Cycling to the top

Read More

Cycling to the top

The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges span the mouth of the Brisbane River.

Climbing to almost 80 metres above the water, they allow huge volumes of traffic to flow from one side of the river to ther other.

A bike path on this new bridge was officially opened today, which for the first time, allows pedestrians and cyclists to stand at the top of this magnificent gateway to the city and enjoy some breathtaking views out to the bay and back to the city – views you can’t really get in a car as you’re not allowed to stop at the top.

There are only two flies in the ointment which I’m sure will be fixed soon. The first is a 10km/h speed limit on cyclists using the bike way. The problem is that many cyclists have difficulty keeping a bicycle stable at speeds under 10 km/h, so in some ways it’s dangerous having this limit so low.

The second problem is connectivity. There don’t appear to be any connecting cycle paths at either end of the bridge so you need to bravely battle five to ten km of busy roads to get from one cycleway to the bridge.

But riding to the top of this bridge (twice) was a lot of fun for me. And I was impressed to see the importance that the state government has placed on putting infrastructure like this in place for cyclists.

I hope they build more!





View Larger Map

Boondall and Deagon

Read More

We drove out to the Boondall Entertainment Centre today so Liz and Lilly could see “Disney on Ice”.

Harrison and I took advantage of the trip, brought our bikes and explored the Boondall Wetlands while Liz and Lilly saw the show. It ended up being a real family affair because Lachlan phoned us and asked if he could join us.

Harrison and I were having so much fun that we asked Liz if she could drive home, and we’d ride back.

As you can see from the photos, it was a glorious day.




View Larger Map

Mt Nebo

Read More

Liz and I took the kids up to Mt Nebo this afternoon for walk through the rainforest and a bit of afternoon tea.

There’s something spiritually regenerating about walking through a forest. I feel like I’m “soaking up” the peace as one of the trees would soak up the rain. They seem to live at a different rate from us. Our lives come and go many times over while they’re still growing, reaching up to the sky and sighing in the breeze.

A majestic example of the strangler fig growing at Mt Nebo along the Boombana boardwalk.

This specimen is approximately 400 years old.

These trees begin life as vines, taking root in the crevices of other trees. They grow and slowly envelope the host tree, “strangling” it, and growing up to 50 metres in height.



The view above as we walked through the Boombana rainforest walk at Mt Nebo this afternoon.

Forgan Cove

Read More

Liz and I took the kids for a walk around Forgan Cove today.

It’s a short, easy 4.5km walk through some peaceful bushland that borders Lake Samsonvale.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to add to the photo log of Carla, a Toy Voyager that we’re hosting at the moment.

Toy Voyagers are fun because they challenge you to have a more child-like view of the world, and to look for events and pictures that would be appropriate for a toy on a voyage. I like them because they help me appreciate the place in which I live.

View Larger Map

The Giant and Me

Read More

Some views out to the Glass House Mountains and Moreton Island from my ride today.

I stopped on the top of Raynbird Road which has spectacular views to the north and east.

It’s been a while since I rode this far, and it feels great to blow the cobwebs out and push the pedals for a few hours.


















View Larger Map

Lake Samsonvale

Read More

Lake Samsonvale

A view of the lake while I was out riding some quiet tracks this afternoon.





View Larger Map

Riding with Dad

Read More

My ten year old son, Harrison, and I rode some of our favourite tracks this glorious Sunday morning.

We went out via some old stock routes and came back along the shoreline of one of the local lakes.



He kept up pretty well. I’m aware that sometime in the next ten years our roles will probably be reversed and I’ll be keeping up with him pretty well.

For now I’m content to show my boy some of the fantastic tracks around our area that you never see when you speed by in a car.



We have to slow down to enjoy beauty.


View Larger Map

Spectators

Read More

I had the distinct feeling I was being watched by dozens of pairs of eyes as I cycled through the wetlands at Deepwater Bend this morning.

This beautiful reserve at the mouth of the Pine River has many hectares of swampy pastureland inhabited by a large number of kangaroos and wallabys.



It also has some picturesque fire-trails that are perfect for riding around early in the morning!

Photographing these guys while riding a bike is almost impossible. In fact at the first opportunity I found for a photo, I forgot to un-clip from my pedals, and fell off. I could almost hear the Kangaroo snickering (or maybe saying "Tut tut tut" as he bounded off.



In full flight they’re magnificent to watch – muscular, streamlined and effortless.

View Larger Map

Lost in the Hills

Read More

I wanted to climb the Toowoomba range via single track and fire trails, so I found a quiet back road out the back of Withcott, followed it to the end, jumped a few gates, and ended up in the middle of nowhere.

After climbing a few monster hills that ended (sadly) in dead-ends, I finally found a fire break and followed it.

But what was supposed to be a 60 minute adventure ended up taking three hours.

I eventually found my way home, up a couple more amazingly steep hills, but (alas) I only managed to get one photo. Light was fading quickly in the late autumn afternoon, and I didn’t want to stop too long.

The total ascent was about 720m, total descent, about 380m.

The next day, Paul and I rode along some of the fire trails along the escarpment below Picnic Point. These are mostly steep rocky walking tracks, so attacking them with a mountain bike was a bit “adventurous”. Still not being totally comfortable with my clip-in pedals I fell off a few times, luckily with no damage. The view out to Tabletop Mountain is spectacular.



We also had a quick look out to the North towards Prince Henry Heights at some of the hills where I managed to get a bit lost the day before:

View Larger Map


View Larger Map

A Memorable Minute

Read More

"Tempus Fugit" by Nafra Cendrers

Imagine you have one minute to live, and after that nothing.

What thoughts would occupy your mind during that minute?

What memories would you recall?

As you watched the second hand move inevitably towards the end of the minute, what precious images would your mind hold on to?

I tried this mental exercise a few days ago whilst on a flight, and experienced one of the most memorable minutes of my life. As the clock “struck twelve” I had tears in my eyes – not from sadness at it coming to an end, but from gratitude at the wonderful people that are in my life, and the most amazing life that I have the privilege of living. For me it highlighted those things that are really important… and those things that don’t really matter.

Perhaps we regularly need a “Memorable Minute” to keep our lives in focus.