1. Tell us a bit about yourself
We came to Australia from Hong Kong in 1996, before that we lived in Honkers since 1980. Australia seemed like an country we should try out before going back to the old country i.e. UK. But like most plans it was subject to change and now we think of ourselves very much as Australians. I have one son and of course Señora Conejo who is a potter. I dispense sage advice to anyone who wants to pay me, I used to know a lot about IT technical matters, but not now…

2. What got you into cycling?
I was brought up in an outer suburb of London. The nearest swimming pools were an hour away and there were big distances between friends. Therefore, cycling was an essential way of getting around. There was some racing at Crystal Palace and Brands Hatch. We had wonderful road riding close by as we were on the edge of beautiful Kentish rolling hills. But when motorised transport became an option the bikes were dropped immediately. I didn’t get back into cycling until we lived in Hong Kong, see below. When I came to Sydney I worked for the ASX and began riding into work on a route very similar to the one we use today. I had a city car park so I only used to do it one way and it was a big deal to ride there and back in a day.

I enjoy riding in different places as it helps you explore the area much quicker. Our best holidays are when we tour on bikes. The other year we did Girona one hour north of Barcelona which was sensational.

The Conejos having just finished their ride around the Girona region of Spain- highly recommended

El Conejo in the Spanish hotel where Lance and his mates trained and took performance enhancing stuff.  I wonder if the hotel owner has rearrange the display cabinet?

3. How did you come to join the Easy Riders?
I had just returned from working in Santiago Chile. I started going down my old route into the city and HB told me about this group who meet at Gordon three mornings a week at 6:45, it seemed like my style of riding. Then there was this bloke Drastic who was riding in and back every day…. I thought he was crazy, I still have not done 5 days in a row but live in hope.

4. Tell us about your bikes.
My first bike was given to me when I was about 7, it was a girls bike. I think my parents didn’t have much money in those days and they bought me a second hand one. When I found it in the house on my birthday I couldn’t believe it was mine I was overwhelmed and excited. Secretly I wished I could pull the sloping tube into the horizontal position. I did a lot of trail riding but the front forks broke when I took a bump too quickly. My next one was a new Gamages thing with rod breaks, no gears of course.

In my teens the bikes evolved until I had a double clanger and five gears on the back (Campagnolo of course). The wheels were tubeless or tubs as we called them. I could push it along at a fair clip however, and a normal ride was up to Lewisham which had two serious bike shops to spend our money on.

In the mid to late 80s my wife and I bought a matching set of these new Mountain bike things, matt black frames with no decals. They were sold as top of the line models with 501 tubing (531 being considered way too weak for the pounding) 24 inch wheels triple bio-pace chain sets, but no suspension and no index gears – thems were the days. We rode these bikes around the New Territories in Hong Kong, it was very genteel cycling however and we took them back to the UK to use when we were there.

The motley crew who were doing the Tassie Trail ride with me in 2001 (interesting to see I was wearing red and yellow even back then…)

Now I have the Azzurri carbon thing with Ultegra, which I like although it is getting a bit old (like its owner). I have a Merida mountain bike which I bought many years ago to do the Tasmanian Trail (see the pic), its not very high spec. but is sort of okay for off roading around Snives.  Señora Conejo has a hybrid thing which she likes but doesn’t use much these days. By far and away our most expensive bike is my son’s downhill Giant thingy, four or five grand top spec at the time….Of course he does not use it these days (anyone want to buy and good downhill bike?

5. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I enjoyed riding in and around the Andes and foot hills of Santiago in Chile. The ski resorts are close by and a typical summer ride ride is to head up into the mountains. The first village is called Farelleones. There is a 30 k climb to the base of the mountain and then a set of 40 switch backs to get to the top. My objective when in Chile was to get to Farelleones, but I never made it. I reached Curva 20 (actually 2kms short of the top) but the road started going vertical and I was stuffed. My assignment in Chile ended sooner than I would have liked and never got another chance to try it. I would love to go back with a lighter bike, compact chain set and better prepared to knock it off and also do a couple of the other hills in the area.

6. Tell us a riding story.
When in Hong Kong I had seen this country park trail across the New Territory hills, it did not allow traffic and looked an ideal cycling track. I lived on the Island in Happy Valley right on the race track. The Jockey Club also has a Country Club on the Hong Kong boarder which was run by a mate of mine and close to the trail’s end. I thought I might find this trail and surprise my mate.

