By Bike

To date most of my bike adventures have been on my ‘Hoffy’, a light and sturdy steel frame built for me by Eric Hendren in Brisbane in 1975.

At the time, I was both working and studying and dreamt of being able to own and ride a new bike. My design brief was for a racing bike that I could tour on: a steep frame with a short wheel base for speed and climbing, and an extended rake to dampen the vibrations on long journeys.

I sent my measurements through the post, and a month later my frame arrived the same way. I also bought all the other components via mail order, the lightest and highest quality I could afford, then assembled the bike in the shoe box of a room that I lived in on campus.

The moment I mounted the finished bike, I was in cycling heaven. My sky blue Hoffy was super light and responsive in a way I’d never experienced.

Sky blue was an apt colour too, my eyes were always searching upwards. I flew up hills as if they were hardly there. All I wanted to do was ride.

A week later I rode to Melbourne via the Snowy Mountains in 4 days, averaging over 30km/hr. My early cycling adventures were in the hills and mountains around Canberra, including mountain biking before I knew mountain bikes had been invented, a couple of epic tours over the Australian Alps and circumnavigating New Zealand.

After 40 years of faithful service, inevitable prangs, repairs and face lifts, I faced a choice between Hoffy’s graceful retirement, restoration circa 1975 style, or an upgrade with modern kit.

I opted for the latter which meant major structural work – new forks and changes to the rear stays to accommodate the modern brakes which have less reach – as well as a new paint job. Great work by frame builder Geoff Scott from Sydney, who also sourced some old style Hoffy stickers to give it a more retro look.