Ride #1 - Northern Beaches

If you had asked me 6 months ago how many murals there were in my local area, I would have guessed at 3 or 4, but after a bit of Googling ( is that even a word ? ) I was surprised to find a few more.

I developed a route and plotted it into my GPS, and one sunny Sunday morning in early January, I hit the road for the first of 2 local rides.

I chose my local area for my first “bonus hunt” for several reasons. 

Firstly, January is our Summer and the weather is usually hot with daytime temperatures in the mid to high 30s.  Please note that is 35*C and not 35*F and I find that my tolerance level of ATGATT at 35~40*C is not very long.

Secondly, and more importantly, January is our Summer School Holiday period when many families leave the city for other holiday locations. This results in less city traffic, which I dislike with a vengeance, and easier street parking, which is needed for "up close" mural photos.

The actual ride was rather mundane, and I won't go into much detail, but I did enjoy finding the actual murals.

Prior to the GT, I had known of a couple murals a kilometre or two from my home, so I bagged them first, then I headed to the industrial area about 10 kilometres away.  

This area, Brookvale, usually has heavy traffic with no street parking and many large trucks on a Monday through Saturday, but is deserted on a Sunday.  Just perfect.

I think my favourite mural was this Japanese inspired Crane.


click on the image to enlarge

The following Sunday, I headed to the beach-side suburbs just north of my home. The traffic was light, and I was able to bag a few more bonuses.

My favourite bonus from this ride is this rather humorous mural in Narrabeen.

click on the image to enlarge

With my local area more or less “bagged” and January drawing to a close, it is time now to plan out my first multi-day ride, suitably named Nor-Nor-West, taking in the rural towns of Dubbo, Gilgandra and Coonamble and the two grain silos in Dunedoo and Meriwa.

As always, " keep the rubber side down, the shiny side up, may your lid never skid ".

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