I finally managed to cycle to the top of Old School Road – a very steep dirt road in Cashmere with gradients in excess of 27%.
This hill has beaten me a few times. At times I’ve fallen off trying to climb it, or just given up. But today I kept my head down, kept up a good rhythm, and powered to the top.
Although exhausted at the top, I still felt like doing a "Who da man" dance, punched the air, and let out a loud "Whoop!!!".
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I’ll be working in Launceston for the next week, so I thought I’d come down a day and a bit earlier and explore the place by mountain bike.
I hired a basic hardtail bike from a local shop, donned my cold weather gear, and took off into the hills on this beautiful cloudless late autumn day.
The first part of the trip was up to Trevallyn Reserve which is perched atop some of the hills to the west of town.
The reserve has some pretty steep and rocky trails which were hard work to negotiate, but worth the effort. The view down the river towards the dam is spectacular.
After a quick break, I then headed to the Kate Reed reserve to the south of town. This has a lot more narrow single track than Trevallyn, and it was here I suffered a pretty nasty “Gumby Stack” where I fell off my bike for no reason other than I couldn’t pull my feet out of my clip-in pedals. Luckily my shoulder survived the fall and I have no broken bones.
I’ve never ridden in such cold weather before. It takes a lot more preparation than I’m used to. And you still get hot, and cold, and wet with perspiration.
But it’s a great way to explore a city. I’ll definitely try this again!
We received a Toy Voyager in the mail recently. Carla is a cute little black bird all the way from cold Siberia. She’ll be staying with us for a few months and going on some adventures with us.
I introduced Carla to Lilly this afternoon, and the two of them instantly became friends.
Lilly showed Carla around our slightly overgrown but very green sub-tropical garden, and Carla obliged by perching on Lilly’s head.
If you feel like indulging your inner child, why not host a toy voyager for a few months? It will change the way you look at the world.
Harrison and I took a quick ride by Lake Samsonvale this afternoon. As the sun was setting over the D’Aguilar Ranges, I was fortunate to get this quick picture. I’m so happy to be living in such a beautiful place and to be able to explore it with my son.
He’s doing pretty well on the hills too!
This involved some tough climbs to Mount Glorious, and then a bone jarring steep downhill ride down the Lepidozamia Track. This track has to be seen to be believed with some incredibly steep sections, strewn with rocks, sticks and logs. It was doubly difficult for me this time as it was my first serious bash on dirt using my new clip-in pedals which still occasionally refuse to free my feet when I need them, which results in some humiliating “gumby stacks” where I come to a stop and just fall sideways for no apparent reason.
I was impressed with the skill of the other riders – powerful hill climbers and amazingly nimble over some of the more rocky sections. Despite this, they were patient with me, waiting for me when I dropped behind, and never complaining about it.
The view at the top was breathtaking.
Some of the spiders on this track are huge. Here’s one that hitched a ride part-way down:
Deepwater bend is a quiet reserve at the mouth of the Pine River and forms part of the 380 hectare Tinchi Tamba wetlands.
It has some beautiful boardwalks and tracks among mangroves, she-oak swamps and grasslands, and best of all, it’s pretty close to where we live.
I decided to take a quite ride down there today on the bike, and was amazed at the cloud formations.
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Today we did a short loop around Ewen Maddock Dam on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.
It was the first chance I had to give my new Giant XTC 29er a try out on the trail, and it (she?) passed with flying colours! The 29er has larger tyres than the usual 26 inch ones found on a mountain bike. This gives a smoother ride, less rolling resistance and more fun.
We rode through quite a bit of mud and sand in the rainy weather, and the bikes held up really well.
Ewen Maddock Dam is a beautiful reserve bounded by ferns, tee-tree swamps, eucalyptus and sub-tropical forest. The tracks are well developed, clearly marked, and low gradient – so anyone could walk them, ride a bike, or a horse.
For the last bit of the ride we got onto the bitumen and burned up the Steve Irwin Way. On the flat my speed maxed at about 50km and Simon went even faster – he’s been working out and was keen to see whether it made a difference (it does, Simon!).
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Meet Adrian
He turned 12 a couple of weeks ago, and today he rode past me on my attempt to climb Old School Road.
I conked out with about 50 metres to go where the gradient was about 26%. But Adrian kept going, and made it to the top on his Giant Alias Mountain Bike.
I watched in awe and cheered him on. Then when he made it I shook his hand, asked if I could take his photo, and (if I would have though of it) would have asked for his autograph.
Imagine what this kid could do in 10 years time?
Good on ya, Adrian, the new king of Old School Road.
Thanks Glen, Steve and Harrison for a great ride around Cashmere State Forest this morning. Everyone put in a great effort.
Q. “What do you call the bottom of a hill with 35% gradient”
A. “A hole”.
Some of those hills were pretty steep. The camera seems to flatten them out – they’re much more acute than they look in the picture.
I had another try at climbing Old School Road today. I did better than last time, but still haven’t beat the hill. My poor bike is a geared a bit too high, but I hope I’ll eventually conquer it if I don’t surrender!
From there it was a brisk ride down the other side of the mountain maxing out at 70km/h, and another beautiful ride along Bunya Road to the single tracks in Bunyaville State Forest.
I’ve lived in South East Queensland for over 45 years, and I think I’ve taken it for granted for most of my life. This place is paradise. I love it.
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