David Moore riding his vintage bike and wearing his LEroica kit picture is from his Italian Tour with Ride and Seek in 2017.
Cootamundra’s David Moore recently completed an impressive 1,324km of riding in two weeks as part of the Australian-based Ride and Seek Cycling Tour.
The ride titled ‘Strzelecki Tour’ started on March 15 in Albury and finished at the end of the month in Hobart, with a picturesque mix of rural and urban cycling paths.
“You go from beautiful high country scenery then into the Warburton Ranges. And then all of a sudden you thrust into Melbourne,” Mr Moore said.
“You do notice the changes because you enter into the Yarra Boulevard and then go over one of the big freeways there.”
Ride and Seek is primarily an international cycling adventure but this year the
company had to focus domestically with Covid travel restrictions still in place.
David completed a Ride and Seek tour in 2017 in Italy as the European tours are what the bicycle tour company is popular for.
Last month at the Australian tour, Mr Moore was the Ride and Seek guide which his responsibilities included accommodating nine paying guests as part of the tour.
These guests were called Strzelecki riders, derived from the renowned Polish explorer Pawl Strzelecki who was noted for his contributions to the exploration of Australia.
Sir Strzelecki was known to be a geologist and had an interest in mineralogy in Australia and expedited into the Australian Alps, exploring places such as the Warburton Ranges, Snowy Mountains and Melbourne.
Today, there is a Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki monument in Jindabyne.
Besides riding from the back to ensure no one gets left behind, David’s day starts form 7am in the morning and ends at 8pm at night.
Main responsibilities included ensuring guests’ bikes are serviceable such as pumping of tyres and addressing of mechanical issues.
David also organises morning tea, lunch and snacks for when they return to the motel room, he also ensures luggages are placed in the trailer and that it gets to the next destination.
Guests on tour came from various parts of Australia and including Byron Bay, Bathurst, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Riders were reliant on Garmin devices, which informed them details such as where the next hill would be, where morning tea would be held, where lunch is, distances as well as elevations.
One route that amazed David was the 45km cycle path he rode on heading into Melbourne, this was part of a large cycle network that takes you around the city.
Meanwhile, even when the tour concluded, David completed more riding with his visiting wife and daughter, exploring Phillip Island and a few other places.
“As if I haven’t done enough riding, so I did a bit more!” Mr Moore joked.
David’s route during the tour:
Albury – Bright (then on a rest day they did a 67km round trip to Mt Buffalo)
Bright – Omeo over Mt Hotham
Omeo – Bairnsdale
Bairnsdale – Traralgon
Traralgon – Warburton
Warburton – Melbourne
Devonport – Cradle Mountain (ferry from Melbourne)
Cradle Mountain – Lake Tullah
Lake Tullah – Strahan
Strahan – Lake Saint Clair
Lake St Clair – Curringa Farm
Curringa Farm – Hobart
First leg Albury to Melbourne (726km)
Second leg Melbourne to Hobart (562km)
Christopher Tan