I set off from Happy Valley one Friday evening on the aforementioned mountain bike, writing a brief note to my wife. I took a circuitous route through Central to the Western Car Ferry (I don’t think it operates now) and crossed the harbour to Kowloon. Riding through Kowloon on a Friday night was very dangerous and I was looking to how I might circumvent the traffic. I came across this elevated highway that was still under construction and decided to try that. It was empty and fantastic, I was riding above the traffic and completely safe and it went on for miles. It did have the odd problem in that there were missing sections of road a meter or more apart. Fortunately the workers had laid connecting planks so that they could get from one road section to another. Using these I was able do the full length of the elevated highway. Madness really…

After coming down from the elevated road section I eventually found the trail I was looking for, it went up to a reservoir and through the hills. Whilst the city traffic had been one issue, hacking along through a country park in the dead of night on ones lonesome was another matter. Weird sounds and no one about and no one actually knew where I was. Although the trail was sealed I performed an unintentional dismount when hurtling down a steep slope, fortunately I only sustained minor scratches. The trail came out close to the Shek Kong RAF base and I found an open café although it was now two in the morning. Refreshed with a couple of beers and injuries cleaned I made my way through the back of Fanling Golf Course and into the Country Club. It was now three in the morning and I did not have the heart to wake my mate so went to sleep by the swimming pool.

Señora Conejo was not impressed with my little adventure and I needed to stay in the naughty corner for some weeks after that. Later on, when the elevated highway had opened I would drive along it and it always brought on a smile remembering the night ride.

7. Do you have any advice for the riders at the back of the ER peloton?
Come and say g’day you will usually find me there. Cycling is funny in that the fitness seems to come relatively quickly so you will no doubt be pushing out up front very quickly.

8. Lastly, tell us something we don’t know about you.
I think I have said enough already, but another Hong Kong story is that I built a 31 foot trimaran on the 16th floor roof of our apartment block. That’s another interesting tale, but perhaps for another day.

This week we have our KOM Champion and winner of the concrete bidon Leonardo – named after the Ninja Turtle I think.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself
Born in Johannesburg and raised in Durban, South Africa. Left, wet behind the ears, for France in 1999 to race the pro triathlon circuit after winning the All African champs and stayed for 7years – racing, coaching and studying. Met my Aussie wife on the ski slopes and moved over to the UK where we stayed for some 3years before moving to Sydney almost 4years ago now.

2. What got you into cycling?
Moving to Johannesburg to work when I left school, I joined a local running club to meet people. One of the members did triathlon and got me out riding and doing triathlon. The rest is history.

3. How did you come to join the Easy Riders?
Commuting into the city, I often saw the egg and tomato and one day enquired about this strange gathering of mamils and what I had to do to join the clan. Satnav duly informed me about the $100 he required to make it happen and I was in!

4. Tell us about your bikes.
I own a Cervelo P3 with Zipp 808 front and disc rear (a true time machine), a new Focus Izalco team 2.0 (Di2 and all), a Trek 9.9 SSL top fuel full suspension MTB (kiddies 26″ wheeler though) and my trusty commuter (an old Bianchi MTB that I have had now for over 12years).

5. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Of the places I have been it would have to be the French Alps (during summer preferably), but of all places, I think the ultimate for me would be to go on a bike safari through Africa (Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Down style).

6. Tell us a riding story.
Not gonna bore you with a recount of some epic ride or some satisfying race victory so how about a story about my father walking through a South African national park and how a lone elephant bull charged the group he was in. How the ranger shouted orders calmly at first before screaming “run!” and how said walking group scattered in all directions and how the elephant, of course, chose to continue the chase with my father, then 65years of age. Fortunately he arrived at a dry river bed with steep banks and managed to scramble down with the bull  thundering up behind but it was unable to follow down the steep slope. After re-grouping the walk was later charged by a buffalo and a rhino but I will leave that for another time. That is how we train in Africa.

7. Do you have any advice for the riders at the back of the ER peloton?
Cycling accommodates all levels. The main thing is to enjoy the ride! But if you are looking to improve, consistency is key.

8. Lastly, tell us something we don’t know about you.
I have met Nelson Mandela twice and I don’t like Vegemite.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself

A 45 year Pome import of some 13 years standing down under, married to Toranz (Mrs Schleck) and Dad to Rish (Master Schleck) and soon to be Dad to Peanut.

