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Life Cycle

  • The calm after the storm



    It is very rare that I write about mid week rides on this blog these days. It seems I can't write anything without adding a picture, and I often don't bother to carry the camera on a quick 45km jaunt before work. For all that, however, I [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 5:09am EST

  • Le tour de Tomewin



    Believe it or not, I didn't ride last weekend. I had a nasty chest infection that effectively put paid to any riding plans I had. As bad as that was, it has now given me a chance to catch up on a few blog entries that I' [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 5:55am EST

  • Back to the mountains



    Last Saturday I made good on my promise to return to the mountains as quickly as possible. I had also hoped for a little rain, but I would have to wait another day for that. Still, the temperature did cool a little when I reached the higher [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 5:00am EST

  • Round two



    Saturday was round two of my annual war against summer. I decided on a long ride in the Byron Hinterland in Northern New South Wales. I was hoping for 200km, but ultimately ended up with 193km. That said, considering the state in which I finished the ride, [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 6:40am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    This week's award goes to Frank Farina, former coach of the Brisbane Roar football (or "soccer" as it's known to the uncultured) club. If it wasn't bad enough that he was done for drunk driving on the way to training for the second time in' [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 6:46am EDT

  • The impostor!



    Around 80km to the south of here is a dirt road climbing over a range that passes through Mt Jerusalem National Park. This climb is quite steep in places (particularly from the north side), so much so that for a long time I actually mistook it [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 6:47am EDT

  • Awesome!

    Last night I capped off what had been an awesome weekend by seeing another live show from Sarah Blasko in Brisbane. I've written a number of posts here talking about her music in the past, but as a live performer she is something else. It's very rare to go to [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 6:54am EDT

  • Round one



    Summer has now officially commenced, with the first hot ride of the season coming about two days into it. Saturday was as hot as promised, and may have been a few degrees warmer than the predicted 33, but as long as there are mountains out there [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 7:02am EDT

  • 33

    A few things seem to be going unnoticed lately. I quietly returned from Western Australia last Sunday, and I quietly had a birthday yesterday. Apparently 33 is supposed to be the start of mid-life crisis in a man (so I've heard somewhere), but as a cynical Gen-Xer, I expect I'll [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 6:21am EDT

  • Time to go again

    Finally! It's here! Saturday morning I leave for Western Australia, and three weeks of cycletouring. As a result, this blog now goes on hold for three weeks or so (until I get back and have something to write about). Those who want to follow my tour can do so [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 7:43am EDT

  • Summer has returned



    This week summer has returned, and will probably hang around for another eight months or so. Sunday's ride hit 33 degrees C, despite the fact that it's supposed to "officially" be "winter". I had set out on a ride through the northern end of the Tweed [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 7:20am EDT

  • Yesterday morning I ...



    Yesterday morning I decided to take out The Blonde Assassin for some action on the dirt. The venue was going to be the old horse trail somewhere behind Mudgeeraba. It actually turned out to be an extremely beautiful morning -- before the heat set in. Most [...]
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    Posted: August 23, 2009, 4:30am EDT

  • The destruction of Tomewin



    Hard to believe that it's almost two weeks since I produced what will probably go down as my most devastating performance of the year. It was earlier this month that the 200k randonee in the Tweed Valley was held. It was an a-typical August day in' [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 7:32am EDT

  • Going to hell



    One of these days I promise to actually get a post uploaded right away. It won't be today however. In this case, I'm around nine days late in documenting what was one of the best rides of the year -- to a place called Hell's Hole,' [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 7:00am EDT

  • Cop that!



    I am now officially "back" after a bout of bronchitis followed by a "recovery" time that was longer than I had hoped. I did manage a couple of rides last weekend (which I will write about when I get a few spare minutes), but I had [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 7:16am EDT

  • The arch



    I have to be honest and say that being sick totally sucks. I have basically done NOTHING for the last five days because of a nasty case of bronchitis according to my doctor. I think I would have been better off with swine flu -- at [...]
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    Posted: July 19, 2009, 7:07am EDT

  • Is this the world's oldest bike?



