You can tell it is spring time in Melbourne, a light wind is whipping up the pollen, the sun is shining and everyone with a passion for life and fitness has lubed up their chain and is out on their bikes. Early Sunday morning thousands of Melbourne cyclists headed out into stiff winds to take part in the annual Around the Bay in a Day. This year there was just over $783K raised in support of The Smith Family, an amazing effort! I however had pulled out the friction machine and was hammering down Cressy Climb at the just recently reopened You Yangs mountain bike park with a massive grin and some severe sleep deprivation to boot. The rangers and You Yangs mountain bike club have done an fantastic job repairing the trails after the damage caused by some serious rain earlier in the year. The afternoon was similarly packed with cycling goodness as Rathdowne St and Lygon St had been closed for the Jayco Herald Sun Tour criterium. Anyone without a cycling hat felt like a fool and every fixie, vintage, titanium, steel and carbon bike in the city was there to see a most impressive race down through one of the most iconic streetscapes in Melbourne.
The criterium comprised of 15 blistering laps of the course with Melbournians whipping themselves into a bike-excitement-induced frenzy. The Rewind Cycle crew had all made the journey down to Carlton for the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed watching Marcel Kittle from Skil-Shimano sprint to take the win. Our sharp eyes picked up on which unfortunate teams were kitted out with SRAM as chains skipped and sponsored riders swore under their breath (and contracts). There were a few valiant efforts in breakaways but nothing strong enough to stay away from the peleton for any significant length of time.
Love cycling, love Melbourne.
The Sheriff.
Check out the awesome shots from Rewind below.
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Very enjoyable event and beautiful shots.
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