The Insane are Running the Asylum

News headlines today:

QANTAS has grounded it's entire domestic and international fleet and will lock out all striking employees from monday night.

Insane? The Walking Kangaroo? Watch this space.......................

All the time in the world

This morning when I woke up I thought it was time for a decent ride. You know the type, where you fill the camelbak to the brim, pack a banana and some gels and you ride wherever you want, at whatever pace you want. So after packing the wife off to work and the kids off to school I sat down with a cup of coffee to contemplate a route.

Generally, heading east from home gives me two main options. Bayview, in Redland Bay or the Eastern Escarpment, which can in turn lead to Bayview if you so desire. But for today I had a hunger to ride the Brisbane South MTB club home track at Karingal. So over the Eastern Escarpment to Karingal it would be. The initial warm up along the West Mt Cotton rd track turned out to be a cobweb clearing exercise. I was literally covered in web and had numerous small arachnids hanging off my bike by the time I broke out onto West Mt Cotton rd. Did I mention how much I hate spiders?
It was warming up by this stage and I was really noticing the humidity today. Summer must finally be on the way. Adding to the thick air along here is the biting aroma of road kill rotting in the sun. There are always numerous wallabies and kangaroos that find themselves the victim of hit and run incidents. My challenge is to hold my breath for long enough to exit this pungent zone.

Turning off the sealed road onto the dirt and as I point my bike up the first real climb it becomes apparent how much rain fell here last week. During the passage of one storm cell, 110mm (4 1/2inches) dumped in under one hour! The trail was scoured clean by the torrent of water that rushed down it. Totally amazing to think of that much water in such a short period in time.

Nearing the top of the first climb, it appears that the mysterious Bunya Lumberjack has paid the Eastern Escarpment a visit, with the log rollover at the top now modified.

The wind had also done it's thing with numerous trees down. The bottom of the climb near the cow shed is blocked by multiple trees that brought each other down during the storm.

With the humid air this morning the view wasn't quite what it usually is, but as I had all the time in the world today there was time for a photo stop.

Up and over the top was the usual tough push. The way down the fire road to Karingal is one of my favourite rides here on the south side. I am not sure why really, just that I enjoy the steep, rocky down hill and the lack of use the trail receives. Today, the trail is totally different as the deluge has caused all the old lines to be washed away and replaced with new ones that need bedding in by having a few wheels over them. Could be a while before that happens.

Dropping in on Karingal is always rewarding. The single track here is well designed and holds up to the elements well. Sunday was a trail care day in preparation for the Karingal 4 hour on the 13th of November and it was nice to ride some of the trail that we had prepped yesterday.

I thought I would keep the eastern escarpment loop theme going by following the back roads across to the Koala bushland in Redlands council area. These are easy flowing fire road through native bush and when in here I always feel like I am a million miles from the city.

Along the regular loop is the pineapple farm. I have always wondered how they got the pineapples to grow in the rocky, barren looking soil around here. Perhaps I wasn't the only one to wonder as it looks like they have given up on the whole deal and let the fields go to ruin.

There are miles of trails in here that make a very nice cross country loop with a bit of technical riding on the badly eroded trails. There are even some creek crossings complete with filthy looking water. After seeing a small terrier floating upside down here several years ago I try my best not to put a foot in. God knows what is down there.

Exiting the koala bushland (without seeing a koala) I head across the road into Daisy Hill for a roll on some singletrack. It is nice to ride in here during the day as the trails seem to belong to me, with nobody else in sight. 

Heading generally for home now I will finish off the ride with my new favourite singletrack link up. Back into Cornubia I start down Stupidly Happy until it intersects with Resurrection. Here I hang a left and head up the hill via Resurrection, onto a brief fire road haul, then down the drop to the start of Wallum Froglet. Minimal fire road and maximum fun! I have to stop for a photo at what I think is a signature section on WF. I love riding this bit in particular, knowing how much work went into creating it.

Back home again for a cold drink and a guess at the temperature. It feels like close to 30 degrees. I am somewhat deflated later when I find out is only about 25! This summer is going to hurt if I insist on riding during the middle of the day. While we may have to resurrect the Friday Fling and opt for the cool of 5am, there is nothing like sneaking out for a leisurely roll by yourself, especially when it feels like you have all the time in the world.

