Brisbane, Cycling

Bunyaville 3 – Neil Nil

by NeilEnnis 19 September 2009 1 Comment Shortlink

I went over the handlebars three times today.

After Crash #1
After Crash #1
After Crash #2
Harrison and Neil
after Crash #2
After Crash #3
After Crash #3

 

Thankfully I was with Simon & Sam, Steve G, Steve B and Harrison, so there were plenty of people to look out for me (and laugh).

We paid a visit to Bunyaville State Forest at Albany Creek to try our skills on the mountain bike trails there.  They’re amazing.  Miles and miles of dirt tracks with wierd names like “Nut Cracker”, “Psycho”, “Jurassic”, “Carnage”. 

I thought to myself “Why do they have such strange names?” 

Now I know.

CIMG0395
Simon and Sam
19092009287
Steve G (right) fixes Harrison’s saddle

The first time over the handlebars, I used the front brakes too much.

The second time over the handlebars, I think I didn’t learn my lesson well enough from the first time, and used the front brakes too much.

The third time I couldn’t get up.  Some sadist had put a hidden pothole in the track, and my front wheel found it as accurately as a guided missile.  My helmet hit the ground with a horrible thud, and I saw stars.  I’m really glad Steve G was able to haul me up on my feet.

Now every inch of my body hurts.

I have a black eye, skinned knees, grazed chin, cut nose, bleeding forearms, horrible looking shoulder, and numerous bruises.

But it was a hoot!  I had a great time.

Everyone (except me) rode really well and safely. I was really proud of Harrison too. For a nine year old he did really well on a tough ride. And Sam did amazingly well too considering he was on a BMX not a mountain bike.

And, unless I die first, I’ll be out again tomorrow morning trying my skills against another (easier) trail.

Thanks to Simon and Steve B for the photos, and thanks to Steve G for the map data.

Cycling, Places

Lake Samsonvale

by NeilEnnis 18 September 2009 No Comments Shortlink

I’ve been living here over ten years, and I’ve only just started appreciating the fact that there are two lakes, one river, numerous parks, and miles of tracks within a ten minute bike ride from my front door. Here’s some pics I took during my ride near Lake Samsonvale this morning.

Lake Samsonvale via MTBLake Samsonvale via MTBLake Samsonvale via MTB

Here’s a link to the data from the ride at sports tracker and below is a map of where I went.  The first couple of km got chopped off because I forgot to turn the GPS on 🙂

Cycling

Cycling by the Lake

by NeilEnnis 16 September 2009 No Comments Shortlink

Lake KurwongbaTracks at Lake Kurwongba

I took a few photos of Lake Kurwongbah while I was out cycling this morning.

I’m aiming to find a one hour circuit that is mostly dirt trails, parks and bike paths. I think this is about the closest I’ve come to it. It’s about 95% off-road, which is great! I thought the things to watch out for on the roads were cars, but this morning an agressive magpie smacked me in the side of the helmet. Luckily he bounced off 🙂

I’ve included a map of the trail below.  And here’s a profile of the trail showing my speed and altitude.  This one has a lot of hills, which is why the average speed is a lot lower than some of the other routes I’ve taken.

Cycling, Lawnton, Life

On yer bike!

by NeilEnnis 5 September 2009 No Comments Shortlink

I took Steve and Harrison on a bike ride this morning, along the North Pine River, up to Lake Samsonvale, and then back along the North Pine River.

It was a hoot! A little bit slower than normal, because Harrison is only 9 and his bike is a bit worse for wear. But it was fun all the same.

And I got to try out a new program for my Nokia N95 mobile phone. Nokia Sports Tracker Uses the inbuilt GPS on the phone to record speed and height info. While you’re cycling, your N95 acts like a speedo, and odometer, showing you all the vital stats. But when you get home, you click the button, and upload the data to sports tracker.

The really cool thing is that if you take any photos with the phone on your journey, it will upload and geotag them.

So the map on the left here is where we went. You can drag and zoom it if you want more detail.

But the fun part is that the data is also uploaded to the Sportstracker community. Here’s a link to the data for our ride today. If you tick the “altitude” box, you can see every hill, and how fast we were going.

The thing I like most about this technology is that it adds to the fun of getting out and exercising. At times I’ve found it hard to overcome my inertia to regularly exercise. In regards to exercise, if it makes me think “Oh yeah! I want to do that again!” then I think it’s a great thing.

Oh – and you can use Sports Tracker for running, walking, skiing, rowing – whatever floats your boat.

P.S. I’ve ordered a mounting bracket to attach my phone to my handlebars. Till that arrives, I’m using some of Lilly’s hair ties 🙂

History, Life

WW2 – 70 years ago today

by NeilEnnis 1 September 2009 3 Comments Shortlink

I feel like a midget standing beside giants when I think of the people who lived through the six years of World War Two.

It started 70 years ago today.

I’ve never fought in a war. No one has ever dropped a bomb on my house. None of my immediate family has ever been killed or injured in an armed conflict. I’ve never had to contend with the idea that a foreign power wanted to invade my country. I’ve never lived through rationing. I’ve never had to go into a bomb shelter.

To all you wonderful people who endured all of this and more, thank you.

Thanks for not giving up, for hoping, for enduring.

We live in a better world today because of you.

Postcards

Reading someone else’s mail from 1907

by NeilEnnis 31 August 2009 No Comments Shortlink

The Grave(Reverse)nant-y-glyn(Reverse)

In 1907, someone who we only know as “L” visited Colwyn Bay in wales and sent a postcard of a grave to “Miss Banfield” in Herefordshire.

A couple of years later, “L” visited Colwyn Bay again, and sent another postcard to Miss Banfield.  This time it was of a wooded roadway in country Wales.

A hundred years later, these postcards turned up at the markets in suburban Brisbane, and my mum, who knows I love postcards, bought them for me.

So we can now read these brief personal messages between these two people, both of whom are probably long dead.

This inspires me to keep sending postcards to the furthest reaches of the planet.  Who knows, one or two of them might outlive me, and someone in a century might be wondering who “Neil” was and why he sent such wierd postcards!

By the way, if you want to read what “L wrote to Miss Banfield, just click on one of the images above.  I managed to transcribe it.

The GraveNant-y-Glyn