    I saw this machine at a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition in Brisbane earlier today (although this particular picture was nicked from a random flickr account). Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci came up with this design sometime around 1493, although it was probably never built because, being 400 [...]
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    Posted: July 04, 2009, 7:10am EDT

  • Crash



    There is nothing nice about crashing. I can't say I've ever enjoyed the experience, and if I ride long enough to accumulate another million kilometres, I don't expect I ever will. It's not so much the injuries sustained (although in my case, these have never included [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2009, 6:00am EDT

  • I have my mountain back!



    One of my cycling goals this year is to ride a vertical century, or accumulate 100 miles of total climbing before December 31. Oddly, I was actually a little behind schedule until last month, when I managed 17km of climbing in 31 days. Yet I had [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 6:30am EDT

  • The awakening



    Again it seems to have been a while between posts. Actually, there are a few things that have been happening, but I've not had time to write anything lately. Last weekend I finally made it to Crows Nest National Park for a three day bike tour,' [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 6:24am EDT

  • The Blonde Assassin



    I will concede that it may be a strange name, but in view of the colour scheme of my new MTB, and in view of something that happened on Saturday, I think it's wholly appropriate. Martin and I decided on a slightly shorter ride taking in' [...]
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    Posted: May 25, 2009, 6:25am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over this story.

    Two friends held mobile phones to each other's heads pretending they were guns when one grabbed a loaded firearm and fatally fired at the other, a court has heard.

    Driver Scott Quantrelle, [...]
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    Posted: May 25, 2009, 5:48am EDT

  • Perfect timing

    Perfect timing is sometimes the most important thing when it comes to experiencing the awesome power of nature. After two days of wild weather culminating in floods, road closures and trees coming down, I managed to get out for a quick 45km ride this evening. I left a little [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2009, 8:01am EDT

  • Upper Ormeauning



    Someone needs to tell me not to make all "recovery" rides over 100km, but for the moment I can't help myself. So it was yesterday, as I 'recovered' from another epic day in Lamington National Park on Saturday (more on that when my Internet connection is' [...]
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    Posted: May 18, 2009, 6:22am EDT

  • History



    After a late night Saturday night I was chasing a shorter ride yesterday, just 117km. Since Springbrook road is still closed after a landslide, I decided to do the old Numinbah Valley ride the old way, via Advancetown lake. There was another detour required, through Latimers [...]
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    Posted: May 11, 2009, 6:05am EDT

  • A day of lasts



    Sunday was a day of lasts. It was probably the last notable ride on The Black Magic, which is being retired after six years and countless thousands of kilometres. For the occasion, I decided to ride the old Garden of Eden ride in reverse, not realising [...]
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    Posted: April 28, 2009, 5:06pm EDT

  • You know you're addicted to cycling when...



    This afternoon I spent an inordinate amount of time getting an old bike, otherwise known as The Black Magic to regular readers of this page (both of you) back on the road. The details of the repair are unimportant and really unspectacular (and probably would have [...]
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    Posted: April 25, 2009, 7:04am EDT

  • Beaudesert Bash



    I should have learned by now that no long distance event should be underestimated, but after a return to form in the 300k the previous weekend, and a solid effort in a rainy 100km "recovery ride" on the Monday, I went into Saturday's 200km ride thinking' [...]
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    Posted: April 20, 2009, 6:37am EDT

  • April Animation 09



    This is just about my favourite 300k on the Audax calendar in Queensland. This year was going to be harder than previous because I was so underdone in terms of kilometres cycled (the first time I've not reached 5,000km by the end of March since 2001).' [...]
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    Posted: April 16, 2009, 7:03am EDT

  • Landslide!



