For you cycling enthusiasts out there, here's a good link with maps and helpful information on cycling in Victoria and NSW.

http://www.bikepaths.com.au

Yes the Melway is about 4 lbs/2 kilos in weight...
Mrs JTL

Nah, just some bloke I picked up on the forum

Am strictly off cakes after having one on Acland St last week. Have put on 3Kg while in Melbourne & am sure it was *that cake* that did it

Like the idea of cycling round St Kilda though, esp that bike path at the back of the beach. The baths there look good, too....

Yes it's warm weather here in Cambridge, and there are lots of fetching young male italian lanaguage students cycling round in Lycra. Quite distracting for us motorists

Anya.

Hmmm, should have bought 2, then I could have used them for weight training!

Anya.

Don't know if anyone here's done it, but if you cycle along the river going east, on the north side of the river near Richmond, there's a great restaurant called Fenix. Excellent food and drinks. If you want to reward yourself or to replenish the calories you've been burning, try their iced chocolate - it's sinfully delicious.

The bike path along the river is suitable for the whole family although there are a few steep slopes where the less experienced might need to push the bike up the hill...

Mrs JTL

LOL... That explains hubby's asymmetric shoulders...

May be you can get a Sydway as well and balance the weight?!

Mrs JTL

By an astounding coincidence (dontcha just love 'em) this was reviewed favourably in The Age while we were over there. Can't remember the details but the setting looked great.

But wouldn't a Sydway be bigger?

That's spooky! The restaurant is indeed a lovely place - it overlooks the river. Here's my first iced chocolate at Fenix on my first cycling date with JTL...

Mrs JTL

Aww that's sweet... and sweet!

AFAIR the newspaper's photo looked remarkably similar, only without the iced chocolate!

I'm more of a gourmande (not gourmet) than a cyclist but my real incentive to cycle is so that I can eat more...

Another one of my favourite paths is from South Gate (where we rented our bikes) down St Kilda Road to Albert Park and onto the Esplanade, and have lunch at the Stokehouse, and return.

There are a few bike racks outside the restaurant so you can lock them up safely for your leisurely lunch.

When we first went there the downstairs section was very busy. So we asked if there were table upstairs, the maitre d' said yes but "it's fine dining " upstairs and subtly suggested having a look at the menu first. We didn't really look and up we went...

Well, most people upstairs in the "fine dining" section were quite respectfully dressed, i.e. not in t-shirts, jeans and helmets like us. We didn't mind nor did we feel a bit embarrassed, though we should have been ashamed... The "fine dining" food was perfectly prepared and desserts heavenly. We licked our plates clean! We've tried the food downstairs as well and it's just as good but atmosphere is more casual.

Well, hope that's enough incentive for anyone to start a bit of cycling... As for the well-dressed regulars at these fine restaurants, hope we didn't ruin the ambience of the place for you!

Mrs JTL

Yes, in my old days running in half-marathons I was able to eat unlimited cream cakes And I smoked 20 cigs/day too (sometimes while running)!

Excellent! However my personal view that Melbourne didn't seem that well served for bike racks, esp. at the stations (but maybe people just take their bikes on the trains?).

We walked past the Stokehouse only last week. It sounds great; will have to try it. Hope you took your cycling helmets off to eat, though, or that *would* have been rude!

Anya.

Eating the cream cakes while running would have been a bit messy, no doubt.

And difficult. Just try chewing with a tight strap under your chin!

(Phew, made it to 150 posts in my first partial month since joining. 8 posts a day; definitely time to concentrate on other stuff for a while, like, um, sorting out the move!)

Wouldn't be without my Melbourne 2004 UBD Street Directory and surrounds map (39th edition) - bit weighty but is brilliant - gives you details of all schools & colleges, hospitals, post offices, parks, libraries and more. ISBN0731914708. Ordered it through my local bookstore.

D D

Yup, UBD is good too. But it needs a magnifying glass even more than Melway does!

Here's the link to order electronic copy of Melway or Sydway, $99 each:

http://maptel.com.au/maptel/ArcPad/order_form.htm

They are less up-to-date than the paper version though.

Mrs JTL