Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Deleted member 18083]

Return to the city …

9:05 am; 42.5 km
Brisbane River & Kurilpa Bridge
YELLOW ARROW​

This view of the Kurilpa Bridge across the Brisbane River is from the boardwalk next to the bright orange extension of the Queensland State Library, visible in the next photo: note the mangrove tree in both.

And almost five hours later (spent cycling, slurping coffee, having lunch, taking photos) …

1:40 pm; 98 km
Brisbane River & South Bank
PINK ARROW​

The photos from the Kurilpa Bridge were taken from directly above the CityCat ferry in the first photo. There are also smaller catamaran ferries called KittyCats (what else?).

1:45 pm; 98 km
Kurilpa Bridge & GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art)
GREEN ARROW​

And one more thing… the diversion away from the river was to pick up my long-awaited front bag for the Homage. They're really good people (friendly + expertly competent) at Electric Bikes Brisbane (101 km on the map)… and I don't just say that because they gave me a complimentary fleece jacket (discretely R&M branded) and, who'd have thought this appropriate in times gone by, a matching (complementary!) face mask.

 

[Chargeride]

OK, back to ebiking.
nipped up to the Lakes, the Lake district as its called, about 1 hour 40 mins door to car park, most of it quiet motorway with actual amazing views, so pretty relaxing.
The plan was the Walna Scar bridleway loop, as usual it didnt go to plan, in hindsight I rode it the wrong way and spent a lot of time navigating through pleasant but not exciting forest paths.

.

Bumped into a couple of southerners, cockneys, Landan types, with the full 'awight mhate' accent, they had got lost in their bmw on tiny tracks that really reqd 4x4, they were very pleased to see me and I navigated them out using my viewranger app.
Not before they grilled me about brexit, asked if I 'd taken the vaccine, the started lecturing me with a full spread of conspiracy theories about covid, some with possible legitimacy, most were full on lizard people stuff.
Anyway it was all very jovial, just I would have bet my pension on not meeting two cockney anti vaxxers around the next corner, tbh they strayed into revolution against the state and I'll have to say this is becoming a thing, certainly there is a very strong anti BBC rhetoric everywhere you go in the UK now, who are seen by many as simply the propaganda arm of the government...I'm straying again.

Ended up back on the roads, very twisty and steep with 6ft high stone walls lining the entire route, but broken up constantly with all kinds of style of old bridges in various states of disrepair.
Eventually led to a bridleway that took me towards the high ground, simply incredible that people would put so much effort into building these stone walls, and I have no clue why this double walled path extends so far up the hill.

This is where it all went wrong, I recognised the area from a previous ride and convinced my self of a short cut to the top, a few false starts and I headed up a farmers quad path that just led me to boggy ground, lungs screaming for air and sucked a good 25% out of the battery.
Then I was lost and having the route on an app wasnt helping because every way to it was boggy land, so I soldiered on and ended up descending towards a rather concerning sheer drop, no chance of going back up so I picked my way down zig zagging to safety.

Thats probably the first time I've ever been genuinely concerned and actually considered leaving the bike and climbing down, all was forgotten once I found myself safely back in the valley and a super cute little stone bridge over a stream helped my frazzled nerves, the weather was simply perfect, cloud and sun, around 15 degrees, warm on the face but not enough to overheat you.
I'd replaced all the brake pads before this trip and kept thanking yesterday me for that one.

The otherside of the bridge led to a magical trail through the woods and past an abandoned slate village, that has mostly collapsed and been taken back by nature, what an incredible place to have lived, its probably not that old, maybe less than a hundred years, but crossing the tiny slate bridge and walking around the ruins in complete solitude is probably a cure for half of the mental health issues a person can have.

I returned to the van and drove to the other end of the trail in little village called Torver, that trail gives a much clearer path to the summit and I should have started that way, will return and hope to each the Old man of coniston, which is a diversion of this bridle path, no doubt a footpath, but I'm going to nip up there anyway, because it looks pretty wide and non confrontational.

Sorry if Ive overloaded the forum with large pics, it was still a great day out, was on the bike for three hours and only met that London couple all day, which is OK in my book, when I want it to be a ride that is basically escapism.

Coniston is famous for its lake that was used by Donald Campbell to break many water speed records, until is his death in 1967 after a crash at the lake during a series of runs that peaked at 310mph.

Donald Campbell - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Mulezen]

I really like your report today. I recently read Tim Robinson’s Connemara: Listening to the Wind and love your roaming over an ancient landscape reminding me of it.
My own recent ramblings have been pedestrian though I should post some of them just to earn my admission to the thread.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Quite Excited Because...

I'm planning the last group ride of this Summer for Sunday. There will be 4 e-bikes, 2 trad bikes, and the people will be of both sexes in equal number Four participants will be newbies (including two e-bikers). Something like 60 km over the most beautiful roads of the West Kampinos National Park. It's going be dry, windy, and pretty cold!

