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Published: February 28th 2012
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We caught the tram into Federation Square where we picked up a couple of bikes which we rented for the day. They provided helmets and a small saddle bag and sent us on our way. We decided to ride the Studley Park Boathouse trail which is a 20km trail which runs North along the river back towards Richmond. The start of this track is the same path that we had used to walk into the city the day before, but then continues on further past Richmond. We stopped at Victoria St and parked up our bikes whilst we walked to the local shops to pick up some sushi which we would have for lunch later in the day.
Back on the bikes, we continued North along the Yarra river passing Collingwood Childrens farm, where you ride between all the animal enclosures, then on past Abbotsford Convent and up to Dight Falls. Unfortunately they are doing some work on the falls to improve the water flow so we didn’t get a very good view of the falls. Dight Falls marks the end of the Studley Park Boathouse trail and the start of the 30km Capital City Trail - at this point
we took a couple of wrong turns but managed to double back on ourselves and get back on the right path. However not long after getting back on the right path we discovered Jo had a puncture, so after a couple of attempts at pumping at the tyre we decided we would need to take it off and change the inner tube. Jo played assistant, whilst Will worked his magic on the tyre and we were soon back on the road, it was just like an F1 pit stop! We passed through Merri Creek and through the underpass at Rushall Station, but when we came through the other side of the underpass the directions were less clear and we unknowingly took a few wrong turns which led us back into the centre of the city, rather than continuing with the City Trail around the North outskirts of the city. We realised we had gone wrong somewhere when we recognised Fitzroy Gardens. By now it was gone 1pm, and with a morning’s riding behind us we were both ready for lunch, so we stopped in Fitzroy Gardens to enjoy our Sushi which we had bought earlier in the day.
Once
we were refreshed and energised again, we picked up our bikes and turned to our iPhones to find us a route back up to join the City Trail. After passing along a couple of very busy streets with several lanes of traffic, and cycling through Princes Park and Royal Park past the Melbourne Zoo, we made back to the City Trail. The route took us down the West outskirts of the city from here, passing under a number of the freeways that run into the city along a dedicated cycle trail. We eventually arrived in the Docklands and passed the Etihad stadium and along the waterfront where we saw a couple of helicopters taking off from their private pads!
We had a couple of hours left with the bikes, so we decided to take one last trail before heading back into Federation Square. This time we headed down Clarendon St to Albert Park. They have been setting up for the GP in Albert Park for a few weeks now and it’s looking very impressive. We managed to find an entry point on the GP track and Will was very excited to be able to ride the track that the
F1 drivers will soon be powering around. We passed the Pitt Lanes and cycled up to the Prost stand which is where we’ll be enjoying the race from in a few weeks. From here we completed the loop back up the east side of the track, passing the Golf course in Albert Park and back on to Albert Road. From here it was time to head back in to Federation Square, so we cycled up St Kilda Road past the Melbourne Arts Centre and across the bridge to Federation Square. Will got in a little ‘no-hands’ cycling and an impressive skid mark on the final decline back to the hire shop, and then it was time to dismount and try to remember how to walk again!
We had some sushi left from our lunch so we walked up the steps to Federation Square and enjoyed our sushi whilst watching the crowds go by after work, and whilst Will tormented a seagull or 2 with some wasabi!
We caught the tram home from Flinders St and enjoyed an evening of relaxing with dinner and wine on the sofa.
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