Cycling in Tassie

I hope you have enjoyed reading my excerpts from my second book, which I am presently still writing. Visiting places provides the taste but you learn even more from your reading when you get home.





Even my friends get confused as to our whereabouts at times. Roz and I travelled to Slovenia and Italy earlier this year, while Spain and Portugal the year before. This earlier trip is the subject of my book. As enjoyable as it is to relive the moments you experience, it’s far more time consuming than cycling itself.

Roz on the approach to
Cradle Mountain.

For the next few weeks, I’m taking a break from writing; well sort of. Roz and I are off to Tasmania. Another circumnavigation on the bike. I’ve done plenty of hiking in Tassie over the years; Cradle Mountain umpteen times and I’ve experienced the perils of the South-West, with its boat crossings and knee-deep muddy trails. But I’ve never ridden its roads on my Bianchi. Often compared in size, landscape and unfortunately weather, with the Republic of Ireland, I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Atop of Mount Ossa, Tasmania's
highest peak.

For those of you who have never been to Tasmania, or worse still, know nothing about it, it does belong to Australia. With a population of not much more than half a million, there’s plenty of unaccompanied space to discover for yourself.
Hobart and Launceston are its most populated cities, while the remainder of its 315 x 286 kilometres are abundant with sleepy small towns, magnificent National Parks, sprawling rivers,      
glaciated peaks, remote beaches and a convict history that has its 
own fascinating story to tell.