September E-scapade - It's all downhill from the Mountains to the Valley!

It's all downhill from the Mountains to the Valley!

The Route Profiles are finally here - yey! Thanks to our wonderful Volunteer Kevin, we have the Route Profiles for the Overall Route and for each day along the 2008 Great Escapade. Isn't it great how the Ride is downhill... There are a few days with challenging climbs, so that's good incentive to get on your bikes and start training.

I'm hoping to have a Google Map of the 2008 Great Escapade in a month or so. Until then, check out Darryl from NSW's bike riding webpage, where he has a Google Map of his personal riding adventures - much of which has been on roads that we will explore on the Ride. Darryl, who has been giving me tips to help design the Riding Route, says that he has "done the site for the benefit of all cyclists and to try to encourage more people to go bike touring, so if it achieves that goal, I'll be pleased". Check it out!

It's all fun and games - check out the Great Escapade Movie

We've got a short movie about the Great Escapade. We hope you'll like it, Pass it on to your friends so that they can see what all the fun and games are about.

Food & Wine in Mudgee - get your mixed dozen!

John from Mudgee Fine Foods is getting together with all of the Food and Wine types in Mudgee to put together a gastronomic welcome for us! Better start training so you'll have an excuse to splurge.

Simon from Frog Rock Wines in Mudgee has organised a 2008 Great Escapade Mixed Dozen that you can order now - a fantastic way to sample the local produce before we hit the Region!

Meeting People & Riding adventures

Thanks to Pamela from Melbourne who sent in her story about meeting her friend Eve on the 2002 Big Ride in NSW. They agreed to ride together until they "got sick of each other" ... it turned out that they didn't! They carried on and rode the 2003 Great Tasmanian Bike Ride, followed by three months riding in France, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Holland, England, Scotland and Ireland!

Pamela says "we camped all the way and had a fabulous time - there were a few tears along the way but luckily we had separate tents which helped. We are still very good friends and we catch up when ever we can to ride together. I am forever grateful that I went on that bike ride otherwise I probably would not have had that wonderful adventure." Pamela wins a bottle of Frog Rock Wine for her story.

Linda and her husband had their first riding adventure on the 2007 Great Tasmanian Bike Ride too - and have since gone on to ride in Taiwan. Check out their bike riding photos.

Remember that there are Photo Galleries for the past 5 Great Escapades - in Tasmania, Western Australia and New Zealand. We've had some new submissions while I've been away, so have a squiz - it might bring back some great memories.

Get on your bike to kick off summer

It's National Ride to Work Day on Wednesday 17 October and, on Sunday 21 October, there will be no excuse to be off your bike. Check out the City of Sydney Spring Cycle or the Portfolio Partners Around the Bay in a Day (50km Ride still open) - a great way to get your training started!

For some great tips on all sorts of topics including cornering, changing tyres, types of bikes and group cycling - have a look at our Bike Riding Skills videos.

Remember to sign up today so that you can ride the 2008 Great Escapade and help the MS Society fundraise to make a difference to people affected by MS.

Catch up on past news

We've put all of the E-scapade emails on the web so you can have a look and tell your friends about them. For more information, see www.greatescapade.com.au.

That's all for now... until later this month, happy cycling!