    What a day this turned into. I actually got up this morning with a plan to ride south into the hills behind Mullumbimby. An early flat tyre and a memory lapse that resulted in me leaving my repair kit at home (but fortunately, remembering one spare [...]
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    Posted: April 05, 2009, 6:15am EDT

  • Amping up the Tweed Valley



    I hadn't planned to do it this way, but last week I decided to do something with the old Tweed Valley ride that I've been doing regularly for over eight years. The distance was still similar (178km), but change to the route on the way home [...]
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    Posted: March 30, 2009, 6:23am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    Well clearly it's been a while between posts. I do have some things from the cycling world to post as soon as Photobucket recovers from it's current functionality phobia. In the meantime, this story caught my eye because it's yet another example of that Australian' [...]
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    Posted: March 29, 2009, 6:32am EDT

  • I made it



    Saturday I climbed off the sick bed to set a fastest time ever on the 920 metre climb to O'Reillys in the Hinterland. I am still trying to figure out just where that sort of form came from, or if it can ever be repeated. The' [...]
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    Posted: March 17, 2009, 4:23pm EDT

  • Experimentation



    Last Saturday I made a spur-of-the moment decision to string a couple of "normal" rides together in northern NSW, culminating in a reverse ride around the old Tweed Valley Circuit. I was hoping this would give me a 200km day. Before I had finished 5, I [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2009, 3:30am EDT

  • Tosspot of the Week



    You just can't have an award like this without Warwick Capper winning it at least once.

    Like many critics of his footy career might have claimed, Warwick Capper's brief foray into Queensland politics was mostly show and little substance.

    And the former AFL star [...]

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    Posted: March 03, 2009, 5:01am EST

  • Sick



    Well this basically sucks. I had some big kilometres lined up for the weekend, but a stupid illness arrived on Friday and put an end to that. I did manage a climb of Mt Nimmel this morning, just, and even that felt more difficult than usual. [...]
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    Posted: March 01, 2009, 5:22am EST

  • Coomera gorging



    Saturday was yet another memorable day spent in Lamington National Park, high in the mountains behind the Gold Coast Hinterland. After the recent rain, I decided to join some friends for a 17km walk through some rainforest packed with waterfalls and leeches (although only one bite [...]
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    Posted: February 24, 2009, 6:09am EST

  • Back in business



    Sunday's ride was memorable for several reasons. The flood conditions, the stunning scenery, the downpour that cooled me as I was riding over the last climb of the day, the fact that it was the first 200km day I've managed since October (a statistic I wasn't' [...]
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    Posted: February 17, 2009, 5:19am EST

  • In this post, I tempt fate



    Let's see, in the last two weeks I have:

    1. Missed a flight to a randonee that I was particularly looking forward to after one of the most disgracefully incompetent airport delays ever seen.

    2. Broken a crank immediately after said delay, effectively meaning' [...]
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    Posted: February 09, 2009, 5:14am EST

  • Back to the future?



    After last weekend's two day "tour" on The Black Magic, I am considering making my change to my touring set up. Apparently Australian PM Kevin Rudd wants to buy me a new MTB some time around April. I actually think it's a little early for the [...]
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    Posted: February 05, 2009, 5:31am EST

  • The Jaunt to Jerusalem



    A simply stunning weekend was had in Mt Jerusalem National Park, immediately to the North of Mullumbimby. And yet there is still much to explore in this region. I didn't find the cave paintings that I had been told were in the area, but there may' [...]
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    Posted: February 02, 2009, 5:44am EST

  • The real getaway



    Sunday's outing at Springbrook was designed to be the consolation for missing the Alpine. However, it may have turned out to be even better. Springbrook turned on what could only be described as the most perfect day. When the mountain starts playing tricks with the cloud,' [...]
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    Posted: January 29, 2009, 6:15am EST

  • Flash flood



    This is becoming a regular event these days. Another ride immediately following a flash flood, a flooded creek that had to be forded three times in Urliup alone -- insanity! Yet after missing the Alpine Classic, I had to do something. The Black Magic backed up [...]
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    Posted: January 27, 2009, 5:47am EST

  • A missed opportunity or a bullet dodged?



