2014.
Although all these trips are still a long way off, if you would like to be informed of developments, you should let me know now.
The predicted showers did not eventuate and 22 riders were blessed with a most enjoyable ride to the Docklands and back. It is amzing to see how many people venture to this region to jog, ride, walk and skate to physical fitness. It was also very encouraging to see many of our female riders take part in this ride. We also had three guest riders join us for the day. One of our foundation members Daryl O'Grady also came out of cycling retirement to show us his $6000 racing bike. This was not intended to be a hard ride, rather it was a chance to enjoy some time together and see a side of our city that we don't get to see very often. For those soon leaving for our 2012 Europe ride this will be their final chance to share a ride before we start our ride in Ulm in two weeks time. Thanks again to all those who came along and helped make this ride so much fun.
Yes it was rather cold and wet but the ride went ahead as planned. Although we had 6 withdrawals before the start because of the weather, we also had two surprise guest riders join us from Tullamarine bringing our peloton to 9 riders. They had read about the ride on our web site and it was a pleasure to share their company for the afternoon. Apart from the weather, the other handicap we faced was a higher than expected number of punctures. In spite of these setbacks, the sun actually broke through for the latter stages of the ride and all agreed that it had actually been well worth while. We will be returning to this region on Sun Aug 7th when we conduct the Bayside Bike Paths Ride. This heads in the opposite direction (ie towards Melbourne) and will take us from South Rd to Docklands and back again.
We returned to this ride after a couple of year's break and our decision was rewarded with an absolutely perfect day for riding. Kevin Balaam (bicycle guide extraordinaire) took us under his wing and introduced us to some of his favourite routes in this area. We all had a fantastic day on the trails and the warm sunshine was a most welcome surprise after the miserable weather we had been having for the previous two weeks. You can view the video of the ride here
Question: What do the places Kunming, Kathmandu, Delhi, Bangkok, Munich, Dali, Li Jiang, Jaipur, Yangshuo, Vienna, Budapest, Guilin, Paris, London, Agora, Hong Kong, Dubai, Pokhara, Passau, Santiago, Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, Buenos Aires, Wangaratta and Warburton all have in common ?
Answer: They have all been visited by the Ghostriders in the past 5 years !
Our 2009 Himalayan Adventure is now a part of history. I doubt that anyone who participated in this amazing challenge will ever run out of stories to tell. How could we ever forget the thrill of climbing on the narrow ice ledges with a blizzard blowing and lightning cracking all around us ? Not to mention the death defying sheer drops that awaited us if we made a single false step ! I cannot imagine any way that you could feel more alive than when you are really put to the test. What a privelege we had of being able to explore such an amazing part of our planet and to meet so many fantastic people along the way.
In September and October 2010 we completed our longest and most ambitious overseas challenge to date when we travelled to South America to complete a high altitude ride and trek in Peru. This turned into an amazing adventure and was rated as our best trip ever. After Peru we also travelled to Argentina and Uruguay. You can see come of the inital images from this trip HERE.
All overseas adventures are open to men and women who are fit and active with well developed senses of adventure and good sense of humour. You do not have to be an experienced cyclist but you will need to be prepared to complete a realistic training program to adequately prepare for the challenges ahead.
You can either stay at home and think of a hundred reasons why you can't go, or else you can take a step at fulfilling some of your dreams. Once the decision is made, the details have a way of taking care of themselves.
If you would like to read the story of the the 2006 China ride then click HERE.
The story of the 2007 China trip can be found HERE
The story of the 2008 China trip can be found HERE
The story of our 2009 Nepal trip can be found HERE
The story of our 2009 Danube Ride can be found HERE
I can also arrange to meet with your cycling group to give them more information on these trips. Ring me on 03 5968 3307 for details.
In the interests of keeping this page to a manageable size I have archived some ride stories to another page. If you've got some time to spare you can read dozens of previous adventures by clicking here. E-mail messages should be sent to Dennis.
Please note that ride stories are now published in the FREE weekly newsletter - why not subscribe now ?
For all previous weekday ride stories click HERE
Lots of other weekend stories can be found HERE
Click HERE for 2006 China Ride
Click HERE for 2007 China Ride
Click HERE for 2008 China Ride
Click HERE for our 2009 Himalayan Challenge and pictures
Click HERE for the 2009 Danube Ride Story
Click HERE for some pictures of the 2010 South America Challenge
This trip now completed, along with supplementary ride from Prague to Dresden
Places in this trip are NOW FULL. This is not a cycling trip but a true African safari with lots of amazing scenery, indiginous people and incredible wildlife. An expereience of a lifetime !
This trip will take place in Sep 2012 and will involve cycling, trekking, sailing as we travel all over this amazing land. Experience history at first hand, also includes a visit to Gallipoli. Bookings now closed but standby list now being made.
Did you know that we also have an e-mail mailing list? If you would like to be informed/reminded of future cycling events by e-mail just drop a request to me at the following address ghostriders@netspace.net.au You can also download previous newsletters here