2013 – Page 2 – Musings

Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, Moreton Bay, South East Qld

Woorim

by NeilEnnis 10 November 2013 No Comments Shortlink

The aim of today’s ride was to join up a gap in my map. I’ve ridden through Ningi before with my friend Darb, and had a great time on the beach at Bribie with Murray riding Fat Bikes.

I’ll be having an operation in a couple of days, and my surgeon told me to avoid any activities which could might cause scratches or cuts to my skin, so a nice easy ride between Ningi and Woorim was the perfect choice.

The town of Ningi gets its name from the Ningi Ningi aboriginal people who lived in the coastal area east of Caboolture. The language spoken by the Ningi Ningi people was called “Oondoo” and is a dialect of the Kabi language group. The word “Ningi” means “Oyster” in the Oondoo dialect, so the name probably comes from the large number of oysters which could be found on the rocks around Sandstone Point near the Bribie bridge.

To avoid the main highway, I followed some quiet back streets through Ningi to the “Esplanade” which follows Ningi Creek towards the ocean.

One interesting aspect of the Esplanade is the number of small private walkways that jut out through the mangroves, allowing residents to get to their boats on the creek. One wooden walkway looked inviting, but the small voice of reason in the back of my head kept reminding me to avoid scratches, so I gingerly walked to the end rather than riding it. Which us just as well because there were a few large gaps in the pailings.

It’s a pleasant, easy ride by the water along the bikepath, which stretches almost 6km to the Bribie bridge. I just chilled out, turned the cranks, and felt glad to be alive.

I took a short detour down to the beach at Turners Camp, remembering Kalmakuta – the Joondoobarrie aboriginal woman whose footsteps I traced a few months ago.

On thing that worried me about today’s trip was how I was going to get across the bridge. It’s narrow, with lots of traffic passing either way. If I crossed via the road I’d have a lot of angry impatient drivers behind me as there would be no room to pass. But the footpath is really narrow. I was worried that there would not be enough room for my handlebars.

After I pushed my mirror to one side, there was enough room for me to ride carefully across. For anyone else wondering about cycling over the bridge at Bribie I’d recommend the footpath. Just take it easy and stick to the middle of the path.

There are three “passing bays” on the bridge which make it easier to pass people coming in the opposite direction. As I rode across the bridge a lady walking in the opposite direction kindly stepped into the bay as I approached so that we could comfortably pass each other.

I used one of the passing bays to stop and take a few pics of the Glasshouse Mountains to the north-east. Over the last few weeks I’ve looked at them from a number of different directions. Looking at then from the water, I remembered Lt James Cook saw them from his ship as he sailed up the Queensland coast in 1770 and thought they resembled the conical furnaces in England that were used to manufacture glass at the time.

At the end of the bridge I followed the bike path south, past happy groups of families relaxing by the water towards the quiet seaside suburb of Bongaree.

Bongaree was an aboriginal man from Broken Bay near Sydney. He learned to speak English and accompanied Matthew Flinders on the sloop Norfolk as he explored the East Australian coast line. European settlers mistakenly believed that all Australian aborigines spoke the same language, and that somehow Bongaree would be able to serve as interpreter for Flinders. Nothing could have been further from the truth. At the time of European settlement there were two hundred and fifty different Aboriginal languages in this continent.

In 1996 David Horton produced a wonderful map illustrating this point.

An intelligent and entertaining man, Bongaree became the first Aborigine to circumnavigate the Australian continent in 1802. He had an uncanny knack for “reading” people’s intentions from non-verbal cues, so despite not being able to interpret for Flinders he was still able to greatly assist him when contacting new groups. He also had an acute sense of humour, and was able to mimic the affectations and mannerisms of many of the colonial leaders. He wore discarded naval uniforms and a cocked hat, and impressed new arrivals at Sydney Harbor when he welcomed them with a flamboyant bow and wave of his hat.

As I reached the end of the bike path, south of Bongaree, I took my chances on a sandy path near the beach. Riding the fat bike on sand a couple of weeks ago had given me an appetite for beach riding. Unfortunately I came back to earth (sand?) with a thud as I realzed soft sand was no place for my skinny 2.1 inch tyres. I ended up walking a couple of hundred metres instead.

From there I followed a few sandy fire trails eastwards towards Woorim. The ground on some of the trails was a bit firmer and I was able to ride without any hassles.

This eventually brought me out on the east-west bike path on First Avenue, the main road between Bongaree and Woorim. Like most places on Bribie, it’s quite flat and is ideal for a low-impact, cruisy ride.

