OutdoorGaz

B2B 2011

2011-09-11T19:20:00.001+10:00

The now annual Bridge to Brisbane dad/daughter run was fun today. Colder than last year, faster than last year and now more sore than last year. Great way to spend a spring morning!

Mt reJoyce

2011-08-18T17:48:00.001+10:00

It was great to be mountain biking again with mates at the most excellent trails at Mt reJoyce. Fitness was down and heart rate was up .... all in all ... a great day on the bike :)

FJ at Mt May

2011-08-07T21:43:00.000+10:00

Is it a model?

Mt Greville

2011-07-24T19:33:00.000+10:00

Snow

2011-07-16T15:40:00.000+10:00

A dad and daughter adventure - July 2011

Vale Ross Miller

2011-06-27T19:52:00.001+10:00

Vale Ross Miller
a life truly lived,
a life that has touched so many is such a positive way.

Parting shots

2011-05-06T07:38:00.000+10:00

2011-05-05T07:40:00.000+10:00

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Ride to Work Day

2011-03-16T12:28:00.000+10:00

Ride to Work day is always good to catch up with riding buddies ... especially when its been too wet to see them out in the bush. Lots of food and drinks and politicians as well.

The same crew in 2009 ... you might think that two of us might have new jerseys by now :-)

The Shed

2011-03-06T16:24:00.000+10:00

Frogs

2011-02-20T17:20:00.005+10:00

Rescued from a backyard pool not long after the Brisbane floods, the tadpoles were transferred to a backyard pond where they stood a better chance of survival.

Our backyard is only a few km from the centre of the city, but we have tried to recreate a little piece of rainforest that is frequented by native animals, birds and of course, amphibians.

The rescued tadpoles have done well, growing steadily with some losing their tails and turning into frogs. Its fabulous to observe nature in your own backyard.

Waiting for Wezzy

2011-02-17T16:39:00.000+10:00

Looks like fun

2011-02-10T14:40:00.005+10:00

Not what I do but looks like fun.

Nightrider

2011-02-07T21:27:00.001+10:00

Night riding in Queensland is much cooler ..... so now that the rain has stopped, the wind has died down and the mud has dried, it was time to get out for a spin around Daisy. A great way to end a day and start the week.

Dunk'n'Wind

2011-02-05T14:31:00.001+10:00

Eighteen months ago I was lucky enough to paddle my sea kayak with a group of others up the eastern side of Hinchinbrook Island from Lucinda to arrive at Dunk Island over 100kms and 10 days later. It was nice to have hot showers and cool drinks after over a week of wilderness camping.

The photo above was the view from the resort restaurant looking across to Mission Beach.

Below is a photo taken after powerful cyclone Yasi demolished the resort. The pool is was to the left and in front of the green roof. I would imagine that many of the lush, tropical campsites along the coast of Hinchinbrook Island have met the same fate. :-((

Photo: Brian Cassey/Courier Mail

Australia Day - by the sea

2011-01-27T20:10:00.000+10:00

After all the wet weather and floods, it was great to get out by the water (with about 1,000 of our closest friends) and play in kayaks, eat sausages and rissoles, drink (ginger) beer and have a generally good time.

The surf out on Currumbin Alley in the kayaks was a lot of fun too.

Lift

2011-01-16T20:31:00.000+10:00

Today was about lifting the debris on the footpath onto the trucks to take it all away.

Our team of three added to the 50,000 volunteers who took to the streets today.
A good days work.

Mud

2011-01-15T20:30:00.000+10:00

The sight confronting us at the first house to be cleaned up. This is the kitchen and dining - Shane and his family only bought the house 5 months ago. It is unsure if their insurance will cover it.

The finished mess after cleaning out the second house. The tenants arrived home from holidays while we were outside. They had not realised the extend of the damage and did not have insurance.

Flood

2011-01-13T14:14:00.003+10:00

The Scooby Roll

2010-12-19T21:13:00.005+10:00

Favourite mountain bike stacks

2010-12-18T08:08:00.001+10:00

Some of my favourite mountain bike stacks have been performed by

Lazy Ray - who could forget the day that he put the power down from a standing start, snapped his chain and went over the bars ROFLMAO
Dean0 ... what more can you say
MaxR for his superman impression while showing us how to jump a small log near the stepover
... and most of the rest of the DH Wed morning crew at one time or another

but I didn't have a camera to record them so I have posted some that I did capture at some downhill events ... always a good source of carnage material.

This one from Illinbah appeared in Inside Sport. Enjoy.

The rest are from a downhill event at Brookfield.

