Ramping It Up

What seems mere days ago is now a very distant Week 6! Here we are, going into Week 9 of the training program. While I am starting to feel the benefits of the program (especially the off-bike strength training) I am starting to feel a little stressed that my gear isn’t sorted. I am still working my way through tyre selection and this can’t be hurried. It is simply time on the trail that is needed there. My hike a bike (HAB) training is going okay but I still haven’t even tried slinging my bike onto my back yet. I have been filling a 35 litre pack with as many bottles of water as I can, which yields me about an 18-19kg load. It hurts after just 5km so I am slightly concerned about a 25kg bike strapped to a makeshift backpack for 35km ......

Last week....er....I mean the week before, Week 7, I managed to get away for a longer, fully loaded overnight trip. The forecast wasn’t looking good with a high chance of showers predicted. Oh well, 90% of success is just showing up as they say, so I pedalled out from home for that old favourite, D’Aguilar National Park. Actually, I was hoping to get through the forest and out onto the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail but my near-lunch time departure put paid to that plan. No, I would just ride as far as I could and camp where I dropped.

The route was one that I had taken many times in my prep for the Tour Divide and it was quickly evident that the Cannondale certainly doesn’t roll anywhere near as nicely as the Muru. I quickly squashed that mental hurdle by reminding myself that the TD bike was built to roll distances of up to 300km a day whereas the AZTR will see me lucky to punch out half that distance per day. Horses for courses.........but the buzzing from the new Rekon and Ikon tyres on the ashphalt kept singing “draggy, dragg, draaagggg” to my mind. Don’t panic though, that tread will come into it’s own on the AZ dirt!

As I finally hit the Gap Creek Reserve dirt the tyres inspired confidence, as I expected they would. I just need to find some rocky trails to thrash them over to test their resilience.

I took the climb up South Boundary Rd a little gingerly as I wanted to save my legs for tomorrow’s ride. No good ripping my legs off on day one, right? As I climbed higher up the hill it began to look much more certainly like rain. Checking the BOM Weather Radar site there wasn’t much showing and anyway, I was out here, with all the gear. There was nothing for it other than to just get on with it.

Once I reached the Boombana picnic area though it was getting prematurely dark and decidedly moist. I was wet, but warm so I pedalled on through Mt Nebo. Neither of the two food outlets were open by this time so I though I would push on to Fernvale, about 2.5 hours away, on the rail trail. Dave Wicks happened to text me as I was sitting in a bus shelter, contemplating my options. When I told him about my plan I received a screen shot of the radar and a “good luck!”  Hmmmm, I might need it!

Entering Dundas Rd, which is the start of the drop off the range the rain started getting heavier. The cloud also descended so that I was riding through a fog with maybe 50m visibility. Great!

I came to an intersection where I knew I had to go left...or was it right? Hmmm, it has been a few years since I have been up here. Shining my light around I spied a new addition to the water tanks on Dundas rd - a bush camp!!

Now a bush camp isn’t much more than a 3 sided shelter with a bench seat but on a dark, rainy night it was a frickin’ Hilton hotel!

While I would have to forgo dinner that night, a dry camp site was much more preferable to a very wet, dark slide off of the range down the appropriately named “Whoa Boy” fire road with it’s 50 odd water bars and 30% grade. Fernvale was a loong way away with no certainty that I would make it before the pub stopped serving food. Yep, squashed Full O Fruit it would be! I quickly set up my hammock and crawled into bed for what would be a 12 hour rest. Heavy rain on a tin roof makes for great sleeping weather!


Next morning, once I eventually dragged my backside out of bed, I quickly packed up. While it wasn't raining at the camp site, the weather radar indicated that there were many heavy showers around, with some of the heaviest heading for the rail trail and my "Plan B" option of riding south to Ipswich.

“Plan C”was hatched. I rode back up Dundas Rd to Mt Nebo rd, then turned off down the Goat Track. It had not been raining up until this point but of course as soon as I started down the Goat track (the wrong way), the heavens opened. I hid under a tree for 10-15 minutes hoping it was just a passing (very heavy) shower but once I was finally soaked I thought “well, I may as well be moving forward as standing here”.

The rate of rainfall was biblical and I could barely see where I was going. Not good on a one-way-downhill dirt road. Imagine my surprise when a woman on a mtb ground up the hill through the tumult! We exchanged a “g’day” and that was it. I took comfort from the fact thst I wasn’t the only lunatic in this neck of the woods........

Once onto the main road the rain eased and had stopped altogether by the time I arrived in Samford. Lucky for me, one of the first places I saw was Spoke cafe’. “They will be understanding” I hopefully told myself. I parked my bike up and wandered in, dripping water all the way. Quickly ordering lest the pool developing underneath me drown a passing child I exited stage right for an outside table. Dripping away I downed a huge hot breakfast and small bucket of coffee. Ahhhh, bliss.....

Where to from here? The answer to that question was home, via the Kedron Brook bikeway, the Gateway Bridge and the regular Gateway Loop that I do with the kids. That would keep me from wrecking my drivetrain in mud but still give me a bit of a workout.