The blue sky, warm breeze and turquiose waters of Woorim Beach welcomed me. It’s a beautiful unspoilt place with clear views towards the northern tip of Moreton Island, and some great cafes.

This local magpie thought the cafes were pretty good too, as he waited patiently for my BLT sandwich and coffee to arrive.

Before making my way back I did a lazy circuit of Woorim.

“Looking gorgeous, Ladies” I yelled out to this bridal party as I rode past. The women enthusiastically waved back, even the bride in her “non-bridal” footwear. They do look gorgeous, don’t they?

It’s at times like this I’m glad I always keep a camera in my back pocket whilst riding.

Stopping briefly at Spinnaker Sound marina on the other side of the bridge, I thought how much more fun my bike-owning experience was compared to my boat-owning experience. (My last boat sank in 2007)

Before completing the final stretch back to Ningi, I meandered around the back streets of a new housing estate, enjoying some hidden tracks and a new artificial lake. “Bloody lovely” I muttered to myself as I squatted down at impossible angles to get photos of water lillies.

I rode 51km in just over 4 hours including breaks burning a meagre 1,500 cal with only 292 m if climbing.

This is a very easy, low risk, cruisy ride – perfect for a family afternoon out (if you exclude the dirt tracks near Bongaree). I might bring Liz and the kids back here one afternoon.

I give it 4 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter, even less if you don’t go as far as Woorim.

Total distance: 51.34 km
Total climbing: 1341 m
Average temperature: 30.3
Total time: 04:18:22

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Family, Queensland, South East Qld

D’Aguilar – Conondale Epic

by NeilEnnis 3 November 2013 No Comments Shortlink

Today’s adventure was a 4WD bash through the bush with my brother, Kevin, and our sons. I’ve ridden many of these trails through the D’Aguilar and Conondale Ranges, and thought it would be good to share them with family from the comfort of a motor vehicle.

We started from Laceys Creek near Dayboro and slowly made our way up the range to Kluvers Lookout. As we drove up the hill, I muttered to Kev that it was much easier doing this as a 4WD passenger than it was grinding up the road in Granny Gear on a bike.

Although the lookout is small, it has some great views eastwards over Moreton Bay and Lake Samsonvale.

From there we cruised along the top of the range towards Jacky Creek Road. This road descends steeply towards the creek. I couldn’t resist lying in front of a water bar to get a view of the car inching over it…

In my enthusiasm for a good shot I forgot that Kev couldn’t see me as he crested the hump. I’d only recommend doing this with someone you trust 🙂

Jacky Creek is beautiful. We got out, splashed in the water and threw a few stones around. If I didn’t already have a swimming spot planned, I think we would have had a bit of a swim here.

A while ago, Liz and I took the kids on a 12km hike out to the Western Escarpment and back. I’ve also driven the rough and narrow road in a sedan before, althogh I had to take it very slowly. Today in the 4WD it was a comfortable cruise.

Somerset lookout is right on an escarpment on the edge of the D’Aguilar Range, looking westward. We enjoyed the views of lakes Somerset and Wivenhoe. Kevin was a bit more adventurous than me and got quite close to the edge. I promised not to tell anyone.

After driving out of D’Aguilar National Park via Neurum Creek, our original plan was to have a bite to eat at Woodford before moving up into the Conondale Range. Kevin was one step ahead though, and had packed a couple of roast chickens for us to eat. So we had a break at the Stoney Creek day use area at the foot of the range. The boys cooled their feet in the water for a while after lunch, then we headed up another mountain…

We followed Bellthorpe – Jimna Road higher and higher, and stopped at a couple of spots to enjoy more views. Harrison was interested in seeing how close he could get to the edge without slipping off.

Recent rain had caused several trees to block the narrow road. Thankfully rangers had been through before us to clear the fallen timber out of the way.

The vegetation grew lush as we drove higher into the range. At one point we were over 800m above sea level. The breeze was pleasantly cooler, and the rainforest was thick and green.

We eventually reached Booloumba Falls where Harrison and I enjoyed a quick swim. I tried sticking my head under the falls, and enjoyed it so much I talked Harrison into doing it too. After sitting in the car for a long time, the cool water felt delicious.

It’s a 1,500m walk from the car park to the falls. I decided to get changed at the falls. Harrison toughed it out, walking down and back in bare feet. Maybe teenagers have a higher pain threshold?

We eventually came out of the forest at the bottom of Booloumba Creek Road near Kenilworth. I had planned for us to drive from there up to Point Glorious at Mapleton. But we were running out of daylight. Mapleton Forest would have to wait for another day.

