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A few random pictures from a fun weekend.
All-in-all a fantastic weekend! 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.
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.
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. The checkpoints are:
Here’s the map I’m really looking forward to it, and hope to share some great photos. 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….
So I backtracked….
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.
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. I hope they build more!
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.
A view of the lake while I was out riding some quiet tracks this afternoon.
We went out via some old stock routes and came back along the shoreline of one of the local lakes. For now I’m content to show my boy some of the fantastic tracks around our area that you never see when you speed by in a car. |
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