About

The Vision Thing

I live in north central Victoria. This area is not currently recognised by many as a cycling destination, including by local government.

However, I think the extensive grid of local gravel roads, that now get much less traffic because of loss of irrigation water and farm consolidation, are an opportunity for cycling. Particularly when coupled with clay roads and scenic river tracks.

Gravel cycling and bikepacking are the biggest growth areas in cycling at present, and northern Victoria is well placed to benefit.

The big advantages of this area are the low vehicle traffic, most of the roads are already in very good riding condition, and there are many small towns nearby to provide services. No big infrastructure spend is necessary. The area also has a climate advantage over much of the rest of Victoria in spring and autumn.

I have a vision of a gravel cycling based micro-economy and ecosystem – a network of interconnected day routes across this area, supported by a corresponding network of small towns, farm stays, farm gate sales, pop-up cafes, and farmers markets.

Thought for the day (and any day): Riding on sealed roads is like kissing someone wearing a face mask.

Comments and Interaction

Comments are open without requiring logins or registration as this is easiest for readers.  I have no agenda to capture readers’ details or try to sell them things.

However, play nicely!  Any comments that are spam, trolling, offensive, gratuitous advertising, overly confrontational or unrelated to the topics will be removed.  If managing comments becomes a problem for me I will have to set up a registration process, which will be sad.  Anyway, we will see how it goes.

Content and Photo Policy

If anyone believes I have used their images or content without proper acknowledgement please contact me.

To Contact Me

If you have any questions or comments, post below. I get an email whenever there is a comment; you will get a response within a day or two.

Or contact me directly by email (nixtrader AT yahoo DOT com DOT au).

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