We travelled about 350km in ten hours. With over 7,200m of vertical ascent, this would have been an impossible day trip on a bike. But I think Kev’s 4WD didn’t even work up a sweat.

Thanks for a great day out, Kevin!

And thank you, Harrison and Jack for being such fun passengers.

Total distance: 355.93 km
Total climbing: 8767 m
Average temperature: 28.2
Total time: 09:53:11

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Cycling, Moreton Bay, Queensland, South East Qld, xc

Bribie by Fat Bike

by NeilEnnis 27 October 2013 5 Comments Shortlink

The aim of today’s adventure was to ride up the coast of Bribie Island as far as we could, then ride back south via the inland trails.

My friend Murray is so enthusiastic about “Fat Bikes” that his nickname is “Fat Muz”. He’s not fat – but the tyres on his bike are huge. I had managed to borrow a fat bike from a kind friend, and Murray agreed to ride with me for the day.

We started at Woorim on the south-eastern tip of the island. It was low tide, which gave us a firm and generously wide causeway on which to ride. We pointed the bikes northwards and started pedalling with a gentle breeze wafting over our shoulder, the waves breaking on our right, and an endless and empty beach stretching off into the distance – it was delightful.

There are several lagoons near the beach. We decided to stop at the first one on the way up. The water is stained brown by the tannin from the trees but it’s still beautiful.

I noticed how difficult it was to pedal the bike once we got off the firm sand near the beach upto the softer sand near the lagoon. Even though these bikes have fat tyres, there are still places where you have to work really hard to ride them. Soft sand is tough terrain – even on a fat bike.

As we continued our journey up the beach, we were passed by a few 4×4’s on their way northwards. Every now and then we’d pass people fishing, or lazing under trees, or splashing about in the waves. Everyone was happy.

The sun rose higher in the sky and the day grew hotter. After an hour we decided to have a quick break in the shade of a tree on the edge of the dunes. I swapped my helmet for a broad hat and a bandanna. Murray’s “hat” trumped mine. It looked awesome.

We eventually came to “Fort Bribe”. These ruins from the Second World War are reminders of the strategic importance that the armed forces placed on Bribie and Moreton Islands as they defended Moreton Bay from enemy attack.

Slowly the buildings on the northern horizon swelled in stature, and sooner than expected we were standing on the northern tip of the island gazing across the narrow passage towards Bulcock Beach at Caloundra.

A couple of my friends have dreamed how cool it would be to ride to the top, and have a friend waiting with a tinny to ferry us across the passage to civilization. It sounds like fun, but the practical part of my mind wonders how you’d safely carry a bike on an unstable little boat.

We thought about having a bit of a swim, but I don’t think either of us wanted to go to the trouble of getting changed, getting wet, getting dried, then getting changed again. So we rested the bikes on the sand, had a snack, and cooled our feet instead.

Conditions started to change as we rode back down the beach. The tide was rising. Sand which was once firm, crusty and easy to ride on was now soft and boggy. The further we went, the softer the sand. Eventually we ground to a halt.

We decided to complete the southward leg of the trip via inland tracks. We wouldn’t be subject to the tides, but some of those tracks had mountains of soft boggy sand. This was going to be hard work.

After a kilometre of battling soft sand, we had another break at a shady picnic shelter at “Lighthouse Reach”. I noticed that I was using a lot more water than I normally did, and topped up my spare bottles from a rain tank, adding some Micropur tablets to kill any greeblies.

What followed can only be described as two kilometres of heart-break. The sand was soft and unrideable. But, being away from the sea breeze, it had also been baked scorchingly hot by the sun. When we tried to walk on it, it filled our sandles and burned our feet. It was painful work even pushing the bikes.

We eventually found some secondary trails leading off from the main track and followed them. They were rideable, at least, but the rough grass made progress slow. I relaxed under this small shady tree for what seemed like ages, cooling off.

The trails got rougher, but were mostly rideable. They were pleasant, too. On our left side we had native scrub forming part of the national park. On our right we had pine forest.

We had to cross a couple of small creeks. Remembering the disaster I experienced when I last tried to cross a creek, I hopped off the bike, and crossed with the utmost care. My knee thanked me profusely.

The track veried between hard-pack and loose sand. We eventually reached a turn-off which would lead us to the beach, but decided against going back on to the beach.

It was now about 1.30pm, and the tide would be all the way up the beach. We continued to follow the inland track instead. This was good and bad. The last few kilometres of the inland track featured some really soft sand. We were tired, hot, and sunburned. It was a major effort to keep the pedals turning, but we did.