    Yesterday I missed my flight to Melbourne because I managed to get stuck in a queue at the Gold Coast airport behind quite possibly the stupidest individual ever to inhabit this rock we call a planet. I would have put this up as a "tosspot of" [...]
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    Posted: January 24, 2009, 5:16am EST

  • Pedal mist out



    It's strange that I forgot to mention Saturday's trip to Springbrook. I ended up riding with a triathlete that I caught up to at Mudgeeraba, it was nice to have some company for the climb. Higher up, we encountered another group from the Kurrawa Surf club [...]
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    Posted: January 22, 2009, 7:27pm EST

  • I am the God of Hellfire, and I bring you...



    Sunday I decided to take the plunge and do it, Hell Fire Pass at Lower Beechmont. This seemed like the perfect final climb before the Alpine Classic next week. I have to say, however, that even this relatively small ride (66km total) managed to surprise me a [...]
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    Posted: January 20, 2009, 5:18am EST

  • Simple things



    How is it that so many us, in pursuit of complicated things, that often take much more effort than they are worth, can miss very impressive simple things? I am very fortunate where I live that I have so many beautiful places close to home, and yet [...]
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    Posted: January 15, 2009, 4:58am EST

  • The old Mt Jerusalem



    I needed a big ride yesterday, so I decided to head south. The plan was to ride the old Mt Jerusalem circuit (the one that was called Mt Jerusalem before the real one was discovered last year). The initial stretch along the coast was surprisingly pleasant, given [...]
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    Posted: January 11, 2009, 3:05pm EST

  • Climbs are made to be eaten

    Views from Numinbah Valley

    It's actually surprising that I felt lethargic at the start of this morning's ride, and even thought about calling the whole thing off. I'm glad I went ahead with it now. The intention was to do the old Three hill ride over Springbrook,' [...]
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    Posted: January 04, 2009, 6:09am EST

  • The burn



    I don't know if it's possible for a day to get any more hot and humid than New year's day was here. I saw an ambulance go past at 9am, almost certainly treating someone for heat exhaustion. That looks even worse when the usual two-hour response time' [...]
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    Posted: January 02, 2009, 5:30am EST

  • Ships stern



    Yesterday I decided I was sick of the relentless heat of the coast, and so decided to head for the mountains of Lamington National Park. I figured that walking the Ships Stern track (19km + another 5km of detours) in the middle of a 102km ride would [...]
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    Posted: December 27, 2008, 5:14am EST

  • The hideaway



    Deep in Tallebudgera Valley, hidden from the hordes of tourists that crowd this part of the world at this time of year, lies a very special place. It's here, among a grove of dense rainforest, obscured by a canopy of palms, there lies what may be one' [...]
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    Posted: December 25, 2008, 5:28am EST

  • The opposite of burnout?

    What's the opposite of burn-out? It's the state one reaches after a bike tour when, rather than burned out on the whole thing, they find themselves wanting to spend more time on the bike and in the outdoors, and even becoming vaguely resentful toward anything that threatens that precious time, [...]
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    Posted: December 18, 2008, 10:33pm EST

  • Old favourites



    After a few weeks away it was time to return to two of my old favourites on the weekend. On Saturday morning (after a group bushwalk was cancelled), I decided to head for Springbrook in the Hinterland. One of the things I love about this place is [...]
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    Posted: December 15, 2008, 6:15am EST

  • Sunrise



    This post is solely for the benefit of those of you who weren't up at 4.30am this morning to see the sunrise. You missed out, but you should just be glad I'm here to relay the news. [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2008, 6:18am EST

  • Back to "business"



    Yesterday was time to get back to "business" after being out of the country for the last few weeks. Martin and I had decided on a ride to Mebbin National Park, deep in the Tweed Valley. The promised rain during the day didn't really eventuate, and in' [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2008, 10:39pm EST