An academically challenged but lucky bugger who started working life as a taxman for Her Majesty’s Inspector of Taxes as it seemed like a good way to get into the foreign office and land a cushy gig working in an embassy somewhere exotic. You cam imagine my horror when not only did I find out that this was not going to happen but they expected me to study as well. Eventually made my way into a career recruiting tax people for others and found my niche.

Now doing my best impression of an upstanding member of the north shore, living in St Ives, and working for Deloitte.

2. What got you into cycling?

Getting a proper job!

As a kid I cycled everywhere, my blue Grifter is still the most exciting Xmas present I ever received, and I stayed on that until I eventually was lucky enough to graduate to a Peugeot road bike when I was 13. This was used to transport me to and from school, weekend sports, around to the houses of my mates and eventually to those of girlfriends too. It started out electric blue and was later resprayed white before losing its drops to be upgraded with a set of ‘Cow Horns’. Go figure but at the time I thought it looked really cool… Unfortunately once I learned to drive the Peugeot was relegated to the shed until it was rescued by my late grandfather, Bill, who did the decent thing and converted it back into a proper road bike and used it to commute around Taunton for some 20 years until he was about 90.

Roll the clock forward 25 odd years and I was moving back from semi-retirement to gainful employment (at Deloitte, 5 years ago). Concerned at the likely consequences of losing my considerable opportunity for exercise I decided that the 2.5kms commute from Taylor Square to the city would be just the ticket to get the heart started and take away some of the pain of turning up to work every day. And I loved it!

Affairs of the heart required a move to St Ives to live with the beautiful Mrs Schleck (like I said, I am lucky) and with a big gulp (and the purchase of Luigi) I decided I could ride from St Ives to the City, well maybe drive to Gordon and then ride to the city, maybe once a week and then head home on the train.

3. How did you come to join the Easy Riders?

On the 22nd July 2009 I was riding over the bridge and recognised the ER jersey from a photo I had seen in the Bicycling NSW magazine, as the bunch swept passed. Just before the sweeper disappeared ahead, Satnav of course, I breathlessly enquired if they were those Easy Rider commuter blokes. Back in the day the ERs only had time for coffee once a month so regrouped at the SSHB meeting point and having got my breath back email addresses were swapped and I was invited to join them for the ride home that evening on the 6pm from SSHB, only as fast as the slowest rider etc. With a lot of support and encouragement I made it back to Gordon – Thank you Tef and Larri!

Decided to give the morning bus a go the next day, which to be honest was not so slick. RTG and I both turned up as virgins to join the bunch, Ravi (RTG) slipped on grate broke many bones (hence Ravi the Grate) and changed the course of the OTP, and as a consequence of this drama the group split and I got stranded someone near Crows nest. Having only recently moved north and only ever ridden to the city on the highway I had no idea where I was and didn’t arrive at the office until mid-morning.

Convinced the missus that they really did seem like a nice crowd, gave the morning bus another chance and that was that.

4. Tell us about your bikes.

If you hadn’t guessed already I am into the aesthetic as much as the bikes as much as the riding.

My first born, Luigi. A custom sized Columbus Spirit steel framed bike built for me by Europa Cycles in Kingsford. Luigi started life as a flat bar Surrey Hills cruiser, then converted to a classy drop bar north shore commuter and now fresh from an extreme makeover vying to be one of the most striking steelies in Sydney. The groupset is Campagnolo; the wheels Ambrosio Excel light rims with vintage Record hubs (built by TSS), the seat post and stem from Nitto, the bars & from Cinelli and the saddle a Brooks. We don’t talk about the pedals, but they are very practical.

Although striking Luigi is no show pony, he serves as the commuter of choice with 3 years of rain and shine on the OTP under his belt and was the prime training bike for 3 Peaks earlier this year. Luigi weighs a tonne.

And yes Bucky the colour code remains a secret.

Next came Sparky, a Scott Spark 20 dual suspension MTB. Awesome machine and was purchased on the plan to do more off road stuff now that I live next to a national park and maybe an endurance event or two . Only rarely used, Sparky has seen duties as the ‘St Ives House of Pain’ school of commuting bike of choice but is lucky to see the dirt once a year. Maybe next year?

Finally came along Giovanni, a Pinarello Dogma2 in Movistar Blue. A reward for completing 3 Peaks and at a cost it is best not to ask. The group again is Campagnolo with some Shamal wheels. No Brook’s on this one, the saddle is a Specialized based on a recommendation from Half and amazingly comfortable it is too. Meant to be my weekend only machine and never in the wet but when a bike is this much fun to ride…

5. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I feel amazingly lucky with the riding here on the North Shore but at some stage I would love to experience a ‘grand’ tour in Europe taking in some of the legendary climbs, mountain bike in the USA through some proper big country and a do tourist adventure in SE Asia.