The track ended near “The Twin” cinema on first avenue. We staggered in and Murray bought me a huge (600ml) cinema Coke. As I rested in the deliciouly comfortable leather chair, I started drinking and couldn’t stop. As soon as I finished it I aked for another and downed it just as quickly.

We had finished with sand for the day. I “sloshed” on the bike as I rode the bike track, full of soft-drink.

What a relief!

Total distance: 69.28 km
Total climbing: 1378 m
Average temperature: 29.8
Total time: 08:48:30

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Although it took us about two hours to reach the tip of the island, it took us over 6 hours to get back.

All up we rode 67km in just under 9 hours including breaks.

I burned 4,300 kcal.

Although this “flat” ride only had a feeble 217m in elevation gain, this was one of the toughest rides I’ve ever done.

I have no hesitation rating it 10 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter

If you’re crazy enough to attempt it, be warned:
1. Take plenty of water.
2. Wear sun-protective clothing.
3. Use plenty of sunscreen, and re-apply it. Put it ALL over. Radiation at the beach is multiples higher than what you’d experience on a normal MTB ride.
4. Check the tides. You can’t ride a fat bike on the beach at high tide.
5. Take a crazy but capable friend. Murray is very capapble, and a bit crazy like me, so was a perfect riding buddy 🙂
6. Do it in winter.
7. Remember that beach rides are not symmetrical. What takes you two hours in one direction can take you six hours on the way back.

Thanks Murray for an awesome ride!

Cycling, Pine Rivers, Recovery, xc

Lakeside Epic

by NeilEnnis 21 October 2013 No Comments Shortlink

Riding around Lake Samsonvale via Dayboro is a popular ride for road-cyclists with great views. It has an awful lot of paved road for a mountain biker, so we decided to do an off-road version taking in as many trails and tracks near the lake as we could while still enjoying all of the views.

We began by following some quiet meandering tracks around Forgan Cove. I often ride through here during the week on one of my “chill-out” sessions. It was fun to be able to share some of my home trails with friends.

The quiet flat trails were soon distant memories as we pointed our bikes up Old School Road. This is a reasonably tough dirt climb up Clear Mountain, with a nasty little pinch climb at the end.

The final climb on Old School Road is a bit of a bellweather test for me. Until my recent knee injury I prided myself on being able to climb it. This was my first attempt since then, and also the first time I’d tried it using flat pedals instead of clip-ins. It was really difficult, but I made it, puffing heavily, unable to talk. Sue has wanted to nail this hill for a while. She made it,, and put in such an intense effort that she heaved up what was left of her breakfast at the top. Well done, Sue 🙂

But the top of Old School Road only marks the half-way point of the climb. After a bit more huffing and puffing we finally made it to the summit of Clear Mountain near the resort.

From there we rode the downhill jump-track to the bottom of the hill.

Some people rode the twisty single-track all the way to the bottom. I decided to play it safe and avoid further injury by following the “Pineapple Break” fire trail to the bottom.

After a couple of kilometres along Winn Road we followed a few more trails along the south-western shoreline of the lake. The shoreline hass many “fingers” of land protrudiung into the lake at this point, so if you wanted it would be possible to meander around countless peninsulars all day.

Mount Samson looms large in this part of the world.

We eventually met up with the remnants of an old railway line that used to pass through this area fifty years ago. Much of the railway is under water, but it’s still a viable track in some parts.

The day grew hotter, and we had been working hard, so we stopped at the Mount Samson Community Hall to fill up with water and rest in the shade.

The remnants of the railway line emerge from the lake near the small locality of Samsonvale. This once used to be a thriving little town. Now all that remains is the cemetery. We followed the railway line along the shore, past the site of the old Samsonvale Railway Station.

Leaving the flat shoreline of the lake, we headed west into the hills behind Kobble Creek. Although the roads were paved, this was a hot and challenging section because of some of the steeper gradients. A few people were starting to feel hungry. We had toyed with the idea of having a quick swim at this pleasant section of the North Pine River at Leis Crossing, but I think most people could smell the cafes of Dayboro so we decided to keep riding.

Dayboro was a welcome lunch stop. Because there were about a dozen of us, we split up around a few of the different shops around town to have lunch. A few people had a quick lie down on the picnic benches, or topped up their water supplies.

A farmer out the back of Dayboro kindly gave us permission to ride through his property along the old Strongs Road reserve.

“I thought all you bikies were in jail”, he quipped as he let us through.

Strongs Road is a quiet alternative route east out of Dayboro. Part of it runs through private property, so there are no cars. Most of it is unpaved, which makes it a pleasant ride on a mountain bike.