  • Return of the prodigal



    I have returned from New Zealand after an amazing tour of the North Island. I thought I had seen everything on the South Island, but the North managed to produce vistas and scenery that was so different that it was difficult to believe I had returned to [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2008, 5:05am EST

  • Time to go

    I have just spent most of the week trying to shake off a nasty case of giardia, I have now recovered and tomorrow I fly out for a tour of New Zealand's North Island. Assuming I'm back to 100% relatively quickly, I'll have three weeks. The journal is here.' [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2008, 3:20am EST

  • Ups and downs



    Last weekend I promised to head for the mountains, and on Saturday I did just that, with three passes in the space of 120km. I had been planning to go further, but this wasn't one of my better days. For one thing, it was an extremely [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2008, 6:10am EST

  • Tosspot of the week (again)



    It's a new week, so I can add a new tosspot. They seem to be coming thick and fast at the moment. (warning: this post is more than a little off-topic). It may be unkind of me to pour scorn on a poor, down-trodden American financial [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2008, 5:39am EST

  • Tosspot of the week



    It's that time of the year again. There was some silly car race in Sufferer's Parasite last weekend, and as a result, hoons will now spend the next four weeks trying to wreck the Gold Coast, and the road toll will rise in the manner that [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2008, 6:10am EDT

  • The search for something more



    Sometimes I can't get enough rainforest. The "recovery ride" in Austinville was always going to provide plenty of that this morning, but today I was looking for a twist. Some time ago I ventured here with Martin on a freezing morning and explored some side tracks [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2008, 4:34am EDT

  • That ol' black magic



    Some bike troubles over the last few days have led to be dragging out The Black Magic for another weekend. This basically meant a return to the Garden of Eden yesterday, high on the macpherson range at Tomewin. It was another warm and humid day on [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2008, 2:50am EDT

  • Currumbin Valley turns it on



    I've been so busy over the last few days that I almost completely forgot to mention something special that happened on Sunday. I set off for what should have been a regulation 60km "recovery ride" after Saturday's spectacular 142km. What I was left with were the [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2008, 7:35am EDT

  • Back to Mooball



    Last Saturday I had an inclination to ride on some dirt. A quick consultation with my regular ride partner Martin decided that Mooball National Park, in the Burringbar Range in Northern NSW was the place to go. It was also going to be the first dirt [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2008, 7:11am EDT

  • Glorious Mee 2008



    Somehow I missed last year's event in the middle of a form slump, or did it coincide with that Sarah Blasko concert? Whatever the reason, I wasn't there in 2007. This year I needed a comeback ride after losing those teeth, and a day ride of [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2008, 6:26am EDT

  • 32



    I haven't got around to posting this yet, but I managed to have a birthday and survive yesterday. I would like to say that I have some kind of divine revelation to mark the occasion this year, but that would be a complete lie. About the [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2008, 6:45am EDT

  • Back in the mountains



    Sunday was the day on which everything became alright again. I knew before I left home that I wouldn't be nearly 100% on the day, but I had already decided that simply getting through a ride to Binna Burra and back would be good enough. I [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2008, 5:48am EDT

  • Back



    The first "nervous" commute out of the last several thousand turned out alright in the end. We seem to be right in the middle of the windy season at the moment, which has meant decent headwinds riding into work over the last two days. Coming from [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2008, 4:09pm EDT

  • Next



    I have now officially spent five days in a state that could only be described as "totally useless", which also coincides with my longest break from riding since 1997. Frankly, I'm scared sh!tless of tomorrow morning's commute to work, but I'll have to deal with that [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2008, 7:15am EDT

  • To Hell and back

    Hell's Hole

    First of all I should apologise for taking so long to get this update, but I have been to hell and back in two different ways this week. The most recent one (and the one I'll mention only briefly) was having my wisdom teeth [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2008, 10:16pm EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    This one's personal, and it goes to the f*ckwit who hacked my email address last night and used it to spam (and deleted my address book). I'm not sure exactly how much damage they did at this point, and I'm going to have to wait a [...]
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    Posted: September 13, 2008, 6:05am EDT

