Celebrity Cycling in the City.

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I was accosted in Melbourne's South Bank by a lady on a bicycle, wielding a notepad and a camera.

"Can I take a photo?"  she cried.  "Your hat thing!  What is it?  I've never seen one!"

I educated her about daBrim: sun protection for cyclists with no fashion sense.

"I'm a journalist," she confided.  "For the South Bank News.  Do you like cycling here?  Melbourne is trying to move the cyclists out of South Bank - that would be terrible!"

She 'interviewed' me about cycling in Melbourne, becoming visibly more and more excited as she discovered we were originally from Queensland (I want to move to Qld, so warm!), itinerant (now that's the life!) and cycle tourers (I've never heard of that!).

She was very enthusiastic and most excited,  informing me that my celebrity self would adorn the pages of the South Bank News in a short week or two.

Papparazi aka SB News reporter.  Celebrities like me know that the best way to deal with the paps is to take photos in return.

We parted ways before my adoring crowds got too big, and made our way along beside the tram line to the sea. Despite being a celebrity I was very humble and let Roger go first.  Some of the ride was industrial and noisy, full of trucks...

and some of it was green and pretty, with an escort of winter wattle.

We went past the Spirit of Tasmania, taking special notice of it because before long the boat will no longer be berthing here and will instead come in to Geelong.

 

Bye bye boat.

Along the way we posed for pictures at the old wharf,

and at the Brighton beach huts, where we had to avoid all the other people who were falling all over themselves to take selfies with the beach huts.  Which we weren't, of course.

Not a beach hut selfie. One of us was still wearing her celebrity hat, though.

We left the beach at Sandringham and headed inland.  Along the way Roger's little engineering buttons were all pushed by four speedbumps in a row, all with (oh shock and horror!) a different iteration/combination of warning signs.

Nooo! How can this be?  A sign that does not comply with Australian Standards!

The dogs greeted us with rapture and begged for a walk, respecting my celebrity status not a whit.

I took them for a walk.  D1 did not behave, and was quickly returned to the dog house.  I must say, however, that picking up the poo for badly behaved small dogs is a good way to bring one back to earth after a day of being lauded as a celebrity on the street.

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