At the end of the road, Eric sat on an old couch and “held court” with anyone who needed his sage advice.

Once we met up with Dayboro Road again, we tried to follow some of the horse trails by the side of the road to avoid traffic. Although the track had been mown, it was still rough going. Eventually we decided to take our chances for 4 or 5km along the bitumen until we met up with our next off-road trail.

The endless trails on the northern side of the lake are a lot of fun to ride. The views were impressive, and the shady green tracks were a welcome relief from the hot tarmac.

Towards the end of the ride, as luck would have it, I was “leading from the rear” and lost about half the riders who rode ahead of me the wrong way. While they rode on ahead, a few of us followed the final few tracks along the river back up to our starting point.

This ride was 77km with about 1,500m of ascent. It took about 8 hours including breaks, and I burned 4,500 kcal.

For a fit rider I’d rate this one about 8 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. For beginners or anyone nursing a reasonable injury I’d rate it 9 to 9.5 out of 10.

Here’s Darb’s video of the day:

Lake Samsonvale 2013-10-20 from Darb Ryan on Vimeo.

Thanks everyone for a great day. I’m so pleased to be able to enjoy long rides with friends again!

Total distance: 80.37 km
Total climbing: 2687 m
Average temperature: 28.1
Total time: 08:42:23

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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, Pine Rivers, Recovery, xc

My Backyard

by NeilEnnis 13 October 2013 3 Comments Shortlink

In an unusual twist this week, Eric and I opted for a Sunday Ride closer to home.

Two of my favourite spots around here are Lake Samsonvale, and Mosquito Creek, so we decided to combine the two. The first time I tried this ride almopst 4 years ago it took me almost 5 hours. Today it took about 3 and a half hours, so I felt quite smug considering I’m only using one and a half legs at the moment.

We spent the first part of our ride dodging magpies on the bike paths which follow the North Pine River between Sweeney and Mungarra Reserves. Armed with a trusty piece of hose-pipe which I twirled around my head helicopter-style, the feathered fiends left us alone.

My neightbor, Mike, is a member of Koala Tracker. When we came across him, he was grinning because he had spotted a Koala near the track. They used to be really common around here but are slowly disappearing because of indiscriminate land-clearing. Good on ya, Mike!

Before long, we reached Lake Samsonvale and enjoyed riding the bikes along the twisty tracks that follow the shoreline.

As the hills got steeper, I started to lag behind, but Eric kindly waited for me at the top. I’m pretty sure I could have nailed this hill today if I didn’t lose traction. Maybe next time 🙂

After leaving the lake we headed down towards Dunlop Lane which snakes lazily along some small irrigation dams before it becomes a faint trail as it climbs through Slickers horse riding park. We didn’t see any horses today – I think they were all working hard.

From there we followed Smiths Road northwards. Like Dunlop Lane, “Smiths Road” is a road in name only. The road reserve is based on the historic “Old North Road” that was blazed through here in the 1840’s. That was based on the traditional trail made by local aborigines over many centuries as they passed through the area.

The most enjoyable part of Smiths Road is as it descends to the crossing over Mosquito Creek. It’s possible to pick up quite a bit of speed on the bike, shoot across the causeway, then zip up the steep bank on the other side.

Eric and I felt like stretching the ride out a bit longer today, so we kept going north until we hit Raynbird Road. After a bit of huffing and puffing up the hill (mostly on my part), we took a quick break at the top to enjoy the views of the Glasshouse Mountains and Moreton Bay.

From there we headed homeward via Browns Creek Road.

Browns Creek is named after “Shake Brown”, a Sri Lankan man who married aboriginal woman Kulkurrawa in the 1840’s. He was killed in this area because Kulkurrawa’s countrymen (like many a protective brother-in-law) suspected he wasn’t caring for her properly. You can read more about the Kulkurrawa and Shake Brown here.

Browns Creek Road devolves (or evolves, depending on whether you ride a mountain bike or not) into Browns Road. It’s rougher and much more fun – especially if you ride it down-hill like we did today.

From there we continued our homeward trek along some quiet back-roads.

Today wasn’t the most epic of rides, but I enjoyed sharing it with Eric. I’m grateful to have such a scenic backyard. In fact, after two months of staying off it, I’m grateful to just be riding again. Living in paradise, and being able to explore it on a bike. How good is that?

45km, with over 800m of ascent, in about three and a half hours. I burned about 2,000 kcal, and felt pretty tired afterwards.

For the fit, this one rates about 6.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. Rehabilitating limpers like me should rate it about 8 out of 10.

