2010 – Page 7 – Musings

Cycling, South East Qld

Coolum Tracks

by NeilEnnis 29 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

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.

Brisbane, Cycling

Cycling to the top

by NeilEnnis 27 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

Cycling to the top

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!

Brisbane, Cycling, Family

Boondall and Deagon

by NeilEnnis 20 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

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.

Family, Life, Pine Rivers

Mt Nebo

by NeilEnnis 14 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

Liz and I took the kids up to Mt Nebo this afternoon for walk through the rainforest and a bit of afternoon tea.

There’s something spiritually regenerating about walking through a forest. I feel like I’m “soaking up” the peace as one of the trees would soak up the rain. They seem to live at a different rate from us. Our lives come and go many times over while they’re still growing, reaching up to the sky and sighing in the breeze.

A majestic example of the strangler fig growing at Mt Nebo along the Boombana boardwalk.

This specimen is approximately 400 years old.

These trees begin life as vines, taking root in the crevices of other trees. They grow and slowly envelope the host tree, “strangling” it, and growing up to 50 metres in height.

The view above as we walked through the Boombana rainforest walk at Mt Nebo this afternoon.

Pine Rivers, ToyVoyagers

Forgan Cove

by NeilEnnis 13 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

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.

Cycling, Moreton Bay

The Giant and Me

by NeilEnnis 5 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

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.

Cycling, Pine Rivers

Lake Samsonvale

by NeilEnnis 2 June 2010 No Comments Shortlink

Lake Samsonvale

A view of the lake while I was out riding some quiet tracks this afternoon.

Children, Cycling, Pine Rivers

Riding with Dad

by NeilEnnis 23 May 2010 No Comments Shortlink

My ten year old son, Harrison, and I rode some of our favourite tracks this glorious Sunday morning.

We went out via some old stock routes and came back along the shoreline of one of the local lakes.

He kept up pretty well. I’m aware that sometime in the next ten years our roles will probably be reversed and I’ll be keeping up with him pretty well.

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.

We have to slow down to enjoy beauty.