  • Close, but no Brum



    On Sunday I needed some big kilometres, I decided on another "century" in the Tweed Valley, this time I decided on the climb to Brummies Lookout, at the top of a rather steep climb on dirt roads. Getting up that particular climb was always going [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2008, 4:11pm EDT

  • Not my day



    To be totally blunt, I was in pretty poor form last Saturday. The fact that it had been a slightly stressful week didn't help. I set of with my regular ride partner Martin for the climb of Springbrook and simply didn't climb the way I usually do. [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2008, 4:59pm EDT

  • Adam Spencer on cycling



    This comes with a language warning, but I can't find too much to disagree with here. Former Triple J radio host Adam Spencer on cycling. Definitely worth a look.

    Yes, I do have a ride report or two to post, but right now I can't because photobucket [...]
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    Posted: September 07, 2008, 7:02am EDT

  • Darts



    For those who missed me on the weekend (there was at least one message on my phone) I have taken advantage of a local long weekend to indulge in my passion for cycle touring. I have seen spectacular coastal scenery, a big waterfall, mountains and rainforests over [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2008, 5:48am EDT

  • The Goat Track



    I spent last weekend in Brisbane and didn't manage to get as much time to ride as I'd planned. I did manage a quick climb out of Samford over Mt Nebo the "back" way. It's actually an extremely pleasant climb for anyone who can handle a reasonable [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2008, 7:15am EDT

  • Coomera Gorge

    Coomera Gorge

    Last Saturday I set out for one of my ride/hiking expeditions in Lamington National Park with a group of friends. Doing this on a monthly basis this year has enabled me to visit places I hadn't previously known of. Anyone who has been reading this [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2008, 6:45am EDT

  • Shedding wisdom

    Nugget Point, New Zealand, 2006

    Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time to announce my next major bike tour. Having enjoyed New Zealand's south island so much in 2006, I've decided to return in November of this year, but this time to do the North Island. I haven't [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2008, 6:42am EDT

  • The headwind 200



    It's becoming a familiar pattern of late, a southern ride into NSW commencing with a headwind, then finishing with a headwind after a southerly wind swings around to the north. I can't recall a day with a consistent wind for well over a month. It was the [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2008, 4:16pm EDT

  • Moonlit night

    We seem to be in the midst of a cold snap in this part of the world. Apparently Coolangatta recorded it's coldest August night ever just 24 hours ago (or at least the coldest in the relatively modest period for which records have actually been kept). This, of course, has [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2008, 7:46am EDT

  • Mission not accomplished



    Sunday's mission was to find Hell's Hole in Mt Jerusalem National Park. It seems this is going to be harder to track down than I expected. Evidently people I've spoken who have supposedly been there cant' seem to decide whether it's actually a waterfall or a [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2008, 4:13pm EDT

  • Mountains

    Goomoolahra, Springbrook

    I am convinced that mountains are the greatest thing in the world. For me there is nothing that quite matches the thrill of conquering a big climb, and taking in a spectacular view at the summit, the reward for the hard work. Yet I [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2008, 7:41am EDT

  • Songs with a spiritual link to bike touring

    Lake St Clair, Tasmania, January 2004

    I made the following post in reply to a thread on this topic at bikeforums.net. For whatever reason, I thought it worthy of a blog post.

    For me the answer usually depends on which CD I had on [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2008, 7:08am EDT

  • Chris L takes on Henri Robert



    The name "Henri Robert Drive" tends to send a chill up the spine of the majority of Gold Coast cyclists. I've heard a lot of "war stories" from people who have attempted to climb that particular approach to Mt Tamborine, but none who have succeeded. I'm [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2008, 7:20am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    This week's clear winner is the Catholic Archbishop George Pell, who apparently hasn't taken his head out of his arse for long enough to see the problems his own country (much less the rest of the world) caused by overpopulation. He seems to think we need [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2008, 2:57am EDT

  • Spring has arrived

    The flowers bloom

    Spring arrived in this little part of the world on Sunday. I decided that 180km would be a worthwhile way to celebrate the occasion. On this particular day I was well and truly overdressed for the occasion, and that may have been a [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2008, 6:39am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    It was quite a hot field this week, but the award is handed out jointly to every braindead moron in Queensland who has this annoying and dangerous habit of stopping dead in the middle of intersections or roundabouts (traffic circles for those in the US) for [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2008, 7:01am EDT

  • Dam it all...

