It started out as a bit of fun. A handful of random strangers on the internet, all riding through the backstreets of eastern Melbourne, all battling for a title of little real significance. It was a source of motivation to get out on the bike; impetus to get out and explore.
A couple months and hundreds of kilometres later, though, the ‘Battle for Maroondah’ has changed, becoming something much more profound. It’s provided a fresh new perspective on life and on riding; a welcome reminder to appreciate everything we have, before it’s gone.
It all began with a message from an old friend, David Blom. No context, no explanation; just a screenshot of a Facebook post from a guy who was celebrating a cycling milestone. Carl Hemmings had just notched up the highest total of unique kilometres ridden in the City of Maroondah, a local council area roughly 30 km east of central Melbourne. Of the roughly 730 km of roads and paths available in the region – at least according to Wandrer – Hemmings had covered 660 km.
It wasn’t Carl’s achievement that caught my eye. It was the leaderboard in the screenshot that my mate David had sent. There in third place, 100 km behind Carl Hemmings: yours truly. “Oooh, challenge accepted,” I replied to David, not knowing if I really meant it.
But then I started looking at my map of Maroondah. Staring at me in bright red were all the roads I hadn’t ridden, just begging me to come visit. Without realising what I was doing, I started visualising routes that would link those unridden sectors together. And then I started plotting them out for real in Strava’s Route Builder.
By that point I was committed. I’d been saying I was looking for a new challenge on the bike, and here was one ripe for the picking.
I was coming for the crown.
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