Word Verification Turned Off

Thursday, February 16

Blogger has changed the word verification feature.  The problem … these ‘supposed’ words can be far more difficult to decipher.  (Usually worse than the ones in the screenshot to the right.)

I’ve turned off the feature on this blog and will monitor what happens with the spam comments.  If I start getting a whole bunch of them, I may revert to comment moderation in lieu of the word verification.   In the meantime, I’ve read a few comments on other blogs where some have noted that they aren’t sure how to remove word verification.  Here are the ‘how to’ steps — if you are using Blogger’s new interface, you will have to temporarily revert to the old interface first.

• Open your blog in your dashboard; I do it by clicking Design as shown below

• On the far right of the dashboard, click the gear icon; select Old Blogger Interface

  Once you see the old Blogger dashboard:

• Click the Settings link

• From the second row of tabs, click the Comments link

• Scroll down and find Show Word Verification for Comments? and select the No radio button

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save Settings button

That’s all there is to it.   And if you want to revert back to the new interface, you can easily do so by clicking the ‘Try the Updated Blogger Interface’ link at the top of the Old Blogger dashboard.

Thank you QR

A short time after finishing my previous post, I discovered that my planned tour wasn't going to happen. It seems QR had once again made a complete mess of their scheduled timetable, and I didn't really see the benefit if "expected delays" and loading my bike on and off a bus as well as a train for a three day tour. This "track maintenance" between Brisbane and Beenleigh has now being going on sporadically for over 12 months. If the situation with the track is really that dire, perhaps they should just close the whole line down for four weeks or so and just fix it properly, rather than continuing to mess people around indefinitely.
As it was, I was left with the option of heading south for Minyon Falls for the long weekend. I did just that, heading south down the Tweed Coast and onto Mullumbimby. This was all familiar territory, but I hadn't ridden it fully-loaded before. I suddenly realised just how tough that climb can be in temperatures of 34 C when carrying a full touring load.



As it was, the temperature dropped substantially on the western side of the ridge. Now I was climbing and descending every couple of kilometres through some spectacular scenery. I am, of course, familiar with this part of the world, but it was a climb into the unknown when I hit the climb to Minyon Falls. The first kilometre was the steepest section, followed by a levelling, a pause at a small cafe for a mango smoothie, and the final assault on the dirt.

Along the way I'd talked with one of the locals in the cafe who informed me that feeding magpies is a useful way of preventing them from attacking. I'll keep that in mind for the next magpie season in a little over six months' time. I reached Minyon Falls to learn that there was no water coming over the cliff. Quite surprising given the greenery of the surrounding area, and the storm that had been through the previous day. It also really highlights the extent of the drought facing Eastern Australia, that a normally massive waterfall would be reduced to nothing in the middle of the wet season.

I passed right by the camping ground, and headed straight for the climb of Peates Mountain on the dirt through the rainforest, aiming to see what the views were like. The dirt got rougher and steeper nearer the summit, so I hid my touring gear in the bush down a fire trail and continued on unladen. If the climb could up the stakes, so could I. I crested the summit at around 640 metres to find that there were no views as it was heavily forested. I did, however, take note of another track apparently leading to the Huonbrook Valley near Mullumbimby. That could be an interesting project one day.

Eventually I decided to return to the actual campground rather than try "freecamping" in the forest. The campground here has something that every paid campground in the country should have -- a special area reserved only for "walk-in" campers. What it means is that idiots who come along and play crap music on car stereos can't go there and disturb the people who actually want to enjoy the outdoors. I spent most of the evening chatting with a camper who has done some cycle-touring in Northern Australia (most of mine has been in the south of the country). The idea of cycling Cape York one day is growing on me.

I awoke the next morning to find pretty much everything saturated. It rained for most of the night, quite heavily at times. My tent managed to leak like a sieve, so I need to get that resolved. For a while the creek flowed and gave me some hope of seeing something coming over the falls. Unfortunately most of it had gone by morning.

The rain had managed to keep me awake most of the night, but it's amazing how much more relaxing it is to be kept awake by rain, thunder, lightning and surprisingly loud frogs, rather than screeching tyres, heat and fighting yobbos which seems to be the norm back on the Gold Coast. The ride out was spectacular at times.