Back on the bike

After what seems like forever, I was finally able to head out into the bush for a ride today. Mr Garmin is telling me it has been three weeks since I last managed the feat and to be honest I was thinking that it was going to hurt. The fitness drops off quickly, as do the technical skills, so to get the tech skills on the mend I started with some easy Cornubia trails, then dropped into Nirvana at Daisy Hill for some further honing. Somewhat surprisingly, the legs weren't rebelling on me at all! They responded at all the appropriate moments when a burst of power was required and I looked after them by not crashing through the shrubbery and cutting them to shreds.

The trails were in surprisingly good condition after the absolute drowning we have had in the last few weeks. Just a puddle here and there where you would expect them, but apart from that, hero dirt everywhere. The wind has taken it's toll on the gum trees though, with several trees down across trails and numerous very large branches re-decorating the bush.

I was just happy to be out pedalling. There is nothing like a good ride to clear the mind and sort the wheat from the chaff of what is important to me. This housekeeping has been missing these last few weeks and it is easy to fall into negativity when I am confined to sitting on my bum for too long.

I almost had the forest to myself as well. The only other traffic I encountered were three overly perfumed "school moms" puffing their way up the Buhot Creek circuit climb. At least they had high visibility pink on and were easy to see. They looked like they had taken a wrong turn on the way to the coffee shop, but good on them for getting outside and having a go!

With the regular Daisy Hill wednesday morning ride tomorrow I did not want to overdo it, so after a short time I headed for home via some sweet Cornubian singletrack. The drop (above) was great training for the mad downhills in the Epic this year. Wallum Froglet is getting better and better as it beds in and definitely left a smile on my face.

Another thing to leave a smile is this great video I found while cruising mountain biking blogs. The trails in the States are just jaw dropping and some of these guys and girls know how to capture the moment. Check out this offering from Chris at Gooney Riders . He is one talented MTBer.

Bring on tomorrow morning!

The Paunch

Currently working on an ever expanding waistline, here in the shadow of Parliment House, Darwin.

Cheers.

Sharing the fun

Late last week instead of the usual after school activities I decided it was time for some more junior cycling action. The venue, right near school, was of course Daisy Hill.

Shut up Legs!!

We tackled the gentler trails of Tunnel of Love and Koala, which the kids enjoyed.

We can't get that Epic number plate off him!

Rock gardens..........................um..................rock?

While we were stopped at the 5 ways for a breather, Flygirl decided to take on the top section of Possum Box for some added thrills. Her conclusion? Next time we do Possum Box too!

With no "offs" it was a great afternoon. The kids had an awesome time (Flygirl didn't want to leave until it got dark) and there is something satisfying for me in seeing how quickly they learn new skills.

In the Beginning

Some times we get wrapped up with the seemingly hectic pace of life here in the 'teens. You can find yourself wondering if "this is it"?
I find it refreshing to remember why I am doing what I am doing and ponder how I got "here". I think back to another century, when things seemed a lot simpler....

1990 and life was good. I had my first flying job that paid actual money. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get by on and to get my first set of two wheels.

I will try to remember these days when I am hauling my backside out of bed at 4-in-the-am tomorrow to do "what I love"........

Christchurch in a Day

With it shaping up to be a wet week here in Brisbane, I had a call from work making me an offer that I found difficult to refuse. The offer went something like this. If I was willing work my next three days off, I would be sent to Christchurch to ferry a 737 back to Melbourne from heavy maintenance. Hmm...that sounds interesting! He went on to explain that due to the way the flights worked out I would need to go over Monday morning to be ready to bring the jet back Tuesday midnight. Who am I not to help out when they are in a bit of a tight pinch? Sure, I can do that for you! Father's day just got even better!

After having Father's day out at O'Reilly's guest house, it was home to pack some gear. Should I take one of my bikes? The weather forecast looked good for the next two days. A quick search of the interwebs and I had found a company in Christchurch that hire quality mountain bikes. An equally quick email to them to secure a bike and it was onto the passengering(paxing) flight without even time to get a response as to whether the bike was booked or not.

Landed in Christchurch and once the accommodation was squared away I was on the phone finalising the hire bike. It would be dropped of at 8:30 the following morning. Sweet. Now time to meet the locals and their beers for a few hours.

Unfortunately, Christchurch has been in the news lately for all of the wrong reasons. The earthquake last September, then the following shake in February had permanently changed this picturesque city. Here and there, random buildings are smashed, leaning or completely gone. Random selection seems to be the theme for most buildings, apart from the churches. For some reason every church I saw had major damage. I don't want to be controversial, but there is some twisted sort of irony at play here.