    Clarrie Hall Dam

    Sunday's plan was to set off in search of Hell Hole Falls, believed to be somewhere in the south-western vicinity of Uki. The rain from the previous day and early in the morning here was expected to fill the falls with plenty of [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2008, 4:09pm EDT

  • Stinson track, Christmas Creek



    The day after this ride, and continuing on this seemingly endless quest to bring this blog up to date, the day after the adventurous night ride saw one of the most incredible walking experiences of the year to date. The initial objective was the 6km [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2008, 6:05am EDT

  • Ronaldo leaves United

    [www.youtube.com]

    This comes with a language warning, but it's brilliant (if slightly off-topic for this blog). You need at least a basic understanding of Manchester United or English football to get a full understanding of it. Trying to embed it doesn't seem to be working just now, so [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2008, 6:58am EDT

  • How to build your own adventure...

    A moonlit night

    I was going to write up last weekend's adventure in one post, but a simple 118km ride to a campsite by the banks of Christmas Creek deserves it's own entry. The ride itself started later than anticipated as I had to resolve an [...]
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    Posted: June 26, 2008, 6:05am EDT

  • Rumours of my demise...

    Evidently there's been a little speculation about whether or not I was still around after a cycling death in this part of the world last weekend. The truth of the matter is that right now I am very much alive and well, albeit a little tired after a weekend [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2008, 7:18am EDT

  • Over and out



    I have now had time to ponder what happened. I will never be sure whether or not it was the right decision, but the decision came 330km into Saturday's 400, and the decision was made to retire with severe thigh cramp, and forget about it. As [...]
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    Posted: June 19, 2008, 7:35am EDT

  • Tosspot of the week



    There were several worthy contenders for this award over the last 72 hours or so, but I think this guy tops the list.

    A 35-year-old man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly chose to hoon in front of a police station after he [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2008, 6:03am EDT

  • The other personality of Cudgen...



    It's astonishing that a relatively non-descript locality such as Cudgen (or was it Duranbah? The Tweed Shire Council can't seem to decide) can be the gateway to a pocket-handkerchief sized area of incredible beauty. Martin and I weren't satisfied with 200km on the Saturday, so on the [...]
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    Posted: June 12, 2008, 7:04am EDT

  • Coolomon

    SATURDAY, JUNE 7, NSW: For once I failed to bring a camera along on Saturday's ride, so you'll have to make do without the pictures unless you click here, and have a look at some pictures from a previous ride in this area. I was feeling a little underdone [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2008, 4:16pm EDT

  • Dickfos Falls owns you



    TALLEBUDGERA VALLEY: Sunday June 8. Well clearly it's been a while between posts, and I have a few things to write about. For some time I'd been curious about Mt Cougal road in Tallebudgera Valley, and where it could lead. My first search had proven fruitless, but [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2008, 3:41pm EDT

  • The midnight hour

    Sometimes insomnia can be a good thing.

    Last night at around midnight it became obvious that sleep wasn't an option for me at that time. My body simply refused to accept it. I simply needed to get up and do something. I decided on a spur-of-the-moment ride to Austinville, [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2008, 7:01am EDT

  • Ultra vires



    Martin and I set off at around 5.45am yesterday morning with the intention of discovering the real Mt Jerusalem. I had spent four years regularly riding over another mountain that I thought was the real one, only to discover at couple of months back that this wasn't [...]
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    Posted: May 25, 2008, 6:07am EDT
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