Simon and I had an awesome ride today through Brisbane Forest Park.
We rode from Lawnton to Samford, up the Goat Track to Mt Nebo, down South Boundary Road fire road to The Gap, up Highvale Road to Mt Cooth-Tha, and then along the Coronation Drive Bikeway into the City.
All up, just over 70km, and 1,500m of climbing.
We rocketed down some amazingly fast dirt roads, climbed some mountainous steep hills, saw some beautiful sights, and met some great people.
We celebrated Josh’s 21st birthday on Sunday afternoon. I had a great time chilling out and watching the kids play basketball.
So did the girls
Lilly had fun trying to get the Piñata at Angela’s birthday party on Saturday
And I was so engrossed in taking a photo while out riding on Saturday morning that I didn’t realize I’d taken a photo of myself in the rear-view mirror.
I cycled through the Blue Tiers in North Eastern Tasmania today. The day started beautifully at the small town of Weldborough, but the weather quickly deteriorated and I ended up doing most of the 35km in cold rain. I’ve never ridden in such cold conditions (3 – 4 C) before, and it was satisfying to know I could do a tough ride in such difficult conditions.
The route was east out of Weldborough, up the mountain, then down a dirt road to Lottah, up to the Blue Tier camping ground at Poimena, and then down the “Descent” trail back into Weldborough.
As I rode into Lottah, it was pouring with rain and freezing, so I waited a while at this little caravan and shelter. No one was there, and the door was unlocked. I went in, and there was a guest book on the table, so I signed it.
What a welcome sight to a cold, wet traveler! I celebrated by eating Snickers bar. I was amazed at how quickly the chocolate and nuts warmed me up.
Which way to go? I had a pretty basic map and I tried to follow all the signs. Even so, there were still a few times I thought I had gone the wrong way.
I got sick of battling to climb all the rock gardens on foot, so I stopped and did a quick video
This is where I started and ended my ride. I was so glad to arrive there 90 minutes late at the end of the ride.
It was built in the 1880’s and is pretty spartan inside. So I had a Ham Pot Roast and a cup of tea as I sat by the warm fireplace.
That meal was better than any I have had at a fancy restaurant. It warmed me to my core.
All up, it was a total ascent of about 1,000m. The climb up was steep and I worked hard, but it was much more difficult coming down the mountain. There were some very rocky descents, and quite a few freezing flooded creeks that I had to cross.
I couldn’t take many photos because it rained so much, so I couldn’t get the phone out to take photos because it would get wet.
I’d say this was the hardest ride I’ve done todate because I did it alone, so I had to be extra careful, and because of the unfamiliar conditions – very cold and very tricky downhills.
Because my phone conked out I don’t have a complete log, so I’m basing the profile and map on the manual route I worked out before the ride. I actually rode an extra 5km in the middle of the ride at Poimena because I made a mistake and got onto the descent trail the “long” way instead of the short way.
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/magictyger/4871487906/” title=”Lottah Caravan by Neil Ennis, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4871487906_e2c5b838d3.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”Lottah Caravan” /></a>
I plan to ride a mountain bike through the Blue Tiers in Tasmania this Sunday. It’s a picturesque, remote alpine area of north-eastern Tasmania that is supposed to be well worth the effort.
The only problem is that I’ll probably be riding it alone, and I’ve never been there before.
So to be on the safe side, I’m publishing my proposed route here, with some checkpoints along the way, and I’ll update my twitter feed with a photo from those checkpoints so that (if you’re interested) you can keep an eye on where I’m up to. If I fall off the bike, or get abducted by aliens, at least you’ll know how far I got and where I plan to go.
I’ll be leaving the Weldborough Hotel at about 10.30am and aim to be back by about 3pm.
I had been searching google maps for days trying to work out a good route west of Coolum to explore on the bike. The idea was to ride along some old tracks by a creek, then onto a quiet gravel road, and eventually across the Maroochy River via an old cane “lift bridge” and on to Bli Bli.
That was the plan….
The first track by a cane field looked perfect. I rode down it for a few km until it got muddier, the grass got higher, and ….