Before long I had descended the mountain, and was detouring through various villages in the northern vicinity of Lismore. Much of the area had sweeping views or exotic forests similar to those around Mullumbimby, but around every corner there seemed to be something different.

The problem for me was that the heat was now rising to ridiculous levels. I figured that once I reached Lismore I might be able to find a way to keep myself occupied until the heat dissipated enough to ride in again. There were two problems with that. Firstly, Lismore wasn't a particularly interesting place, and secondly, the heat was showing no sign of slowing down. When it reached 40 degrees C, I basically gave up on waiting and decided to just ride anyway. I did, however, visit an open-air cathedral in Bexhill, about 10km before Lismore, which was more interesting than anything in Lismore.

One thing that did happen in Lismore was that I encountered someone who was apparently down on his luck, and needed change for bus fare to Ballina to start a new life. I figured I wouldn't miss a few dollars, and decided to help him out. He said all he had to give me in return was the Lord's blessing. A southerly change would have been all the blessing I needed in the heat. I rode out through Rock Valley, and contemplated camping near Rock Valley Hall, before pressing on gingerly. The Hall wasn't really secluded enough from the road, and offered little shade for someone dying in the heat.
20km later I reached Cawongla. There was more disappointment here, nowhere to camp, and a sign misleadingly claiming the local store was open. It was now 14km to Kyogle, over the MacKellar Range. In my favour, however, was the fact that light was fading, and consequently, the temperature had eased slightly. My lights could help me out if it got dark, I could make it. I seemed to feel better climbing the range and descending the other side.

Kyogle wasn't really what I wanted -- the one eatery that was still open in town advertised pasta but didn't sell it. It was, however, a comfortable enough place to spend the night. I didn't bother putting up the fly on my tent. It was far too hot, and I figured if it rained I'd be better off just getting wet in those conditions. Lo and behold, during the night the southerly change did arrive, and things cooled down considerably. Was it Karma, or just coincidence?
The next morning was a return to the familiar ride from Kyogle to the Gold Coast over the MacKellar and Nightcap ranges, through the Tweed Valley, Urliup and back to the coast. 119km. Simple really. It was a hazy, overcast morning, which seemed to give the early mountains an eerie quality all of their own (not to mention lower the temperatures considerably on yesterday). I love riding this route, it was in the closing stages of my first "long" tour in 2000, and has concluded many other big rides since then.


A few instances of abuse after Murwillumbah highlighted what I was coming home to. Fortunately I hadn't really been away long enough to be "softened" this time. As it was, the rainforest and the dirt road of Urliup (look in the archives if you want a picture of that) kept me away from it for a while. I don't know how much longer that will be the case, given that the Tweed Shire Council have some irrational desire to seal/pave Urliup Road, but for now I'm grateful for it once more.
My legs were just about shot when I returned home, but I can live with that. I will, however, need to reconsider whether this particular long weekend is the best time for cycle touring in this area. The summer heat is just brutal, and while I survived this time, the cooler times of the year are much easier to deal with. The volume of water that I've been continuing to drink since returning some seven hours ago is testament to that. I'll write some more concluding thoughts later, right now, I need some sleep.

Samuel Johnson and Me

Reading James Boswell's Life of Johnson is on my bucket list. I hope to start it this fall. Here's a photo taken at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Shop in London where Mr. Johnson and I hung out one afternoon. That's him in the painting. This pub was also a favorite hangout of Charles Dickens.
Wouldn't you have liked to have been a barmaid and listen in on the conversation around the table when these literary giants came in for a pint?

They're Down There...

...like little trolls in the garage, drinking beer and eating chips after a night ride in 20 degree weather.
I can handle the cold, but not this 2o degree crazy california weather at night time on a bike.
And I like hot tea after my cold rides.
Them men folk are crazy.

Drookit

The rain-washed view from the top deck of a number 23 bus today, ploughing through streets like rivers in the centre of Edinburgh. Torrential summer rain, rivers in spate, and tourists crowding into the newly re-opened and blessedly free Royal Museum of Scotland to combine entertainment and shelter. We are all drookit (soaked).
Below, the Royal Mile at 10.30 am. This week, at the height of the Edinburgh International Festival, it should be busy with strolling tourists.