Stay upright and have a safe and happy Christmas.

Building site holiday

2010-12-16T08:46:00.001+10:00

When is a holiday not a holiday?

When you have two building sites next to your house and every tradesman and his noisiest machine are there to make sure that work seems a better place to be. Oh, and its been 12 months since they started.

To add to the noise, the constant north easterly winds have created a constant stream of aircraft as well.

Perhaps there will be another severe storm to chase them all away. Hail has never sounded so good!!

Note: a whopper of a storm came through early afternoon ... thunder and lightning and no tradies.

Rolling again.

2010-11-30T07:18:00.000+10:00

The injured shoulder is well on its way to full recovery so given the green light to get out there, I've wasted no time using it to get rolling again .... both in the kayak and on the mountain bike.

Dean0 and I took the shoulder out for a test run at Daisy for an easy Sunday afternoon cruise.

.... it was then onto a koala spotting night ride through Daisy. Glad to see that there really are koalas out there in the Koala Forests.

Always great to get out with mates to test the fitness and catch up on the latest.

Once in a blue mo...

2010-11-24T17:30:00.000+10:00

There are a lot of good causes out there but with a little help from a few friends, decided to show my hairy side by growing a mo for MOvember in support of Beyond Blue and Prostrate Cancer Research.

After numerous comments about 'bum fluff' and the like .... due to the fact that my Mo was hard to see being mostly blonde with a hint of grey .... I decided to turn it blue for the rest of the month. It looks more blue in real life but you get the idea.

If you have any spare cash and want to support your mates, why not put a few dollars towards a good cause. I'm sure that you will only see a blue Mo only once in a blue Moon. ;-{))

http://au.movember.com/mospace/990950/

Ups and downs in Nepal

2010-11-09T18:42:00.000+10:00

Thought I'd drag a few photos out of the vault from a trip to Nepal in 2004. Lucky I had two good shoulders then otherwise I might have found myself falling a looooong way down. ;-)

We travelled on tracks not used much these days, not seeing any other people for 4 or 5 days at a time. Although there was that Maoist rebel that travelled with us for a while as a "friend" of one of the guides. It was a time when you had to pay cash to the rebels (with large guns and knives) to enter their territory, but they gave you a receipt so that you could show the next group that you had already paid. Scarey at times, but very civilised really.

There is nothing like being in the mountains with peaks towering to 7,000m around you. A trip I had wanted to do for a lifetime. Carpe diem.

Eagle boy ... lizard whisperer ... what the???

2010-11-03T19:34:00.001+10:00

If you can't ride your bike or paddle your kayak you will find other things to do. Annoying the local wildlife is always fun. I'm not sure who was out-staring who with my lizard encounter ... in the end it didn't bite me and I didn't bite it ... so it all ended well.

In the case of the wedge tail eagle, I think it was taming me. It let me scratch its neck like it was a puppy. Its talons and beak were pretty serious weapons though.

The animals of SE Qld will be happy to know that I was back on my bike today ... first time in three months. Might even go for a paddle soon. :-))

Creek at the end of the Street

2010-10-16T09:32:00.000+10:00

Living only 5km from the centre of Australia's third largest city, I am lucky to have a 51 hectare forest reserve at the end of my street. It is a great place to keep fit and all this rain is making the forest and creeks look great.

A nice wave

2010-10-12T20:58:00.001+10:00

Surgery done, so time to rest and drag out an old photo or two. This one is SurfGaz in the mid 80s at Alexandria Headlands ... not a bad wave for a bloke in a fluro wetsuit.

Same bloke in the fluro wetsuit on a hollow left hander at Treachery Head. Surfaris were good fun.

Sandy boats and muddy bikes

2010-10-04T17:46:00.004+10:00

With only a few days before my much anticipated shoulder surgery, I got out for a paddle and took photos of my muddy mates at a mountain bike event. All great fun.

More muddy bike photos can be found here.

Surfing with Dolphins

2010-09-25T08:35:00.001+10:00

One of the highlights of life for me is surfing with dolphins. On this occasion a pair of bottlenose dolphins were cruising around us as we waiting for the swell to arrive.

Another time, I have been surfing a wave on my surfboard and looked across to see that I was sharing the experience with a dolphin, merely metres away. :-))

Mortality

2010-09-16T20:12:00.001+10:00

Unfortunately as one gets older some don't.

Put another way, eventually you will see friends and peers stop ageing as they die. In a way, you expect older family members to pass away as they are older than you, but as peers pass away it perhaps highlights your own mortality a little more.

