Letting The Inner Child Free

My newfound enthusiasm for getting on my mountain bike has transcended the crappy weather we have had for the last few weeks here in Brisbane.

On Sunday I got out for a soggy road ride around the Redlands area, kicking a few steep hill demons in the process. Yesterday I jumped on the mountain bike for a wet fire road ride. The Bayview MTBing area is a very weather proof set of trails, being quite rocky for the most part, so quite immune to rainy weather.

Heading out into steady rain isn't something I have done in quite a while. It can be unpleasant if cold and is quite hard on the equipment when mixed with mud. But, to hell with it. I need to get some miles in my legs and it would be interesting to see how the Bayview trails handled the moderate rainfall we have been getting.

The way down was a bitumen road run, sticking to the quiet roads to avoid idiots in cars. It can be very challenging for them to actually drive while you are texting and those pesky cyclists just jump out at you! Still, I was warm and having fun and they didn't get me.

Hitting the dirt it was easy going despite the rain as the fire roads down here are quite well formed with a recent re sheet with crushed rock. This makes for zero mud off road riding. Good for both the drive train and the conscience. It also makes for some bloody good fun flying down hills and tearing through huge puddles like an eight year old.

WOO HOO! 

The area is so green with all of the rain at the moment. You might think I have pumped up the saturation in some of these Go Pro pics, but they are straight off the camera. The Go Pro isn't really known for it's colour or low light qualities but it is the only waterproof camera I have.

YEE....

HAA!

Moving up and over the hill into a bit of single track the heavens opened and the rain really pelted down. I was amazed at the water running along the trail. There was absolutely no drainage with sections 60-70-80 metres long funnelling the water along the trail until it finally found a low point to exit. If it wasn't for the rocky terrain these trails would have been erosion nightmares years ago.

As it is, some simple drainage would help futureproof the trail for years to come. I had planned on wearing my new shoes but as it turned out I was glad I didn't. Using my heel I dug several drainage points on some of the worst sections of the "Vegemite" and "Chicken Run" trails.

It is very simply done and the trail will benefit from it massively. I am not trying to be some type of "trail care hero" but I find it hard to ride a trail these days without a critical eye on it's condition. Some of the fixes required are so easy and take no time at all. If only more people would just have a go. These are "our" trails, despite what the powers that be would have us think. Government is there to serve the people, not the other way around after all...........end rant.

Heading out onto the road again it was a quick pedal to the Mount Cotton shops where a meat pie had my name on it.

Burning my lip on the filling I contemplated my next move. My plan was to chug up over the Eastern Escarpment then on toward home. The access to the EE was in doubt as the Rainforest Gardens was for sale last time I rode through. I wasn't sure if the way would be open (I sound like a Hobbit there...) and it is a large back track if it was closed.

So, the easy way home it would be. At least I managed another 30km and reminded myself of some of the good AND bad things about riding in the rain. All good training for a potential ride in changeable Victoria.

Cheers and thanks for reading.

More Diggings And New Clogs

Well, Saturday morning dawned cool, with blue skies over Cornubia. Perrrfect conditions for trail building.

The council had come to the party during the week with about 3 cubic metres of clay laced blue metal and the same of rock, so it was to be a morning of fitting berms to the already constructed benching.

The guys jumped straight into it and we managed to move most of the material by about 8:30am! Mountain bikers are fit buggers and make short work of this type of job. I think we would give paid labourers a run for their money! Enthusiasm sure makes a difference.

I had set the Go Pro up on a tree with the Gorilla Pod and took about half a bajillion photos of the guys building the first berm. While trying to stitch these together into a stop motion video my computer somehow managed to dump most of the shots so that all I was left with was 40 or so photos of Tom putting the finishing touch on the berm. It was a shame because I had the guys from the first rock until it was absolutely complete, all in focus, clear and at a cool angle. Bugger!

We managed to beat the rain with showers beginning to pass over during the last twenty minutes. With no new benching to erode, the rain would simply pack down the new berms. The "flow" of this trail build is making it an absolute pleasure to turn up at 6am each Saturday. I think the others are feeling it as well because there is an under-current of quiet excitement about where this trail is going, both physically and metaphorically.

 We retreated to the shelter, downed a few sausage sandwiches and admired with quiet satisfaction the bare spot where a few hours previously 4 tonne of rock had sat.

We are trying to come up with a new name for this section of the trail. As such, we are open to suggestions. Keep in mind that the trail it links onto is called "Resurrection". Some of the other names here are "Stupidly Happy", "Wallum Froglet" and "Jigsaw". Feel free to offer any thoughts as they will all go into a vote as we near completion, with the most popular name being assigned after approval by "the powers that be".

The trail already feels at one with it's environment.....