Thanks for a great morning on the bike, Eric!

Total distance: 46.17 km
Total climbing: 1280 m
Average temperature: 26.5
Total time: 03:30:19

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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, Recovery, South East Qld, xc

Coochin Creek

by NeilEnnis 5 October 2013 No Comments Shortlink

Today was a major milestone for me – this was my first cross-country ride since my accident in July. After some encouragement from the doctor to get back on the bike (and take it easy) I decided to plan a long ride with little or no climbing or rough terrain.

Our aim was to ride from “Moby Vics” petrol station on the Bruce Highway at Coochin Creek, through the pine forests to Golden Beach at Caloundra. Then we’d ride back.

I had ridden some of these roads with Darb and Simon last Christmas when I cycled up to Coolum, so I knew what to expect.

As with most of our rides, we had a great time – even if things didn’t go to plan.

Today’s ride would be slower than usual – but Simon and Darb kindly agreed to ride with me at a more relaxed pace.

We set off into the endless forests around Coochin Creek. Long flat logging roads stretch off to the horizon in almost every direction. This is the perfect place to disappear on the bike for a day, forget everything, and turn the pedals with next to no effort at all.

After about half an hour we reached Mellum Creek and started heading eastwards towards the coast. I’d spotted some great looking gravel tracks on Google Earth that would take us almost directly to Golden Beach.

For most of the day, Mount Beerwah watched over us. Occasionally we could see the smaller stump of Coonowrin as well. Ever since someone told me that Beerwah was a pregnant mother in Aboriginal legends, I like to think she keeps an eye on me when I’m in her country.

Everything was going to plan until we encountered a locked gate. The sign said someone was shooting feral animals, so we decided it would be safer to detour around the area rather than risk getting shot.

We later encountered the guy who did the shooting. He told us he wasn’t shooting today, but we couldn’t follow our intended route. The whole area had been bought up by property developer, Stockland and was going to be turned into a “Satellite city” of 30,000 houses some time in the next 20 years. Till then, no one was allowed on unless they had legitimate business – and that business didn’t include riding bikes. The Stockland motto of “Making a worthwhile contribution to the development of … our great country” seemed quite hollow.

As we headed off, I was aware than another friend, Wayne, was riding this way, about an hour behind us. We’d agreed to meet him at Caloundra. So I decided to make a big crazy wooden arrow on the track pointing in the direction of our detour in case he was following us.

The flat land around here makes the sky seem huge. It’s possible to see the horizon in almost every direction. It’s an exhillarating feeling.

These camels looked a bit out of place with the cattle, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Our aim was to keep heading east and perhaps find another track that would lead us around the perimeter of the Stockland property, and help us get back on course.

Sadly, that didn’t happen. The blocked off property was huge, and there was no way around it, since the only way across Coochin Creek was on that property.

If we were going to ride to Caloundra, we’d have to double back 10km, and try riding on the western side of the Bruce Highway instead.

So we did…

…and the first thing I had to do was keep a promise to myself.

One of the causes of my accident a couple of months ago was being unwilling to get my feet wet. I was trying to avoid putting my feet in a creek, and slipped. I decided I’d break this habit. My friend Jason encouraged me by giving me a pair of thin woollen cycling socks – the type that dried quickly when they got wet. My old thick hiking socks retained lots of water making for unpleasant rides.

When we arrived at Meillum Creek I boldly waded across. The water felt pleasant, and a few minutes afterwards, Jasons socks did their trick and I wasn’t aware of any moisture. Thanks Jason!

The tracks to the west were rougher and steeper than I had planned for, but we pressed on. I was very pleased to be able to ride up most of the pinch climbs. Darb and Simon patiently waited for me to catch up at the top of most of the hills.

Eventually we reached another “Private Property” sign. I think we could have navigated around it. We were only a couple of km from the Caloundra highway turn-off, but we all agreed that this was probably a good time to call “half-way”, turn around, and start heading for home.

We took a more direct route back south through some of the pine plantations near Landsborough and Beerwah. The trip back was going to take about half the time of our tortuous first half.

These motor cyclists looked like they were having a wonderful time, although I think with all that dust I would have prefered to be the guy in front. We stayed well out of the way till they passed.

We rolled back into the car park after about 5 hours having ridden almost 60km with 437m of elevation gain.. I’m sure Simon and Darb could have done it in much quicker time, but I’m really grateful we were able to do it together.

While we relaxed over some cool drinks in the cafe I saw this sign. Normally I ignore cheesy sayings, but this one rang true for me. In the past, going for an easy ride on some flat forestry tracks would have seemed a little thing. Like a lot of “little” things, you don’t realize how “big” they are till you lose them.

