B

After stocking up our pantry our first real order of business was buying bicycles. We'd enjoyed them so much in Sydney that we were determined to have some in Melbourne. Our second day we discovered the location of the Victoria Gardens mall and that it had a K-Mart. We knew there was a good chance for a bargain in bicycles and drove over. Unfortunately all the bicyles they had were un-assembled and that was bad: adjusting brakes and gear shift is a tricky business. We could pay to have one assembled, but for that we'd have to wait a week. So our first day we skipped buying anything.

We went back to Victoria Gardens, all of two kilometers away, almost every day. One day, late in the afternoon, we read a K-Mart ad that offered bicycles for that day for 1/2 price. We rushed over, expecting them to be sold out and they were. The next day we went and, amazing, four a fine bicycle that was a display model (in otherwords already assembled) for sale as a close out. We jumped at the chance and that became Jan's bike.

Leaving there we went into the Cole's Supermarket (also in Victoria Gardens); besides satisfying our tummies we found a notice on the bulletin board: bike for sale! Fortunately we have mobile phones so called immediately; the bike was still available and we went over to a somewhat distant suburb. The bike was being sold by a Japanese lady for a friend. While it was basically a good bike, the rear wheel was so deformed that it wouldn't turn. Rather than dispairing, Gerry said he'd buy it if he could manage to straighten it. He did and we bought and in the same day we both had bicycles.

In the next five weeks we went out on the bicycles about every second or third day. Our first excursion was going up river on the Yarra; there is a bicycle path that goes for at least 30 km but we never made it that far. Our toughest ride was in "accompanying" the Head of the Yarra rowing race. Every year a hundred or so rowing clubs compete over a 8.6 km course that starts in the middle of Melbourne, near Federation Square and ends at the Hawthorn Rowing Club. Because our friend Michael Price was rowing we heard about it. While he and his seven friends rowed we tried to keep up and nearly did; they finished in 37 minutes and we in 39.

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