Category: South East Qld

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, 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 🙂

Brisbane, Southbank

Fun at Southbank Parklands

by NeilEnnis 8 June 2009 No Comments Shortlink

We had a wonderful day at Southbank Parklands yesterday.

After checking out the “Machines of Da Vinci” exhibition, we headed down to Chez Laila to enjoy some fantastic Lebanese food, and thick, muddy Lebanese coffee. I thought I might have seen a young Ozzy Osborne there.

Then we hopped on the huge Ferris Wheel, the “Wheel of Brisbane” as the sun was going down. The view was spectacular, and we all agreed that Brissie is a much prettier city than we give her credit for.

Afterwards we went to the free comedy concert at the Piazza and watched The Kransky Sisters, Tripod plus a host of other comedians debating whether or not Queenslanders have more cause than other Australians to be happy. (Of course we do!)

Incidentally, the Kranskys are hilarious. Check out their website if you haven’t heard of them. Tripod are so funny you forget how talented they are as musicians.

All in all, a fantastic day! I hope we have many more days like this.

Liz loves Ferris Wheels Brisbane River & Ferry The Wheel of Brisbane Brisbane River Brisbane River & Ready to go
Getting Ready for the Ferris Wheel Lebanese Coffee Ozzy Osborne as a 6 year old girl Mona Lizzie Da Vinci's Parachute

Children, Kids, Lawnton

Fun with genetics

by NeilEnnis 17 May 2009 No Comments Shortlink


Party sparklers on steroids. Lawnton on a Saturday night 🙂 – 12seconds.tv

“What’s a sparkler bomb got to do with genetics”, you ask.

Towards the end, after the “sparkles” there’s a whispery high pitched laugh, a bit like “Mutley” on 70’s cartoon “Whacky Races”. That’s me. But what’s wierd is it’s how my Dad laughs too, especially at something “Naughty”. I’m sure if he had popped over here last night, we both would have been laughing like this!

I love Dad, so it’s always fun to discover something else I have in common with him.

Oh, and by the way, well done on the fireworks boys! The neighbors probably think we’re forcing down the price of real estate in the area, but you demonstratred a good grasp of physics and chemistry to pull off such a spectacular display.


Part time models – Youtube

And Jonno, my son, I’m really proud of your most recent bass guitar performance on this video. Nice to know we share some music genes, although yours seem to have mutated from Jazz into Heavy Metal.

I should mention that your bass guitar broke shortly before this performance, so you were playing on a totally unfamiliar instrument.

Well done mate.

Genetics can be nightmarish at times, but I think these two videos demonstrate that it can be fun too!