6. Tell us a riding story.

Hard to choose, joining ER has had a big impact on my interests, fitness, friends and day to day life. One of the more memorable commutes was a ride home on the 6pm bus, the choice of the discerning ER, last year in the pouring rain. The harder the rain fell the more elated the group became as we charged up the fast flowing rivers of North Sydney and down the debris strewn bike paths until we eventually reached Archer Street to be greeted with proper pedal deep water. At this point the whole bus broke out in some very enthusiastic choruses of ‘I’m singing in the rain’ as our feet became even wetter and the bikes almost boats, neither a feat I had thought possible at the time. The conditions were horrendous but there I was riding home with a bunch of mates having an absolute ball.

7. Do you have any advice for the riders at the back of the ER peloton?

Keep pedalling and have fun. If you want to get fitter, faster or just be more comfortable on the bike then ask for tips and help from the likes of Brownie or Drastique & co, but don’t feel you have too, that’s the beauty of this bunch. And remember, even when it hurts it is better than the train.

8. Lastly, tell us something we don’t know about you.

I have a secret passion for Rapha…

Editor’s note: This week we have Browney aka The Hornet. Some stories of his early cycling life have unfortunately had to be cut pending a ruling by the UCI’s truth and reconciliation commission.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is David Browne, 38yrs old and I like riding bikes, racing bikes, fixing bikes and watching bike racing. I am married with 2 boys (4.75yrs old and 20 months old), both have bikes. I work as a Procurement Manager by day and bike mechanic by night at TSS. My wife also has one bike.

Bicisport Track Team 2002

2. What got you into cycling?

There is a bit of family history around cycling as my Great Uncle, Grandfather and one of my uncles on my Mother’s side of the family used to race track so there was a little bit of encouragement but not over the top. My Father used to ride bikes as a form of cross training when he was running (100m and 200m). I decided to take up road cycling at 14yrs of age after 2yrs of local BMX racing. I liked watching the TDF on Wide World of Sports on a Saturday afternoon 5 months after it was run back in the day.

One day I was mucking around in the shed at my parents place when I heard on the radio that there was a bike race passing through town later in the afternoon, the race was the Goulburn to Liverpool (Now Goulburn to Camden). I told Mum and Dad that I wanted to go for a ride to see the race. I pedalled as hard as I could from the outskirts of Camden to the base of Razorback. I found a shady spot and waited for the race to pass. When the bunch went past I was in awe of the whole spectacle and I knew then that I wanted to race on the road. I pestered my parents day and night for close to a year before they caved in. My mother worked as a nurse at the local hospital and knew a few of the ambulance officers who raced, she obtained the details of the local cycling club (Macarthur District Amateur Cycling club or MDACC). My first race was a 18km juniors only race and I nearly won taking second place in a photo. After this race I was well and truly hooked on bike racing and lived and breathed the dream from that moment on, the rest is history…

1988 Sydney to Wollongong Finish

1990 Penrith 2 Day Junior Tour Hawkesbury Lookout Stage

3. How did you come to join the Easy Riders?
I was commuting to and from Thornleigh/CBD and kept seeing a group of riders on a regular basis. I used to just put my head down, catch them, pass them and keep on going. One night about 4 years ago I was riding home a little later than usual and I caught the same group going up the hill on Millar Street at North Sydney. I was met by 52, DT and Coops amongst others. I got talking to 52 who seemed very excited at the time and wanted to chat, he was talking so fast he was hard to understand with his accent at the time. I also chatted to DT on the same ride and by the time we reached Chatswood I had a 5D business card and an email address to contact. I met the group on and off for a few months after until I ended up riding home each night with the group. It was a much smaller bunch back then and often the group was 3 or 4 on most nights with a big night being 6 to 8.

