Today I cycled 100 km to Southport on my new bike.

I rode with over 9000 other keen cyclists in the annual Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle Challenge which raises funds for The Hear Foundation and Diabetes Australia. The route mostly follows service roads and backstreets near the main highway, with volunteers pointing us in the right direction and Police stopping traffic to let us through.

This was my first group ride on my new bike – a Malvern Star Oppy C6 – which I bought two weeks ago. I hadn’t been riding much on my other bike before that, so I only had two weeks to prepare, but ended up averaging about 30 km/h and felt good at the end. Pretty happy with that – nice bike!

My photographer friend Michael came along to the finish in Southport. He somehow managed to spot me amongst the thousands of other riders as I approached the finish…