I jumped on the bike on a cold and foggy morning wearing all of the cycling clothing I had brought with me from home. I was very glad of the Ground Effect spray jacket that kept me warm. That Flash Gordon is becoming an essential piece of cycling kit in cooler climes. Wearing it here, in the Ground Effect home town felt right too.

First up was a cruise past the cordoned off central business district. A very sad sight indeed.

Then it was out to Halswell quarry to the start of the Crocodile track and the climb up onto the Port Hills. I was glad I had my gps with me as the road wasn't looking familiar and with the fog I couldn't see the hills to get my bearings.

But I managed to find the entry point and began to warm up very quickly as the trail leads straight into steep switchback climbs, first through pine forest then out into open sheep paddocks.

Grinding away for quite a while in the fog it was hard to tell if I was making much progress. The sad km/h reading on my gps seemed to be confirming my slow progress when all of a sudden I burst out the top of the fog into brilliant sunshine. I looked back where I had emerged from the fog and was gobsmacked by the scene that greeted me. Looking out across the top of the fog to the snow capped Alps certainly made all that huffing and puffing worthwhile!

The gorse bush was in full bloom and reminded me of wattle tree back home, but the fragrance from the gorse was something that I have never smelled before and seemed much sweeter than wattle.

The trail became very badly eroded and I took the chance to jump off and push. My right hamstring was getting tight and sore from not having the seat on the hire bike in the perfect position so I took a few minutes to get that setting right. Of course setting it up right before I started out would have been the idea, but them thar hills were a callin'.

At the top of this climb (Kennedy's Bush Track) I could look over the hill and down into Lyttelton Harbour which was shrouded in mist, with hints of snow still on the hilltops.

I then made my way along Summit road to the start of the Flying Nun trail. I recall this being one of the best trails in the Port Hills and I was looking forward to seeing how it flowed this time around with me having some more experience at this mountain biking caper under my belt. I wouldn't be disappointed!

There were new sections of track. There were rock gardens. There were berms and switchbacks. There was one BIG smile. Before too long it was over and I was passing the Sign of the Kiwi tea house(or what was left of it after the quakes) and climbing Summit Rd again toward Victoria Park. There were warning signs for blasting and rock rolling everywhere here as the city council get stuck into cleaning up the loose rocks in this area, so it was straight onto the Traverse Track for me. This is a particularly pretty section of trail that crosses more sheep paddock (notice a theme?) with views out across Christchurch on your left.

From here I trundled around Mt Vernon to Rapaki rock. This is the end of the line since the February quake hit. With large, exposed rock outcrops the Summit road and adjacent mountain bike track are either covered in huge boulders or at risk of having them crash down at any moment.

Now I am not normally a party to the "Nanny State" mentality that pervades our modern society, but in this case as work was sponsoring my riding trip and I needed to be in functioning condition later in the evening I complied with the trail closed signs and dropped down the Rapaki Track into the suburbs for some rubbernecking.

After a chilly, long descent to sea level I headed out toward the beach side suburb of Sumner for a first hand look at February's devastation. The first thing you notice is how rough the road is. What was once smooth blacktop is now a torn, twisted patchwork. Nearing Sumner, strategically placed shipping containers act as barricades to catch further rockfalls. Houses met their end here. How they will ever rebuild this area is beyond me.

A stop at Underground Coffee in Sumner for a rest and bite to eat has me pondering the name of the shop as I took in the view across the road.

Time now to mosey back toward the hotel while soaking in the glorious spring weather. High teens and sunshine are perfect riding weather in my book. During the ride back it really becomes apparent how random the damage is with many building seemingly normal, then one will be abandoned with warning notices plastered everywhere. I can't help but feel there are going to be some deep psychological scars carried by the locals here. I know I cringe a little these days when the heavens open in Brisbane, feeling uncomfortable for the people that lost everything in the floods. But, with respect, you can see a flood coming. You can see a cyclone coming. You can see a bushfire coming and prepare yourself, even if it is only slightly. But you cannot see an earthquake coming and the power unleashed is incomprehensible to mere mortals.

All I can do is wish Cantabrians good luck and try to support them by injecting a little coin into the local economy.

Back at the hotel it was just a case of handing the bike back, having a shower, then off to refuel before suiting up for a nights work.

What a great way to start the week.