Thankfully this had only been a temporary loss.

For fit riders this ride probably rates about 6.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. In my current state I’d rate it about 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks, Darb and Simon, for a great day.

Total distance: 60.63 km
Total climbing: 1378 m
Average temperature: 30.3
Total time: 05:09:35

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Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, History, Recovery, South East Qld, xc

Somerset Lookout

by NeilEnnis 29 September 2013 No Comments Shortlink

We’ve been to Somerset Lookout a few times. It’s a spectacular precipice on the edge of the western escarpment of D’Aguilar National Park, overlooking Somerset Dam.

The Somerset Region is named after pastoralist and politician, Henry Plantaganet Somerset who, in the 1870’s, became the first European to cross the D’Aguilar Range from Samsonvale to Cressbrook in the vicinity of present day Joyners Ridge Road. While not belittling Somerset’s achievement, it’s interesting to note that the Jinbara and Undambi Aboriginal people had been doing this for centuries before him. Perhaps Somerset should have just stopped and asked someone for directions 🙂

Today’s point-to-point ride started at Chambers Road in Mount Brisbane. While Darb was griding up this steep gravel road, our riding buddy, Paul was heading for the end-point of the ride, Neurum Creek. He planned to ride the route in reverse, and meet up with us near the halfway point.

As usual, I was the designated driver for the day. It was my challenge to make sure I didn’t lose Darb when he disappeared down a twisty bush track, while keeping an eye our for Paul, making sure we didn’t pass each other unawares.

I love navigational challenges!

The other challenge about this section of forest is that it’s shared, so it was important to keep an eye out for friendly motocross riders who were also riding the trails.

Darb is a powerful hill climber. I shouldn’t have been so surprised to see him make it to the top of Chambers Road in record time. He didn’t even stop, but kept grinding up Peggs Road.

Peggs Road is challenging. After the tough climb to the top, there’s a wonderful winding descent to Byron Creek. The downhill section is the perfect place to catch your breath, because once you hit the creek crossing there’s another long climb up to Selin Road.

But, as usual, Darb nailed the climb up to Selin Road in record time. Later, when I looked at his Strava page for the ride, I noticed he had more Gold Medals than an East German weight-lifting team.

This was a different sort of Mountain Biking experience for me. We were both riding the same trails – except I was doing it in a car. Darb and I got into a rhythm where I’d drive ahead to the next interesting point on the trail, and wait for him to catch up. Usually I didn’t have to wait long. Mountain Bikes can move very quickly on rough forest trails.

To mix things up a bit, Darb went off on some single tracks while I stuck to the road. When I next saw him he couldn’t stop grinning. Those narrow winding trails were a lot of fun.

A popular destination for hikers, Somerset Lookout never disappoints. We could see Wivenhoe and Somerset dams in the distance, as well as the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers. We live in a wonderful part of thw world!

Like before, I rushed off ahead in the car then waited at the intersection of the road and the single track till Darb passed by on the bike. I was waiting here for what seemed like ages until I realized that Darb had been too quick for me. Although I had arrived at the point as quickly as possible in the car via the gravel road, Darb had been quicker on the narrow track. He had been and gone before I’d even got there. Nothing to see except wildflowers and tyre tracks 🙂

In order to catch up with my unstoppable riding buddy, I played it safe and headed for our “lunch” stop at The Gantry. “Lunch” is a misnomer – it wasn’t even 10am, but I think Darb had earned his lunch.

The Gantry is all that remains of The Hancock Sawmill that was built in the 1930’s to mill timber that was logged in this forest. It mas much easier to cut up the wood on the mountain than haul it down to Caboolture or D’Aguilar. The timber-getting days are over, and the forest is slowly growing back, although it may take a couple of centuries to regain some of the gigantic mature sentinels that once towered over this forest.

After our break, I sent Darb off into another part of the forest that was inaccessible to me in the car. He emerged a bit later than expected, with cuts from Lantana branches on his forearms.

“That was tough”, he puffed as he reached the top of the hill.

The overgrowth on those tracks made any sort of progress hard work.

Approaching us from the opposite directioin, Paul met us on Lovedays Road. He had ridden the tough climb up from the Neurum Creek Camp Ground and caught us pretty close to the Gantry. Considering he had started a couple of hours after we did, this was an impressive effort.

Driving with Mountain Bikers is tricky in hilly country. While they’re slower than motor vehicls going UP a hill, there are very few cars that can keep up with a skilled Mountain Biker going DOWN a dirt road. I played it safe and stayed behind the riders as we descended some of the steeper hills. I couldn’t keep up with them. Gee those guys are quick!

