Rides.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit scared. But I'm also excited. 

'Anyone want to do the Sydney Melbourne ride' was the call out from Drew Ginn by text message to a few of 'the guys'... two days later, he and Andrew Pike, aka Pikey, were sat on a plane with bikes and kit ready to hit the road. Last minute is not even a close to describing this one.

Lana's recent bikepacking trip to Japan didn't just yield some unbelievably pretty photos; it revealed a country that is incredibly friendly to cyclists. We were all jealous of this trip. Enjoy a top read before researching flights to Japan.

For all you Raphafarians out there it's time to get your bike looking its best, your Rapha kit ready and start banking some sleep... 'Rapha RIDES' starts this Friday 5 May and involves, as you might imagine, a bunch of rides. This weekend it's Sydney with Giro viewings followed up by four rides exploring Sydney's best.. then onto 19 other cities worldwide over 6 months.

When people who ride start talking about the “Back of Falls” you can literally see the fear in their eyes. And if they’re wearing oversized sunglasses you can tell they’re uncomfortable as they recoil in their seats, their hair stands on end (hair on arms obviously - no decent cyclist has hair on their legs) and they break out in a cold sweat.

I know some of the girls will be up around 6am to begin their preparations, so I’m up at 5 to eat and shower so I can stay out of their way on race day. I don’t know if I’m expecting some highly strung monsters, but the girls are the opposite.

La Velocita talks with Bike France, a Victorian based tour operator, that provide high quality boutique cycling trips in the Pyrenees. 

Staying in a French Château, small groups and with all your riding starting at the front gate these tours are well worth a look.

The Shimano Super Crit is back this weekend at St Kilda Cycling Club's crit circuit in Port Melbourne. If you've never been to a race you should go. If you're not a racer you should go... even if you don't ride a bike you should still go.

This is a must see event, the Super Crit takes everything to the next level and is as much a spectacle to behold as it is a bike race.

So Ballarat is not on the top of the list when it comes to many people's 'must' travel destinations... but I'm here to persuade you that as a cyclist, it should be.

A couple of weeks ago, I packed up the car with two bikes, my wife and two young kids to try and achieve the holy grail, a cycling weekend away... with family in tow. Is it possible?

The Cycling Australia Road Nationals event is quickly becoming a must on any self respecting cyclist's calendar. Standing on the side of Mount Buninyong Road during the road race you get pretty close to the experience of standing on the side of a climb in the Tour de France... to make it even better though, the riders keep coming around and around.

And even better than that you can take the opportunity to ride the Gran Fondo on closed roads and experience what it's like for yourself... combine this with five days of cracking racing and riding and you're getting pretty close to a dream cycling adventure.

Riding in the Victorian High Country does not get much better than this. In it's 30th year, last weekend's ride was another cracker, perfect conditions, awesome riding and smiles all round. We were there to get a piece of the action.

The innaugural Gravelaide Grinduro event on 30 October seeks to explore some of the less-travelled paths through the gratuitously pretty Adelaide Hills. Event organisers have served up a menu loaded with gravel, quiet back-roads, and burgers. Count us in!

The Dirty Dozen is an event like none other. This event challenges riders to get out of their comfort zone and climb 13 hills that are so steep that even a car would struggle to get up them. 

Since it first kicked off in 2010, the ride as Ol’ Dirty has involved all the things we love most about riding at La Velocita: challenging yourself, exploring new roads, spending quality time with mates, and a detailed knowledge of the history of rap music.

I cried as I shivered. I thought about my family, my wife, my kids, my parents. I love you my darling.

I started to realise what it feels like to be crazy. 

Rocacorba was damn hard, and I was hoping for some relief on the Colle delle Finestre. In retrospect, that's about the dumbest thing I have ever hoped for.

Time to get the job done in Spain.

The first Saturday in September will host the fifth Adelaide Dirty Dozen. The ride has grown rapidly as word spread about the savagery served up. Adelaide is spoilt with excellent climbing but no community event has dared to punish participants like this one. 

It's not the longest, it doesn't finish the highest, but man is it steep.

Most people think of roads in Bali as congested places, full of motorbikes and cars, with a seemingly lawless policy.

Every year Melbournians say the same thing. This year is the coldest and wettest winter they have known, this year has been no exception. So I thought I would take the opportunity to head north to Brisbane for a few days, explore some new roads and ride the Rapha Prestige ride.

"How’s your bike fitness mate?   If you’re solid and available for a week in June, let me know”... 4  weeks later I'm on the starting line of one of the toughest races anyone might choose to have a go at...

It’s hard to discuss the explosion in popularity of the sport of cyclocross in Melbourne (and even in Australia) without talking about the role of the Dirty Deeds series organised by the Brunswick Cycling Club. 

Check out some sweet photos from Round 2 & 3 of the Victorian CX series held in Bright on 11-12 June.

The Melburn Roobaix has been an iconic event on the cycling calendar since its inception in 2006.  It is hosted by FYXO who have embraced the spirit of one of Europe’s most popular one day bike races, the Paris-Roubaix which is renown for its challenging cobblestone sections.

In my opinion, when it comes to cycling Japan does it better. I'd encourage anyone that enjoys the road less travelled to give riding in Japan a go.

The Trans Am Bike race is on. As you read this Sarah Hammond is starting an incredible journey to cycle 6,800km across the U.S as quickly as possible... unsupported. We spoke to Sarah last week to get her last minute thoughts on this massive challenge.

Last week I again had the privilege to ride from Brisbane to Longreach as part of RideWest, a Charity Bike Ride which raises money for the Royal Flying Doctors and the mental health programs that they run in the bush.