Running Home!

Growing up in Mooroopna I spent a fair bit of time in the bush and hanging out on the banks of the Goulburn River. Whislt I hadn't started doing much running when I first moved away from there, years later when I returned It became my favourite place to run. Back then there was as sealed bike path from Mooroopna to Shepparton through the bush. As a person who liked the solitude when running I can remember being a little disappointed as more and more sealed bike paths went in around the bushland.

Despite seeing more people whilst out bush it is still is a great place to run and of course there are still many dirt tracks to get into it. My favourite run had to be leaving near Princess Park in Shepparton and straigh across the bridge where you duck under the bridge and head off along the river towards Gemmill Swamp. Eventually you end up at the back of the Mooroopna Golf Club. If your feeling brave you can duck through the golf course and end up at the old Mooroopna Hospital. From here it is back on the bike path to Shepparton.

(Map says 11.3 but it is a bit further as I couldn't get it to show the path under the bridge)

As my parents have now moved to a different part of Shepparton I now get out on the tracks behind the Shepparton Golf Club. On a recent run there I had forgotten about the recent rain and found a billabong full and being short on time it was going to be quicker to cross it rather than back track. It made for an interesting last few KMs with wet shoes.

One thing I love about the bush tracks in Mooroopna/Shepparton is that they aren't as rocky as the ones around Bendigo and just feel a bit softer under foot.

Mt Tarrengower Maldon

It’s become a bit of a tradition at our Grade 3 camp at Maldon to run up to the lookout on top of Mt Tarrengower. The whole run from the camp is a 9km return run. Mt Tarrengower is quite well known for the Mt Tarrengower Historic Hill Climb. The climb itself is listed as a 2km climb with an average gradient of 9.8%. Of course getting to the start of the climb is nearly all uphill from the Bluelight Camp where we stay.

Each year the plan is to get to the top ready for sunrise (and then to get back down before the kids wake up). In the past I have forgotten to take my phone with me to capture the beautiful sunrise that comes up over Mt Alexander. This year I remembered and I made it to the top just after the sun had come up. Maybe I left a few minutes later than in the past, or more likely I am just slowing down.

The lookout tower provides some great 360 degree views. Pity I don’t have the time to stay there and really take in the views before the quad smashing descent. The worst thing about the way down is that when you reach the bottom of the climb you have to run up a short sharp hill that brings you back to Maldon-Bridgewater rd. Your legs are gone and you feel uncoordinated running back up the hill.

Lago Maggiore

Lago Maggiore and in particular Stresa, would have to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Stresa is just over an hour train trip north of Milan. This video was shot the day I ran up to Levo. Round trip of 13kms. 6.5kms straight up and then quad smashing 6.5kms down. I took this little video on the way down.

Victoria Peak Run -Hong Kong

A trip to Hong Kong wouldn't be the same without a trip up to Victoria Peak to see the spectacular views across the harbour. Most people take the tram up (it is a cool trip) but I enjoy running up Old Peak Road.

The Peak is 552metres high and climbs up to this height in only a few kilometres. To put it plainly, it is brutal both on the way up and the way down.  For this run I caught a train from Tsim Sha Tsui where we were staying. I got off at Admiralty and proceeded along Cotton Tree Dr. As with every time I have ran up here I get confused with all the different overpasses and stairs but finally found my way to Old Peak Rd. 

It is just steep steep steep and it is a battle to keep moving forward. This particular morning it was hot and sticky just adding to the punishment. Just after Hillsborough Court Tower 4 you move off the road and onto a small path. A lot of the path is covered by trees offering some protection from the early morning sun, but nothing saves you from the humidity.

As you run there are plenty of others, both locals and tourists, out exercising which is great to see. It is a great relief to see the Peak Lookout up above you signalling you are almost there. If you get to the lookout and haven't smashed yourself you can keep climbing up Mt Austin Rd or you can take the flatish route around Lugard Rd. 

The way up challenges the aerobic system, the way down just smashes the legs and ensures a few days of sore quads. Make sure you take your phone to grab a couple of pictures from the top or on the way down. Unfortunately the camera doesn't capture how steep it is. I tried to take a video of cars coming up just to try to give a sense of how steep it is. 

One the way down I went via the Mid-Level escalators. Must say the weren't as good as I was expecting. I finished off by catching the Star Ferry back across the harbour. Thankfully it was early and there wasn't too many on the ferry because I was getting some strange looks because of the pool of sweat I was leaving on the floor.

Hyde Park Running.

 

It’s funny that of the times that I have been to London over the past 23 years, I hadn’t actually been running in Hyde park, until this years trip. There had been different factors why I hadn’t done so in the past. But after finally doing it, it lived up to its reputation of being a great place to exercise.

I headed from Earls Court where we were staying and went down Cromwell Rd until Gloucester Rd and then headed into Hyde Park at the Broad Walk. I headed across passed Kensington Palace.  Despite being early in the morning it was a hive of activity.

Why I loved it? Well it had something for everyone. You had sealed paths to run on, but if you wanted there are plenty of grass tracks to lessen the vibration on the old knees. You could even run on sand along North Carriage Drive.  With a wide variety of runners getting about you could bring out the competitive beast inside and try to catch runners ahead as you went along. If you were wanting a more relaxing run then you could criss-cross through the park where is was less populated with runners.

The Serpentine was quiet on this morning and quite pretty, although you did have to weave around the duck poo. As a tourist you could run with your phone and stop for a quick pic of some of the sight around the park including Kensington Palace, Marble Arch and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

If you are staying a bit away from Hyde Park then catch to tube to one of the many nearby stations. Oh one thing I did notice was that I looked out of place with my blue running shorts and bright red top, everyone seemed to be wearing Black.