Another hazy bus-top photo, below: the splendidly kilted concierge of the Missoni Hotel on George IV Bridge hails a taxi.

What else to do in such weather but draw the curtains in the evening and immerse in summer reading? You'll detect a common rural theme. No Scottish titles among them, but I do have a title closer to home to recommend in a future post.

The Fruit Loop

Peaches, pears, and apples - oh my! With white and gray, non-threatening clouds leading us through the Columbia River Gorge, we eventually shed the rocky gray walls and low-hanging clouds to find a stunning, sun-shiny day in Hood River County. For years, I wanted to travel the Fruit Loop Route around Hood River during the peak season. Today we finally did it.

First stop, Visitor Info Center to pick up a Fruit Loop map. Then we were on our way into Hood River Valley. First stop: photo op of dramatic Mt. Hood peeking out from behind the clouds, but keeping its top firmly planted in a cloud cap.

Mt. Hood showing off fresh snow.

The rental SUV - a Ford Escape.

Pearl's orchard was our first stop where we took a look at all the apples hanging on the trees. We found Elberta freestone peaches and bought a box of 16. Samples of different types of pears were on the cutting board and we tasted our way through those. Bartletts had the sweetest flavor. We bought peaches, Honey Crisp apples, and honey.

Pearl's store.

Apples ready for harvest.

About two miles down the road, our next stop was The Gorge White House with fields of flowers in bloom. They not only had a flower patch, but we also saw ever-bearing strawberries almost ready to pick. We were told they would have strawberries for sale until the first frost. In the house proper a local artist had his works on display. We thought he was superb. Next to the house was a farm store selling apples, pears, peaches, pear syrup, Pinot Noir Chocolate Truffle Sauce (oh yummy) and various preserves.

The Gorge White House

Beautiful signage.

Dahlia photo courtesy of my son, Mike.

Echinacea purpurea Ruby Giant

Mike amongst the dahlias.

Jan (sister) enjoying the pretty flowers.

Wow - Mike captured this beautifully.

Me dallying in the dahlias.

Mike spotted this frog trying to get out of our way and snapped a photo. Looks like a tree frog.

Massive sunflower (photo by Mike G.)

A field of sunflowers.

Hood River Valley at midday.

Guess I won't park here!

Sauces, syrups, preserves and honey.

Off we went for cider at Fox Tail Cider. I had cold, fresh apple cider, Jan had hot apple cider and Mike ordered an apple/peach hard cider. We stopped briefly in an apple harvesting museum. The most interesting find was an antique Fageol tractor. Other than that, this stop was a bust.





At the alpaca farm, cuteness ruled. Alpaca food was 25 cents for a small cup. Our popularity soared as soon as the alpacas heard the food coming out of the machines.

This was all the rage at Paris Fashion Week.

Lunch time.

This alpaca didn't want just what was in my hand, it wanted the cup too!

Sweet baby alpaca (photo by Mike G.)

Mike with an alpaca.

Love this photo!

Alpaca kids.

The alpaca kids above just finished chasing a squirrel out of their pasture. In unison, they all turned to look up at us. What were they thinking?

For Karen Pfundtner, check out the loom below and the skeins of alpaca wool.



Packer Orchards & Bakery, our next stop was a true find and a gem. If you are ever doing the Fruit Loop Tour don't miss a stop here! When you walk into their showroom, you see bins filled with cookies and on top of the bins are free samples of the cookies in the bins. My, oh my. I'll tell you what, that is the best marketing ever. People were falling all over themselves snapping up cookies. The cookie samples move those cookies right up to the cash register.

Packer Orchard & Bakery.

Convenient bags for purchase are on top
of the bins along with cookie samples.

Mike chooses pumpkin chocolate chip.

When we finished buying our bounty of cookies, we headed back to Pearl's for more fruit: Bartlett pears and another box of peaches.

All that cookie tasting was making us hungry so we went into historic downtown Hood River and found a cafe where we had a delicious lunch. Mike had a meat loaf sandwich, I opted for a turkey Reuben with side salad, my sister had a French dip sandwich, and Mom had a half turkey deli sandwich with side salad. All of us enjoyed our meals

Today's blog will be continued in Part 2 - The Columbia River Gorge.