You may recall that I got yummalicious yoghund for my birthday at the park! Well... after din-din tonight, I got more peanut butter yoghund! A whole carton of it! Scrumptious! I am focused!
Staring at Dad who's about to serve me the delectable treat of all treats! Can't wait!
He starts me out with a bit and then...
lets me have at it!!!!!
Until it's all... GONE.... whimper! Oh how I love National Ice Cream Day!
Last weekend I had to confess myself slightly disappointed at the rather poor second half produced by Gold Coast United in Brisbane on Friday night. There was nothing for it other than to get on the bike and find a decent ride somewhere. I set off on Sunday morning for the old fashioned Springbrook/Numinbah/Tomewin circuit. The start was a little slower than I normally like, and I wasn't sure whether that was lethargy or just an early morning westerly wind. Either way, the climb toward Salmons Saddle at Springbrook soon shook that loose.
I was far more concerned with the potentially treacherous descent on the other side. I have ridden up Pine Creek Road a few times and measured 24% gradients there. This sort of thing tends to make one slightly nervous about descending the road -- especially in view of the fact that I hadn't done it since the infamous crash back in July. As it was, the disc brakes on the Salsa Vaya worked beautifully and gave me another of those "what the hell are you worrying about?" moments when I reached the bottom, turned south, and set out on the next part of the ride.
Why did every motor-cyclist on the Gold Coast want to share my ride today? It's enough to make you think disparaging thoughts about people who are too poor to afford a Harley (i.e. all of them) but still want to be "bad dudes". The ride through the southern part of Numinbah valley is indeed, beautiful, but these guys made it a lot noisier than it might have been the day before. A couple of them also saw fit to pass right in the middle of corners on the descent from Numinbah Gap -- again I can thank my disc brakes for making a potentially tricky situation into an easy one. Somewhere near Chillingham I got a little tired of the noise, and decided to head for a dirt road that I've eyed off for a while.
I knew Settlement Road would be quiet. As it was, I didn't see another human along the way. What I didn't realise what just how lovely the switchback dirt road that snaked it's way though Springbrook's southern foothills would be. The forest here was pretty dense for the most part, but it occasionally gave way to some really stunning views. After climbing for a few kilometres, the road deteriorated as it went past a fence line, and I decided to call off the chase here -- but only after admiring the view toward Mt Hobwee and Bald Mountain.
After this, there isn't a lot to tell. The Harley wannabes virtually disappeared after I passed Chillingham (apart from one lot at Crystal Creek). The only thing noticeable out here was the north-easterly wind that had replaced the south-westerly that started the day. Oh well, this bike tends to cope with headwinds better than any other I've had previously, and I still had Tomewin to throw at it. The climb over Tomewin was quite enjoyable, and almost rejuvenating. It left me with plenty of energy for finishing off the ride home, and another 130km racked up.
Another great ride was had. I also now have something to look forward to on the horizon, but I'll reveal that in another post.
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| Hambleton Old Hall |
We may have lost our school, post office, butcher's shop, grocery shop, cobbler and church, but our tiny village still has a pub, a village hall and a blacksmith! 
In 1908 a blacksmith fresh out of his apprenticeship set up in business at the far end of the village. Horses from the nearby villages were brought to the premises for shoeing, and the blacksmith would also travel to several other local villages which had small forges. 
In 1936 they moved the business up to this end of the road. The main business was shoeing horses but they also made and repaired cartwheels in conjunction with the carpenter. I have heard it said that the carpenter also used to make coffins, on the top floor of the black corrugated building. When the coffin was ready to be loaded it would be discreetly loaded down a chute onto the back of a wagon!
To this day a member of the same family is still active making weather vanes, wrought iron gates and commissioned works.
His sheep friends have been taken away because the farmer doesn't want any more accidents. So poor Arnold is on his own again. |
| See Bennie having a wash as Arnold prepares to frisk my pockets for some more carrot or apple! |
The Scottish countryside - safely fenced off. Actually this is at a lay-by, and the netting has been installed so that the less considerate motorists, of which Scotland has a few, don't merrily fling their picnic debris into the adjoining fields. All the same, it's a bit frustrating if you want to capture the rural scene beyond when every lay-by on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen road is fenced off like this. But with a bit of fiddling, while teenagers groan 'Muuuum' in the car, the netting can be bypassed.
This is looking towards the Mearns hills. I'm not sure what the turreted mansion is. (Edited to say it's probably a church)
One of the things I love about cycling is the opportunity to experience things we often take for granted in all their glory. Yesterday I got my little side-trip to The Spit in the morning -- it was pleasant enough, but I still wanted more, so I got ambitious. Last night I went ahead and made today's lunch, storing it in the fridge, and did a couple of other things aiming at shaving about 15 minutes off my "getting ready for work" time this morning.
Off at 4.15am for an extra jaunt out to Hinze Dam. Normally I only do that ride after work, because I'm not quite so pressed for time then. To do it before work might have been a risk, if you can call getting home a few minutes late a risk! It didn't take me long to forget about the time concerns and just enjoy the beauty of the ride. First there was the fog around Carrara that had rolled in the night before, at around the same time I escaped from the (fortunately not very thick) smoke around the coast in the morning. I've seen this fog before, but it just seemed especially thick this morning. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared again.
Westward through Nerang, then climbing to Advancetown, marvelling in the fresh morning air, and the slight glow toward the east -- also the sheer number of stars visible from beyond the city limits! Of course, the ride across the Hinze Dam wall is always pleasant, overlooking the water with the mountains in the background. The temperature out here was 7 degrees Celcius, which is just beautiful! There is something decidedly special about rugging up in those temperatures, and feeling really alive!
Toward the East, a whole new day was beginning. As the road twisted, climbed and descended all at once toward Gilston, the glow got bigger. By Mudgeeraba I could turn the lights off, and even Robina was bearable in those conditions. I even made it home by the 6am return which I normally set for the pre-dawn rides. Now that I hadn't expected. All the preparation last night turned out to be unnecessary!
Of course, we still have to go to work, to be a cog in a big machine for eight hours, with an hour in between to catch our collective breath. The day finished in frustration, seems the fax I was trying to send to a client didn't want to go. It wasn't prudent to attempt to telephone them, they are in the UK, and there is a time difference. No e-mail address for them either. Oh well, it can wait until Monday.
Tomorrow morning at 4.15am I do it all again with Martin. Not Hinze Dam this time, Austinville. There is actually something in that particular patch of rainforest that I have a slight reaction to at this time of the year -- my arms start to itch. It doesn't seem to apply to other patches of rainforest, such as Urliup last Sunday. Mind you, with scenery like this around, it's almost worth it!