4. Tell us about your bikes.
As you know I like bikes. I generally keep around 4 bikes in running order, 2 for racing, 1 for training and one play bike (mtb). Currently I am riding a Cannondale Super 6 with Campagnolo 10spd Record groupset, a nice bike which is stable and light, stiff in the right places and responsive. This bike will be my roadie for next years road races. I have a custom made track bike made by Kerry Hopkins with a mix of Reynolds 531 mtb, 531os, Columbus SL and SLX. I use 3 different sets of track wheels for various events on the Velodrome. The fixie is a Colnago Technos frame which was my team bike in 1998 with a mix of Campagnolo Record and Chorus components and custom built wheels and finally the mountain bike is a Surly 1×1 pimped weighing in at 8.5kgs. I also have a Colnago Master frame with Record 10 parts but not complete at the moment and I’m also restoring a number of frames for future use as either TSS loaner bikes or future training bikes. There is also an ergo in the workshop under the house for hurt sessions.
OPT 1998 Colnago Technos with Campagnolo Chorus 9spd Groupset

How to wash your bike Dutch style

5. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Difficult question to answer…The back roads of the NSW Southern Highlands would be my pick as this is the place where I did mega miles in my youth, it brings back fond memories (you all thought I would say anywhere in Belgium which of course is a close second). Favourite Velodrome is the Ron King Velodrome in Muswellbrook closely followed by Ghent Velodrome and then the DGV.

Clarence Street Cup 2010

6. Tell us a riding story.
I was super excited when I was offered a ride in a stage race overseas in 1997. I was to ride with a team called OPT, a very small low budget pro team who I ended riding with in 1998 as well. The race was the tour of French Polynesia which raced on the islands of Tahiti and Morea. It was a 6 day stage race covering around 700km with split stages on days 3 and 4 and a 80km criterium as the final stage at the marina in Papeete. I was racing with 2 other Aussie riders, 2 New Zealanders and 4 French riders. I could barely speak a word of French (I still can’t). We were picked up from the airport in the middle of the night by the team director (DS) and the Managing Director of OPT. The DS barely spoke a word of English but the team driver/helper spoke fluent English and French. We were dropped off at the team HQ, it looked like a one star motel with no electronic contact to the outside world except one telephone in the hall. We asked the DS what time breakfast was and the response was 8am, what time was dinner? 6pm was the answer, what time was lunch? The answer…lunch time…this didn’t give me a great deal of confidence at the time.

I was thrown into the deep end as they say in that race. After the first stage, a hilly 7km prologue with a downhill finish, the team sat down after dinner to work out who was marking who from the other teams. I drew a rider called Jean-Marc Riviere who rode for the Cannondale sponsored team. This guy had placed 6th behind Richard Virenque in the Coupe de France the previous year, a classy rider. My role was to mark this rider for the following 5 days. His team mate was in Yellow after the prologue so Jean-Marc was out to chase sprint primes for extra cash in between looking after his team leader or trying to take the lead himself. By day 4 I was feeling cooked after chasing this powerhouse who seemed to have turbo charged legs. The DS and team driver pulled me aside and said that Jean-Marc was only human, he would make a mistake and I would be there to capitalise on that mistake. The DS advice was “he has 2 arms and 2 legs, just like everybody else”. By the end of day 5 Jean-Marc was sitting in 2nd place on GC with our star rider in Yellow by 1 second (I was in 24th after losing about 15mins on a Cat1 climb at the end of day 5, totally cooked).

The final stage was the 80km Criterium so it was do or die for our team to protect the win. I stuck to Jean-Marc’s wheel like glue and after about 20mins he started to attack the bunch. This went on and on for about 20mins (seemed like forever at the time) and each time he attacked I would chase and then sit up forcing him to slow and then I wouldn’t work with him which would bring us back to the main field. The bunch was still together for the final 2kms as we approached the final hairpin left hander. My instruction was to stay on Jean-Marc’s wheel, my team leader on my wheel. As we hit the turn (way to fast) I touched the brakes before shifting back 3 gears, Jean-Marc didn’t and hit the gutter on the opposite side of the road. His bike bounced in front of me which left me no choice but to ride over his front wheel, he ended up on the footpath into the barricades. This left us a clean run to the finish line, I lead out with my team leader on my wheel who took the win, I rolled in totally stuffed in 4th at about 10km/h, exhausted. The DS was so excited he ripped the bidons out of the bike and put in two longnecks of beer in the cages. We celebrated by sharing the beer with the team while riding the 5km or so back to the team HQ, by the time we arrived I was feeling well tipsy and I was so exhausted I couldn’t carry my bike up the stairs.

Polar Team Pre-Season Training Camp

7. Do you have any advice for the riders at the back of the ER peloton?
Yes, give yourself a little bit of distance to the rider in front, never watch the rear brake calliper of the rider in front of you, always look at the riders 2 to 3 rows ahead of you in the bunch to judge your speed and direction. Also don’t hesitate to ask questions as there is no such thing as a silly question IMHO. Above all, enjoy the ride and fun that ER freely provides.