A friend of mine "Howard" is to ride my commuter hub-drive e-bike, the Czech Lovelec. For this reason, I collected that e-bike from the storage, prepared for ride, and tested it thoroughly on Friday afternoon. Important to mention, I took no tools or spares for the test ride! (If anything were to break, it would break; nothing did; no flat, either).

I intentionally set the e-bike's speed limiter to 25 km/h. I was again surprised how effortless pedalling of that commuter e-bike was, and how it was maintaining the 25 km/h for almost all the time. (I have to agree to the opinion hub-drive e-bikes form perfect commuters!) Here, a traditional pączek at the Jaktorów bakery/cake shop.

The boring Mazovian landscape, and one of very few gravel roads to be found there. You may be laughing but the stream seen here is classified as a river. River Pisia-Tuczna. (According to the map, it is some stream, not the river though....)

I bought that small Samsonite backpack during our Copenhagen vacation a year before. Now, I got shocked to find out that small backpack could fit a big e-bike battery!

My short test travel was nice and painless. I mainly rode along roads 719 and A2.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A spring outing on the rail trail …

Judging by the length of the zip ties attached to his helmet, I guess the rider on the left must have had some bad experiences with magpies in the past. It's that time of year again!

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Near Esk, Queensland​

Our TOP Cyclists group wore Da Brims and/or bird scarer tape to keep the magpies in their place. They ignored our pathetic attempts. If it's spring, magpies attack cyclists: that's the way things are!

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Near Toogoolawah, Queensland​

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail runs 161 km north from Wulkuraka (close to where we live) to Yarraman. Today ten Tyred Old People rode the 20-km section (both ways, of course!) between the little towns of Esk and Toogoolawah, with refreshment breaks punctuating our exertions before, after and during the ride.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You're getting Spring now, David. I'm jealous!

 

[Chargeride]

Yes...but spiders

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yes...but spiders

Canada gets their bears. We're lucky to live on such a safe continent, aren't we

 

[kahn]

A spring outing on the rail trail …

Judging by the length of the zip-ties attached to his helmet, I guess the rider on the left must have had some bad experiences with magpies in the past. It's that time of year again!

View attachment 100319

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Near Esk, Queensland​

Our TOP Cyclists group wore Da Brims and/or bird scarer tape to keep the magpies in their place. They ignored our pathetic attempts. If it's spring, magpies attack cyclists: that's the way things are!

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Near Toogoolawah, Queensland​

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail runs 161 km north from Wulkuraka (close to where we live) to Yarraman. Today ten Tyred Old People rode the 20-km section (both ways, of course!) between the little towns of Esk and Toogoolawah, with refreshment breaks punctuating our exertions before, after and during the ride.

Love the magpie deflectors. Beam me up, Scottie!!!

 

[kahn]

Canada gets their bears. We're lucky to live on such a safe continent, aren't we

And in a local incident, well, maybe 20 miles away, a bike rider was taken out by a cougar-mountain lion-puma about two years ago.

Actually, there have been two cougars captured (different years) in the local park where I walk a few times a week and bike ride once a week. Rare but it has happened. They speculate that it followed the railroad tracks not far from the park. Initially, no one believed the sitings - it is a big park but in an urban area. Now, I've seen coyotes on my street a few times. Bears, black, not grizzly, are a nuisance in our suburbs, raiding garbage cans.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(Five bikes inside two cars: a station wagon and a large sedan. The morning will be complicated. Unpack and reassemble five bikes... and then there will be the afternoon and evening...)

 

[Chargeride]

I suggest drinking before you try to rebuild them.
It always helps

 

[kahn]

I suggest drinking before you try to rebuild them.
It always helps

Slivovitz would be appropriate.

 

[Chargeride]

I cant even visit the states

 

[Chargeride]

Heres the vid of my failed bridleway attempt..

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Needed a snorkel today...

Went slow because I cowered from the rain in Bryant and Rexville (good burgers!)

 

[Prairie Dog]

Heres the vid of my failed bridleway attempt..

Well done. Wonderful place and no need to scan for bears, just sheep.

 

[kahn]

Heres the vid of my failed bridleway attempt..

Thanks for sharing something that I will only do in the comfort of my computer chair staring at my monitor!

 

[BlackHand]

Needed a snorkel today...

View attachment 100383
View attachment 100384

View attachment 100385

Went slow because I cowered from the rain in Bryant and Rexville (good burgers!)

I had no idea that causeway was rideable up by Anacortes. Looks like it cleared up for the end of your ride - still socked in down here.

We always stop for waffle cones at the vegetable stand there by the end of Best Road when we drive up that way! Always been curious about the general store/deli/gas station further up the road...

 

[kahn]

Wow wall is immense

Now consider the Great Wall of China. No, we did not bike ride on the trip and got out just before Covid.