I just waited till they got to the bottom, then passed them on the way up the next hill.

With more downhills than up, we were in Neurum much sooner than we’d anticipated.

The 40km had taken Darb about four and a half hours including a total of about an hour in breaks. That’s an impressive pace for a route that had about 1,500 metres of climbing.

Darb said he’d rate it about 8.5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. I think the cooler weather was kind to us today. In hot weater, or in muddy conditions after rain, it would have been much harder.

Thanks, Darb and Paul, for another fun day out!

Here’s Darb’s video of the day:

Somerset Lookout 2013-09-28 from Darb Ryan on Vimeo.

Total distance: 41.67 km
Total climbing: 1533 m
Average temperature: NAN
Total time: 04:32:31

Download file: activity_382223153.gpx
More data

Cycling, South East Qld, xc

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail

by NeilEnnis 22 September 2013 8 Comments Shortlink

Today’s ride was from Esk to Walloon following the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail for most of the way. I was support driver for Becca, Eric, Darb and Jason, dropping the riders off in Esk, then making sure they had a vehicle to get home from Walloon.

We’ve had many happy rides ending in Walloon. It has a railway station which makes it an easy destination for long point-to-point rides.

We’ve also experienced some amazing rides along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail from Fernvale in the south to Linville, Blackbutt and eventually Yarraman in the north. The rail trail isn’t an end in itself: in the past we’ve used it as any easy off-road route between different ride locations, allowing us to stitch together epic adventures covering large distances.

Like rail journeys in bygone years, today’s journey started in the middle of town heading down a straight flat track, surrounded by bustling townspeople going about their business. The only difference was that there was no smokey engine pulling these carriages.

Bridges over creeks are closed to traffic for safety reasons. There are large sandsone blocks in the creek beds to make it easier to cross the creek without getting your fee wet.

Mount Hallen Railway Station used to be the first stop on the south-bound line 10 km from Esk on the way to Ipswich. Our pedal-powered “train” rushed through there after about half an hour…

… In fact, it was little over an hour before the “Mountain Bike Expresss” pulled into Coominya, 25 km down the line. The flat gradients made it easy to keep up a quick pace.

The word “Coominya” comes from the Yugarapul aboriginal words “Kung-i-nya” which means “View of the water”. One sign in town suggested it might also be a question: “Where is the water?”

Charles Lumley Hill was an early European settler in the area. He owned “Bellvue Station”, a large cattle property. The railway station was originally called “Bellvue” and serviced his property, as well as allowing transportation of timber to the city. Hill asked for the name of the station to be changed to avoid confusion with his property, and so the name “Coominya” was chosen.

Lockyer Creek has deep banks as you ride south-east from Coominya to Lowood. In flood times, this waterway becomes a raging torrent. But on this mild spring day the water looked delightful.

The trail passes quite close to the road, south of Lowood. The railway engineers elevated it slightly here to avoid flood water. It was uncanny how train-like the riders looked, silently pedalling along the track. I don’t think they had any idea I was watching…

The “train” arrived in Lowood earlier than expected (as trains sometimes do), so we decided to have an early lunch. The busy town was startling after the solitude of the trail.

East of Lowood, the trail follows the Brisbane River. Driving a motor vehicle along the adjacent road, it’s difficult to enjoy the view. One of the delights of trail riding is being able to take your time and soak up the gorgeous scenery.

At this point we left the the rail trail and headed up “into the hills” south of Vernor. The steepness of Ogg Road was a pleasant surprise after 40 km of relative flatness. As always, the views at the top were worth the effort of the climb…

… and the horses were friendly too!

One of the consequences of leaving the rail trail was that the tracks became rougher. In places the grass was quite high, and the only way through was by pushing the bikes.

I eventually caught up with the riders again as they rode up the hill towards Haigslea Cemetery, near Walloon. They had ridden 62 km in about 4.5 hours including an hour of breaks. Total ascent for the ride was about 600 metres.

Becca and Jason had ridden “The Epic” the previous week, and thought this trip was a pleasant change from the rigours of racing. They rated it 5 out of 10 on the tough-o-meter. Darb rates in about 7 out of 10. Eric had mechanical problems and couldn’t finish.

I think this would be a relatively easy ride in either direction for most mountain bikers. Taking advantage of the railway service in Walloon, it would be an ideal start for a multi-day adventure northwards via the rail trail to exciting destinations in the South Burnett or along the Bicentennial National Trail.