8. Lastly, tell us something we don’t know about you.
I hate the taste of coffee.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself
Old Spice is a young man that masquerades in a middle aged man’s body. He moonlights as a commercial lawyer but  his primary occupation is riding around looking for cash to stuff in his panniers.  Old Spice is married to Mrs Spice – in Old Spice’s mind, she is a middle aged woman that masquerades in a young woman’s body.  Old and Mrs Spice have three Young Spices, each with adult entitlements but masquerading in children’s bodies.

2. What got you into cycling?
Necessity, Narcissism, Novelty.

Necessity:  There was no public transport in the old days when Old Spice was a boy, in semi-rural Sydney, and as one of 5 children, car transport was at a premium.  A Speedwell 28″ with 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub got Old Spice to school, sport, music, and away from his siblings.  An old dragster converted to a BMX bike got him around the state forest next door.  When Old Spice left school, he lashed out and spent $105 on a new bright red Cyclops 10 speed racer.  With decals removed, the Cyclops provided stylist transport for Old Spice to Sydney Uni, not to mention for the thief that stole the Cyclops from outside Fisher Library.

Narcissism:  When Old and Mrs Spice were living in Chatswood, he decided to ride to work in the CBD, to get some much needed exercise.  Old Spice will never forget that first day. On the homeward journey, Old Spice stopped on the Pacific Highway at Chatswood, to permit two young ladies to cross.  It was a much needed respite for Old Spice, in the prime of his youth (his mid-thirties) having just ridden the best part of 15 kilometres. As he stood there, flushed, sweating, puffing, one of the lovely ladies muttered, sotto voce: “Hubba-bubba”.  Irony being wasted on the narcissistic in him, Old Spice sprinted the last few metres home, chest out, bursting with pride to greet Mrs Spice:  “Ho hooo, sweetheart, guess what just happened.”

Novelty:  Old Spice’s daily commute was inspired by a “road to Damascus” conversion one summer morning.  “The Barry” (the train) lost power and ground to a halt between Artarmon and St Leonards. Old Spice sat in stifling silence.  Before him sat row upon row of silent,
immovable commuters, preserved like terracotta warriors.  Time stopped.  Then, from the corner of his own, dull and glazed eye, Old Spice caught a flicker of movement.  Outside the train, a solitary cyclist rattled along, legs spinning, not some archaeological fixture, but a living human, alive and breathing.  Old Spice resolved to forswear life as a terracotta commuter, and to commit to the fresh air and freedom of new routes daily through back streets and parks.

3. How did you come to join the Easy Riders?
With many routes under the belt but with an open mind to going the same way as everyone else.

4. Tell us about your bikes.
Merida Cyclocross with panniers and mudguards for commuting. Giant with empty water bottle for rare road trips.  Learsport/Cops are Tops MTB with “Mullet” brakes for family outings.  Speedwell fixie for Old Spice to imagine what he would have ridden when he was a boy.

5. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would it be?
With Mrs Spice, anywhere.  Apart from that, around any beach, bay or river where Old Spice could stop for any reason at all, have a swim, enjoy a meal of fresh seafood, listen to some music, read a little, then doze off for a bit.. and dream.

6. Tell us a riding story.
Old Spice’s riding stories are around the bicycle as transport. The rack and panniers on Old Spice’s bike have been used to transport, on various occasions:  his daughter to community health, his son to school; a Sunbeam dual pump coffee machine and grinder; 14 kg of fish and prawns;  a cavoodle puppy; two isa brown hens (named Julia and Nicole (Gillard and Kidman); and most recently, a blue industrial trolley.  The trolley was attached to the pannier rack with an ockie strap. The journey from the CBD to Turramurra went well until OS was caught by the Easy Riders at Chatswood.  A burst of speed down Archer, as OS tried to keep up with peloton, threw the trolley into a death wobble. Old Spice’s bareback riding as a lad came into its own and the bucking bronco was brought under control, for the time being.

7. Do you have any advice for the riders at the back of the ER peloton?
Stay back just long enough to work up the puff to try and get up the front.  When you get to the front, wait for some young fella to blast past and do you like a dinner.  Return to the back. Start again.

8. Lastly, tell us something we don’t know about you.
Old Spice plays the flute, but not as well, or as often, as he thinks he does.