Little did I know......

First up was getting over the small range between Samford and Ferny Hills. Not a big hill but one with no shoulder for much of the way and an unusually high number of incompetent, ignorant drivers. Part way up I remembered there was an old rail grade that had been turned into a bike path, the Lanita Rail Trail. Checking my phone I saw that it was not far from my current precarious position. A few turns up and down some fire breaks and I was dumped out onto this exquisitely sealed bike trail!

Turning right I happily pedalled along for a few kilometres. Until I came to a sign that said “Samford ahead”. WTF?? I had kept the big hill on my left all the time, hadn’t I? Sure enough, looking at my Garmin I was heading West! That is not right!!

With a heavy overcast there was no telling where the sun was and my gut told me I was going the right way but my gut was WRONG! I must admit to being a bit befuddled for 5 minutes afterwards. It is mind-bending to have your picture of reality be sooooo far wrong and in my own backyard so-to-speak.

Grrr. Dickhead!

Anyway, righting my wrong I was soon seeking my way through the ‘burbs to the Kedron Brook bikeway. This bikeway is an excellent East-West corridor for cyclists. All the while Wicks was helpfully texting me screenshots of rain heading my way. What can I say? He is a helpful guy......

True to radar form, I pushed into a headwind with driving rain for the next hour and a half to two hours. It felt like I was crawling but I kept telling myself “this is all good training”.

That was until I was so soaked that I began to feel a little chafing........... you know........chafing. My mind IMMEDIATELY shot to Mick Eyb’s day one account of his Indian Pacific Wheel Race write up where he got soaked then his knicks almost rubbed the end off of his old fella.........causing him days of excruciating pain and embarassment.

Shit no!!! 

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!!!

 I had thoughts of calling my wife to come and get me but the thought of her telling ALL of her office buddies (and no doubt, she would!) that “I have to rescue him because his todger is getting rubbed away” was too much to bear! Even worse than........er worse than........having your todger rubbed away.....!

 So, still about 50km and probably 4 hours from home I adjusted my “position” a lot, stood and pedalled some and just generally dealt with it. I have never been so happy to have a little dick because believe me dear reader, I am sure that is what saved me from a week of unbelievable pain and suffering.......... :0 J

 Grabbing some hot chips and water at the base of the Gateway Bridge climb refreshed me a bit while I set a booby trap, dripping slippery water all over their outdoor eating area.

Things weren’t improving much but I was getting closer to home. 30ish kilometres to go but at least it was mostly protected bike path. But how wrong I was, again.

The pishing rain had swollen Tingalpa Creek to overflowing and as the Tingalpa Creek Bikeway that I was using followed said creek I soon came to an impassable sea of water which hid my route home. Backtracking around this blockage saw me add considerable kilometres to my ride, most of which was on wet, congested, Friday afternoon roads. No fun was had here at all.

 Eventually I reached the safety of Daisy Hill forest. I should have been in a canoe though, not on a bike as the amount of water exiting the forest was frightening!

I knew there were some deep erosion holes in the track in places but it was impossible to see anything with the sometimes almost 2 feet deep water flow!

 I somehow managed to avoid disaster and exited that forest, rolling down the final hill to home.

Boy, was I glad to be home! It had been 8 hours of soaking wet riding. I hadn’t set any speed records despite the decent effort I had put in, which was a little demoralising. I just have to accept this bike is a slow roller but it will come into it’s own on the sandy, dry trails of southern Arizona. Bring on the sunshine!

I still need to get this backpack thing sorted and also sort some minor shoe issues. The backpack thing is really the elephant in the room at the moment and I am thinking perhaps I just mail a pack, hiking poles and walking shoes to the Canyon Post Office and make it easy on myself......

 Cheers and thanks for reading.

One Last Ride To See Out 2015

I had the day off work today so thought I had better put it to good use. No, I didn't mow the lawn. No, I didn't fix one of the two retaining walls that are falling down............Yep, you guessed it, I went for a ride!

I decided that after the year that I have had it needed to be a mini Epic ride and it needed to be on the mighty Muru BNT, the bike that hauled my sorry arse down the length of the US of A with such aplomb.

My go-to ride for something of greater length is to head just a few short kilometres (metric miles) out the back of the city of Brisbane. We are blessed in that the D'Aguilar Forest starts pretty much at Mt Cootha and extends upwards and outwards, covering a huge expanse of land that is riddled with fire roads that make for challenging and fun riding. It was my Tour Divide training ground and served me well, so I decided to start up South Boundary Road out of Gap Creek.

I was running a little behind schedule as I just couldn't get out the door but I managed to get my bum on the seat by 5:42am. I ambled along the bike way toward Gap Creek on the partially loaded Muru. Dozens of roadies whizzed past going the other way. It felt like a Sunday, not a Wednesday.

