pmcdonald
Well-Known Member
I set myself a ride reaching most of the corners of my LGA (local goverment area) last night.
Some context: our state has been under strict lockdown restrictions for about three months in response to a regional Delta outbreak. What the restrictions entail varies depending on the LGA. In Newcastle's case it meant strict stay at home orders, so no non-essential travel, masks on at all times when outside your property boundary unless exercising, and movement restricted to within the LGA. Exercise is permitted, also providing it is within the LGA or if near a neighbouring LGA within 5km of your residence. So this has been my exercise playpen for the last three months: https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/council/about-council/ward-maps. These restrictions ease tomorrow for all fully vaccinated individuals due to the state reaching a vaccination milestone of 70%, with further easing at 80%.
So that's the background, now back to the ride. My route took me on a grand lockdown farewell tour of the LGA (I didn't go into ward 4 in the map above). I confess at a shade over 40km it was my longest ride yet. I'm primarily a commuter and recreational cyclist, so I do a lot of 20km-ish rides but rarely have the excuse or time for anything longer. Except at night when the household is asleep. My tour took me on a mix of road and mixed use cycleway (I avoided the bush tracks this time out). I really enjoy riding at night. I don't have to worry about sun protection (8 months of our year present high UV risk), and I think with my lighting I'm a lot more visible to the motorists. Plus there's a lot less foot and road traffic around. All photos were handheld with my mobile so you'll have to forgive the odd shaky shot.
There was a lot of this. Imagine a beautiful calm estuary to the left.
Our port and fishing fleets peeping over a bridge:
A small section of our foreshore promenade. This would usually be packed on a Saturday evening but I passed only the odd groups out for a stroll:
The lighthouse and break wall sheltering our port:
The Newcastle Ocean Baths. It really is a spectacular coastline by day:
Newcastle Beach. Again, stunning by day:
Empty rotunda in King Edward Park. There were a few lingering picnics winding up around the park.
The Newcastle Memorial Walk at Strzelecki Lookout. Imagine sweeping coastal views in the inky darkness to the left. The walk is a stunning elevated path along a 100m high clifftop that features panoramic views of the city and beaches, and is dedicated to those who fought in the Great War. The lookout is named after our second favorite Pole - Pawel Strzelecki, who contributed to the development of our coal industry. (You'll always be my favorite Pole @Stefan Mikes)
A blurry view of the city from the lookout:
From there it was a big, fast descent back down to more of our beaches, then a long climb back up a ridge line on the other side of the basin.
My favorite tunnel in the area. Although when I pulled up to take the photo I heard a sharp and LOUD burst of death metal and hair raising crazy screaming coming from the other end. A little freaked out, I paused to assess the risk. I didn't hear anything further so jumped on the pedals and shot down at a brisk pace, on edge. A little further down the track I saw a headlight in the distance coming my way. When it saw my light it quickly turned around and headed away. I saw a teenager on his bike still further down. I think on reflection he was probably just goofing around with the tunnel acoustics and was as surprised to see me as I was to hear his vocal efforts.
The back half of the trip was a lot less eventful. It was mainly through suburban streets and pathways with zero foot traffic and little in the way of cars. I use a Cateye 800 for lighting. It gives me a good view of the path about 50m ahead and lasted on full blast for the two hour ride.
Yet another path besides sporting fields:
More path, this time through Jesmond Park towards the western extremity of my ride:
One final image from a foot and cycle overpass in Jesmond. Aren't modern smartphones extraordinary? This was a 15 second exposure handheld but braced against the overpass handrailing. Obviously not DSLR + tripod quality but staggering compared to past phone cameras.
And that brings our lockdown exercise tour to a close. Thanks for joining me on my ride.
Some context: our state has been under strict lockdown restrictions for about three months in response to a regional Delta outbreak. What the restrictions entail varies depending on the LGA. In Newcastle's case it meant strict stay at home orders, so no non-essential travel, masks on at all times when outside your property boundary unless exercising, and movement restricted to within the LGA. Exercise is permitted, also providing it is within the LGA or if near a neighbouring LGA within 5km of your residence. So this has been my exercise playpen for the last three months: https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/council/about-council/ward-maps. These restrictions ease tomorrow for all fully vaccinated individuals due to the state reaching a vaccination milestone of 70%, with further easing at 80%.
So that's the background, now back to the ride. My route took me on a grand lockdown farewell tour of the LGA (I didn't go into ward 4 in the map above). I confess at a shade over 40km it was my longest ride yet. I'm primarily a commuter and recreational cyclist, so I do a lot of 20km-ish rides but rarely have the excuse or time for anything longer. Except at night when the household is asleep. My tour took me on a mix of road and mixed use cycleway (I avoided the bush tracks this time out). I really enjoy riding at night. I don't have to worry about sun protection (8 months of our year present high UV risk), and I think with my lighting I'm a lot more visible to the motorists. Plus there's a lot less foot and road traffic around. All photos were handheld with my mobile so you'll have to forgive the odd shaky shot.
There was a lot of this. Imagine a beautiful calm estuary to the left.
Our port and fishing fleets peeping over a bridge:
A small section of our foreshore promenade. This would usually be packed on a Saturday evening but I passed only the odd groups out for a stroll:
The lighthouse and break wall sheltering our port:
The Newcastle Ocean Baths. It really is a spectacular coastline by day:
Newcastle Beach. Again, stunning by day:
Empty rotunda in King Edward Park. There were a few lingering picnics winding up around the park.
The Newcastle Memorial Walk at Strzelecki Lookout. Imagine sweeping coastal views in the inky darkness to the left. The walk is a stunning elevated path along a 100m high clifftop that features panoramic views of the city and beaches, and is dedicated to those who fought in the Great War. The lookout is named after our second favorite Pole - Pawel Strzelecki, who contributed to the development of our coal industry. (You'll always be my favorite Pole @Stefan Mikes)
A blurry view of the city from the lookout:
From there it was a big, fast descent back down to more of our beaches, then a long climb back up a ridge line on the other side of the basin.
My favorite tunnel in the area. Although when I pulled up to take the photo I heard a sharp and LOUD burst of death metal and hair raising crazy screaming coming from the other end. A little freaked out, I paused to assess the risk. I didn't hear anything further so jumped on the pedals and shot down at a brisk pace, on edge. A little further down the track I saw a headlight in the distance coming my way. When it saw my light it quickly turned around and headed away. I saw a teenager on his bike still further down. I think on reflection he was probably just goofing around with the tunnel acoustics and was as surprised to see me as I was to hear his vocal efforts.
The back half of the trip was a lot less eventful. It was mainly through suburban streets and pathways with zero foot traffic and little in the way of cars. I use a Cateye 800 for lighting. It gives me a good view of the path about 50m ahead and lasted on full blast for the two hour ride.
Yet another path besides sporting fields:
More path, this time through Jesmond Park towards the western extremity of my ride:
One final image from a foot and cycle overpass in Jesmond. Aren't modern smartphones extraordinary? This was a 15 second exposure handheld but braced against the overpass handrailing. Obviously not DSLR + tripod quality but staggering compared to past phone cameras.
And that brings our lockdown exercise tour to a close. Thanks for joining me on my ride.
Luckily I know the road very well and knew there weren't any potholes hiding below! My bike was properly filthy when I got home but what a brilliant day that was, quite a workout and lots of ups and downs to enjoy, cycling at its glorious best! One of my batteries was charged to 95% and the other 85% and I almost used both up by the time I got home!