I ended up in a pretty thick Tea Tree (or Ti Tree) swamp. Tea Trees are amazing in that they can live happily in swampy ground with their roots submerged most of the time. They have beautiful papery bark, and can grow in a thick inpenetrable scrub, which is impossible to ride through on a bike.
So I backtracked….
I eventually came out on an old gravel road with some rickety old bridges. When I saw the bridge I realized I’d found the right track after going down a few wrong ones….
I came across what I was looking for. The local council described it as a sugar cane “lift bridge”. I figured I could squeeze myself and the bike through the gap in the bars and cross the river…
Crossing an old railway bridge while pushing a bike (I wasn’t crazy enough to RIDE across!) required a bit of care, but the bridge was solid, and I wasn’t in any danger…..
Arrrgggg! So THIS is what a “lift bridge” is! A section of the bridge lifts up to allow boats to pass under. Unfortunately the last “lift” happened years ago. There was no way I was going to cross that bridge!
So I turned around and rode home.
But it highlights what is an underlying theme for me when riding a mountain bike. The destination isn’t really the point. Yes, it’s nice to arrive, or achieve an objective, but when you really think about it, it’s all about the journey.
I’m amazed at what you can find when you explore some of the quiet tracks and dirt roads out the back of Coolum.
Today I headed out the back of an industrial estate of all places (who spends time in an industrial estate when you’re holidaying at the beach????) and discovered some quite fire roads meandering through the open forest. If you would have been a bystander hiding behind a bush as I whizzed by on my 29er, you would have heard a crazy guy yelling out “Awesome!” repeatedly.
When it comes to having fun (which is a major priority in my life) I think the major thing is to experience pleasant surprises.
I was very surprised today.
Some of the beautiful open tea-tree and eucalypt forest that the trails wind through
I just stumbled upon this old shed and hliarious sign by accident – by turning left instead of right. Although it’s superflous for obvious reasons, the sign says it all.
Stumer Creek peacefully meanders through the bush behind Coolum.
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges span the mouth of the Brisbane River.
Climbing to almost 80 metres above the water, they allow huge volumes of traffic to flow from one side of the river to ther other.
A bike path on this new bridge was officially opened today, which for the first time, allows pedestrians and cyclists to stand at the top of this magnificent gateway to the city and enjoy some breathtaking views out to the bay and back to the city – views you can’t really get in a car as you’re not allowed to stop at the top.
There are only two flies in the ointment which I’m sure will be fixed soon. The first is a 10km/h speed limit on cyclists using the bike way. The problem is that many cyclists have difficulty keeping a bicycle stable at speeds under 10 km/h, so in some ways it’s dangerous having this limit so low.
The second problem is connectivity. There don’t appear to be any connecting cycle paths at either end of the bridge so you need to bravely battle five to ten km of busy roads to get from one cycleway to the bridge.
But riding to the top of this bridge (twice) was a lot of fun for me. And I was impressed to see the importance that the state government has placed on putting infrastructure like this in place for cyclists.
We drove out to the Boondall Entertainment Centre today so Liz and Lilly could see “Disney on Ice”.
Harrison and I took advantage of the trip, brought our bikes and explored the Boondall Wetlands while Liz and Lilly saw the show. It ended up being a real family affair because Lachlan phoned us and asked if he could join us.
Harrison and I were having so much fun that we asked Liz if she could drive home, and we’d ride back.
As you can see from the photos, it was a glorious day.
Liz and I took the kids for a walk around Forgan Cove today.
It’s a short, easy 4.5km walk through some peaceful bushland that borders Lake Samsonvale.
We thought we’d take the opportunity to add to the photo log of Carla, a Toy Voyager that we’re hosting at the moment.
Toy Voyagers are fun because they challenge you to have a more child-like view of the world, and to look for events and pictures that would be appropriate for a toy on a voyage. I like them because they help me appreciate the place in which I live.
Some views out to the Glass House Mountains and Moreton Island from my ride today.
I stopped on the top of Raynbird Road which has spectacular views to the north and east.
It’s been a while since I rode this far, and it feels great to blow the cobwebs out and push the pedals for a few hours.
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