I was soon in Gap Creek and to the Echidna trail so that I could say that I had done at least one single track. What I noticed while riding Echidna was how much effort the Muru required to get it around the bends and over the step ups. I was already realising that I was really strong earlier this year due to all the Tour Divide training. Now, not so much. I keep despairing at the 12kg (26lb) that I have put on since finishing the Tour Divide in early July. 

I REALLY need a goal to train for next year. Badly...

Anyway, once out of the single track the trail goes up. And up. 1200m(3900ft) over 25km(15mi). This may not look too bad but the climbs are mostly steep pinches which test one's legs at times. 

I always enjoy the last few kilometres to the top as the forest changes from the standard dry Aussie bush to sub tropical rain forest. As I rode into the rainforest today I spied another rider coming the other way. It turned out to be Rients, another Muru BNT owning Brisbanite whom I have been speaking to about all things bike packing for about 18 months now. This was the first time we had actually met and how appropriate that it was on Sth Boundary Rd.

After a short chat Rients rolled on down the hill and I finished up my climb along the Boombana walking trail. Yes, it is a walking trail but I will not ride on the busy, winding main road just above it as I see it as just too dangerous. Every dickhead on a sports bike or sports car are testing their (mostly narrow) limits on the narrow road. No, I will take the verbal abuse about being on the trail from old ladies any day. Plus, it's right purty!

I rolled through Mt Nebo, too early for the shops to be open but it didn't matter. I had all the food and water I would need until I reached Fernvale as the climbing was mostly done now. 

Up and over Hammermeister Rd kept me off the main road for longer and in no time I was at Dundas Rd, the fire road that heads west (and down!) through D'Aguilar Forest.

I saw a couple of dirt bikes near the water tank on Dundas Rd but they were heading down another trail so were no bother. I was soon dropping down "Whoa Boy". This is a very steep section of trail that drops 370m(1213ft) in 3km(1.8mi). Needless to say, the brakes got a great work out down here as the 5000km old front tyre was struggling to do much gripping of the trail!

Rather than drop through the "hippy camp" at the bottom, I wanted to stick to legal trail today and for the first time took the Corbould Pocket trail. It proved to be a mostly pleasant trail...well, apart from the Wall Of Dirt climb. That was a seriously steep push but was over in a few hundred metres.

The ride out to Banks Creek Road was quite steeply downhill and very rutted which necessitated some judicious bouts of hoofing it as well. How embarrassing!

Banks Creek Rd was the usual pleasnat roll. Crossing the Brisbane river I saw many families splashing around in the shallow water. I must say, it did look like an extremely good idea.

I was soon in Fernvale and headed straight into the bakery. No pie for the fat boy today though. A tasty chicken and salad roll washed down with a coffee fit the bill. 

Then it was off down the (unopened) rail trail toward Ipswich. I had ridden this section a few years ago with Deano but it still wasn't officially open and I was worried about what sort of state the surface might be in after 3 years inattention.

A few kilometres down the trail though and I bumped into Peter, the BVRT Ranger! We had a good half hour chat about all things rail-trail and he said I would be fine to ride the closed section. There was one locked section but to just throw my bike over the fence and get on with it.(this section is only closed due to bureaucratic inaction, not any real safety issue) 

So, I did. The trail was very "green" in that there was much grass on it, though, it was slashed and there was quite a bit of loose ballast stone on it. This gave me a bit of a pounding on the rigid Muru but was far better than riding on the roads, even if they were quiet. 

The many gates are mostly locked in the open position which speed things greatly. As I got closer to "the 'swich" the trail "art" became very prolific and sometimes pointed.

I eventually rolled into Ipswich and found the train station but not before crossing a very steep creek snake watering hole.

I was feeling a little worse for wear but I was very happy that all of my contact points were fine after 6 hours in the saddle. 

I have heard stories that many of the Tour Divide racers from this year are still suffering various ailments that limit their riding or enjoyment. I have sort of beat myself  up a bit these past few months, thinking that I could have gone a day or two faster if I had pushed myself a little harder during the race. 

Now, I am not so sure. I have no lasting ill effects (unless you count weight gain) and I am not sure I would be able to say that if I had pushed myself harder....

This ride proved to be a very satisfying way of rounding out what was an amazing year for me. 

2015 started with a huge goal. To train for the Tour Divide and to this end I put my head down and trained hard. It must have been serious as I even abstained from alcohol for the first 7 months of the year and I must admit, I never felt better for it!

Regular readers were no doubt bored with all of the TD related posts but my blog gave me a place to gather my thoughts and lay out a dairy of what I did and when. So thanks for bearing with me on that front. I have been a bit bereft of ideas since then. Well, that isn't strictly correct. Nothing much seems worth blogging about after such a mind blowing year!

My stats for the year were 9,193km (5712mi) ridden with about 133 000m (436 000ft) of climbing. That doesn't count the many hours I sat on a crappy hotel gym bike while away on overnights with work.

So, readers, in the never ending hunt for content (and reigning in my expanding girth) I will be setting a goal for early next year that will give me the structure and thus drive that I seem to have been lacking these last 5 months. Watch this space.....

Happy New Year and see you in 2016!

Cheers and thanks for reading.