Shut Up Legs
Down Under Member
I moved to Ringwood North, one of Melbourne's hillier suburbs, about 2 months ago, and haven't been happier with my commute . I moved there specifically because it's close to the Dandenongs, Kinglake, and even within easier reach of Mt Donna Buang. I spent 6 months planning this move because I wanted to live somewhere hillier and closer to all the best cycling mountains Melbourne's environs have to offer, and I really hit gold with this location.
As an example of how good the location is: during my 2 weeks of holidays just past, I rode on 9 of the 17 days off, going 790km with 15,000m climbed in total, simply because all the best hills were now within easier reach. I'm as happy as a pig in mud! The commute itself is reasonably hilly: my new location in Ringwood North is at 160m, while work is at 20m, and the commute to work is 27km with about 400m climbed, while the commute home is 30km with 600m climbed, so I'm getting a daily dose of hills, and my legs are getting accustomed to them.
The new commute to work is straight down a main highway, but really early in the morning so there's little traffic, but more than half of the new commute home follows the Koonung Creek Trail, a shared bicycle/pedestrian path that follows the Eastern Freeway as it heads through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Here's a 10-minute video I recorded with my GoPro HD Hero helmet-camera, to which I added a few text comments, showing how nice the trail is.
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqZwAep_wcs
As an example of how good the location is: during my 2 weeks of holidays just past, I rode on 9 of the 17 days off, going 790km with 15,000m climbed in total, simply because all the best hills were now within easier reach. I'm as happy as a pig in mud! The commute itself is reasonably hilly: my new location in Ringwood North is at 160m, while work is at 20m, and the commute to work is 27km with about 400m climbed, while the commute home is 30km with 600m climbed, so I'm getting a daily dose of hills, and my legs are getting accustomed to them.
The new commute to work is straight down a main highway, but really early in the morning so there's little traffic, but more than half of the new commute home follows the Koonung Creek Trail, a shared bicycle/pedestrian path that follows the Eastern Freeway as it heads through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Here's a 10-minute video I recorded with my GoPro HD Hero helmet-camera, to which I added a few text comments, showing how nice the trail is.
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqZwAep_wcs