#Australia

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Melodie Special: Commuter Cycles in Melbourne Helps Melodie Build Her New Bike

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Melodie Special: Commuter Cycles in Melbourne Helps Melodie Build Her New Bike

Andy and Melodie from FYXO run a series of events in Melbourne, Australia, as a husband and wife team. Over the years, Melodie has had many bikes, but it wasn’t until she linked up with the team at Commuter Cycles that she had real input on a build. Read on for a brief history of Melodie’s bikes and a walkthrough of what the team is cooking up for her newest steed in part one of a two-part look

Devil’s Cardigan: The 2023 Australian Gravel National Championships

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Devil’s Cardigan: The 2023 Australian Gravel National Championships

Picture an island 42 degrees south of the equator deep in the middle of winter. Surrounded by great oceans, it is battered by cold rain, snow, and wind. The Roaring Forties haunt the island like the growls of a Devil. Born out of these challenging conditions, The Devils Cardigan seemed the only name fit to describe the Australian Gravel National Championships. 

Read on for Scott Mattern’s recap of Tasmania’s annual off-road rite of passage and how he made it devilishly difficult by combing both the 50km and 100km distances…

Cycling the World With McKenzie Barney Part 1

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Cycling the World With McKenzie Barney Part 1

For McKenzie Barney, cycling the world was never about chasing a record, or even adhering to all of the Guinness Book of Records parameters to qualify for an “official” time. But after an introduction to bike touring in Vietnam and learning about the 18,000-mile goal post for a “Cycle the World” completion, she was intrigued. For the next few years she planned, scrimped and saved between trips while pursuing her own Cycling the World project. Earlier this year, she completed the project after having ridden 18,000 miles, in 28 countries, and on five continents. Read on for Part 1 of her journey download, where she writes about moving from thru hiking to bike touring, gaining solo experience in Europe, and then putting it to the test on a ride from Cairo to Cape Town with her partner James. Plus, don’t miss the trailer to her upcoming self-documented, self-edited film!

2023 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia Part One: BMX Chop Shop, Tor Bikes, Paradigm Bikes, Trinity MTB, Woods Bicycle Co., Bastion Cycles, Prova Cycles, Llewellyn, Sun Graphics, Htech Bikes, G. Duke, and The Lost Workshop

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2023 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia Part One: BMX Chop Shop, Tor Bikes, Paradigm Bikes, Trinity MTB, Woods Bicycle Co., Bastion Cycles, Prova Cycles, Llewellyn, Sun Graphics, Htech Bikes, G. Duke, and The Lost Workshop

The first weekend of June saw another lap around the sun for the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia and while there was no blowing out of the candles, the show turned five this year. This edition was once again hosted in the incredible Seaworks building in Williamstown. Overlooking the city skyline, Melbourne looks close enough that you could touch it. Massive shipping vessels bring goods into the port, making a spectacular backdrop for a celebration of the craft and culture of the Handmade Bicycle. Andy White of FYXO share a gallery of beautiful bicycles and backstory about the builders at this beloved event.

The Sunburnt Desert: A Solo Bikepacking Journey Across Australia

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The Sunburnt Desert: A Solo Bikepacking Journey Across Australia

Crossing any foreign country alone is a daunting quest. In shaky moments I turn to my heroes, the women who boil their fears until they evaporate into courage. Legends like Robyn Davidson, who famously walked her camels across the empty Australian outback to the Indian Ocean and wrote about it in her book “Tracks,” whose pages revealed the mayhem and mystique of solo desert expeditions. Upon reading her account, I envisioned my own voyage across the country. Where Davidson chose camels, I chose a bicycle.

Heatwave induced mirages are nothing outside of the norm in one of Earth’s harshest desert environments. Many times while cycling Australia I caught my thoughts drifting back to Africa, on my first monumental bike voyage from Cairo to Cape Town. The similarities of the two lands were palpable: Australia’s outback terrain akin to sand dunes of the Saharan Desert, and Down Under roadhouses seemed close cousins of remote Sudanese cafeterias. In both places the feeling of complete surrender to mother nature’s extreme weather arsenal was nearly identical, and total. Nevertheless, an unmistakable boundary separated how I approached the two journeys: a traditional touring outfit in Africa versus a lighter bikepacking setup in Australia.

Striking a Different Kind of Gold in Beechworth: Tor Bikes Shop Visit

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Striking a Different Kind of Gold in Beechworth: Tor Bikes Shop Visit

With the headlights pointing north, I departed at sparrow’s fart, my destination: Beechworth. It’s a little over a three-hour jaunt from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The drive is punctuated by rolling hills, bouncing kangaroos, and petrol (gas) stations. Historically known for the gold rush of the late 1800s, I was heading there in search of the slightly less precious metal of steel – crafted by the hand of Shane Flint of Tor Bikes.

Custom With a Conscience: A Shop Visit with Terra Rossa Gear

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Custom With a Conscience: A Shop Visit with Terra Rossa Gear

It’s 8am and we’re out in the not-so-salubrious outer suburb of Campbellfield, a 45-minute drive north of Melbourne CBD. A bruised-up Subaru sits parked outside an industrial workshop with all its doors flung open, and the sound of Don Williams’s country classic “Tulsa Time” fills the air. With some trepidation, we draw closer. A pair of skis erupt from the passenger side window. Anoraks and half-finished sleeping bags lay strewn across the backseat, while a huge roll of fabric pierces through the car, like that motorway scene in Final Destination 2. Did we take a wrong turn somewhere off the highway?

Singing with Don as he walks down the stairs, Evan spots us loitering by his car. “Hey guys!” he shouts. “Welcome to the Terra Rosa playground! Apologies for the car, it’s not stolen. There’s been an unreal dump these last few days and I’m getting ready for some snow adventures in the high-country.” Of course we were in the right place: we were standing at the palace gates of Terra Rosa Gear.