London Calling

London has long been my favourite city in the world to visit. I'm not sure if I'm just being sentimental because it was my first overseas destination or the fact on another few trips it's been the last port of call after being in non English countries so it was easy. It's just always had this vibe about it that I've loved. Whilst it was still there, it seemed to have lost it's appeal, only slightly. 

I'm not sure if it was the fact that we had had such a great time and when we hit London we came to the realisation that it was coming to an end. Nether the less it was still great. We had some nice weather to walk around and look at the sights.

We started with the London Eye. The kids had been looking forward to going up in it. It gives nice views especially up to Buckingham Palace. The kids loved the fact that the queen was home. Trafalgar Square was our next venture and I was devastated that they have banned you from climbing on the lions. It was a bit of a tradition to jump on the lions back and get a photo. I was going to do it but they had people patrolling and it looked as if one of them wrote out a ticket for someone who attempted it.

Our walk up to Buckingham Palace was well timed as they changing of the guards started. Kylie was a bit shocked at the pomp and ceremony that went into it. It was also Bank Holiday weekend and they had lots of things getting organised up at the Palace and it was crowded. It was a bit of a shame as they didn't get to look at it in detail. Of course one morning when I went running it was deserted so I got to have good gander. 

Portobello Road markets were great and Kylie and Milana bought a few things. It was a great afternoon so the crowds were out and there was a really good atmosphere. We got to see the Travel Book Shop from Nottinghill movie. Of course it isn't a travel book shop but a souvenir shop. at the markets there was a fantastic performer, you could have sworn it was Ed Sheeran himself.

My favourite tourist attraction in London has always been Tower Bridge. I think it looks cool. Every time I have been to London I have always put off going up the walkways. This time Sebastian and I did it. They have a couple of glass bottom floor panels and we timed it perfectly as they opened it when we were up there. It was pretty good to watch from atop.

We shopped a bit at M&M world. It was funny as Kylie had turned her nose up when I said that we should go there. But she enjoyed it. It is spread over 4 levels. It's expensive but oh well. We did get to see a huge bust up between a mum and her 7 year old. It was pretty horrific. 

On the last morning I ran 13km around the city. It is always the best way to see the city.

The Netherlands

We had a fantastic 5 nights in the Holten, The Netherlands.  It was great to see Roy and Anita again and the kids have really grown up since last visit. We got straight into the typical Dutch lifestyle and jumped on bikes and rode down to the town square where they had a festival going on. We had dinner there and swerved, I mean, rode home at 9.30 when it was still daylight.

The kids sweet breakfasts continued. A new addition to what they had been previously having was was the chocolate sprinkles on their toast. Mmm.

We went to a Dutch Open Aired Museum on the Sunday. I guess the best way to describe it is a bit like Sovereign Hill in Victoria. You can walk around and look at old buildings including farmhouses, windmills, a brewery and even trams. The kids enjoyed it, almost as much as the flying fox that was there.

As a family we got into the Dutch tradition of riding everywhere around town. On the Monday we all rode the kids to school. We also rode and did the groceries and things like that. I really liked this side of the culture. The Dutch motto is - There isn't bad weather, just bad clothing. So even if it is raining you still ride. Of course, they didn't wear helmets.

The school had just over 200 students. They are getting a new school soon. There current school is looking a bit old. There were a few noticeable differences from our schools. One was that they didn't have uniforms. Their day is structured differently, they started at 8.30 and finished at 3.15 but they had a longer lunch. In fact parents choose if they come home for lunch or stay. If they stay the parents can choose to send lunch or pay to have it provided. They all have there own bag that that hangs at school that they put their coats in so that lice don't spread. On Wednesday they finish by 12.30pm. Most of the kids ride or get a dink to school. It is funny to watch the parents come in and and stand around the courtyard in the afternoon. They back their bikes in and stand there lined up and wait. It was a shame I couldn't understand what they were saying, it would have been interesting to see if they were just paying out on the school and teachers, which is often the case in Australia. It's very orderly. When the bell went the kids came out and grabbed their bikes. Many of them raced around the school yard on their bikes before leaving. I didn't see a teacher on yard duty, if there was then they didn't have the fluro vest which is common in our schools.

One day my kids got to go to school for a few hours. They really enjoyed it and Viggo and Elin did the interpreting for the kids. On the day they went one of the classes was having a birthday party for the teacher which was basically going for the whole morning.

We did a day trip to Amsterdam. Despite leaving after peak hour it still took over 1.5 hours to do the 110km trip, then negotiating the city traffic took a bit more time out of the day. The number of trucks on the highways is amazing. Apparently they are only allowed to do 80kmh and the engine is restricted to 90kmh. For most part it is ok until they decide to pass someone, which they aren't meant to do. This then takes considerable time and it banks up the rest of the traffic as they can't put their foot down and pass quickly. When you have cars doing the allowed 130kmh speed limit it doesn't take long for a bottle neck to occur.

Amsterdam is an interesting city and most would know some of the famous things about Amsterdam, but having the family their we kept away from those famous sights and indulgences. It doesn't matter how many times you visit Amsterdam it amazes you how they crooked buildings don't topple over. It is a must do location!

We are so grateful to our friends for their amazing Dutch hospitality. You can often hear that the Dutch are rude, but the times I've been I have found the opposite, warm and friendly, especially in the city.

Related - Holten