The morning of my birthday recently, I found out a friend with whom I spent many great days sharing adventures, had suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack. Luke is the one in the middle.
RIP Luke.

Urban colours

2010-09-14T11:12:00.002+10:00

I'm not a runner ... or maybe I am?

2010-08-31T20:05:00.001+10:00

I have never run more than 3km in my life, which is a long way short of 10km that my 12yr old daughter and I had signed up for on Sunday. A year ago we were driving over the Gateway Bridge and saw this stream of people that stretched for as far as we could see. It was the Bridge to Brisbane. We decided at that moment it was something that we should do.

A year later, we lined up with 30,000 of our closest friends, only got to the staggered start line after the winner had already finished ... then we were off and jogging up the Gateway Bridge. An hour and 11 minutes later we had both completed the 10km .... rather surprised at how well we had done with no training or experience. Armed with the spirit to get out and just do it!!

Epic

2010-08-23T08:46:00.003+10:00

This was to be the "Year of the Bike" for me, but has since become the "Year of the Pike" with very little mountain biking this year firstly due to wet weather then a crook shoulder. Instead of riding in the Epic yesterday, it was photo taking for me as I got images as the riders came up the last steep hill of their 105km journey. Some looked totally exhausted but others still could manage a smile.

Stephanie and me

2010-08-21T08:00:00.000+10:00

It maybe hard to believe but Stephanie Rice and I have a lot in common. From the list below, at least four are true and one is a maybe. You be the judge.

We both have the same physio.
Neither of us will be swimming in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
We both have the same issue with our right shoulders.
We both look good in Speedos.
Surgery is imminent for both of us.

Its nice to be part of a winning team.

2010-08-18T20:05:00.005+10:00

It was a hotly contested race for the "Club of the Year" as decided by five independent judges, but the submission by our current President must have shown that we deserved the honour.

If you want to discover new places by the water, check us out.

Lucky I've got legs

2010-08-11T16:21:00.000+10:00

With 2 crook shoulders, I thought I better go for a walk with my two good legs. The Carnarvon Gorge Great walk sounded like a good idea. After about 100km in distance and 3,000m climbing over six days with a 25kg pack, I still have two good legs .... just. Very sore but still working. Temperatures ranged from 25C to minus 6C. Weather ranged from perfect blue skies to raging westerlies and heavy rain.

It was certainly a great walk !!!

Tale of two shoulders.

2010-08-02T22:07:00.001+10:00

Once upon a time I had two good shoulders that would let me hang off them on monkey bars then later hang from cliffs. This was all before I tried to fly with my mountain bike.

As I chased a fellow rider down a steep fire trail over numerous water bars at speed, I relaxed as I hit the next and most innocuous of water bars. Bad move indeed. As my back wheel rose sharply into the air, it catapulted me up and forward so that I flew threw a good five metres before we parted company. I landed on the hard rocky surface with my head and left shoulder, breaking my helmet and parting my AC joint very nicely. Type III to be exact, meaning the three ligaments that join collar bone and shoulder blade were snapped, never to be joined again. Bugger!! ... and I hate being winded as well.

Oh well. At least I have another shoulder and its in good condition. Well, for a few years it was. Now it has had a few cortisone injections and physio but is now my bad shoulder. Bugger!! .... at least I didn't get winded ... I don't even know how I did it??

Looks good on the x-ray, but with restricted movement and lots of pain, it has stopped the mountain biking and restricted the kayaking. My bad shoulder has now become my good shoulder. Should I just take HTFU pills and stop complaining or see a surgeon to see if it can be sorted? Would life in front of a TV suit me ... maybe "TVgaz" or maybe "McGaz" hanging (not by the arms) at Maccas.

No ... its off to the surgeon.

(update: surgery booked ... credit card swiped)

Foggy bay morning

2010-07-13T17:42:00.002+10:00

Some swell fun

2010-07-12T08:04:00.002+10:00

All good fun. Click the image to see the video.

A different week

2010-07-04T17:08:00.001+10:00

A week of hanging around on above cliffs watching the local wildlife including whales, turtles, dolphins, fish, hawks, sea eagles and waves.

.... attacked my the worlds largest cockroach ....

... discovering a colony of the rare sleeping bag bats ....

... and going for a paddle in the winter sunshine.

Close to home

2010-07-01T08:28:00.001+10:00

It was great to be able to sneak in a quick paddle close to home between school holiday taxi commitments.

After travelling all over Qld and living on tropical islands for six months, paddling at Redcliffe was also good enough for Ben Southall of "Best job in the world" fame. We are lucky to be able to paddle in such great locations and conditions in the middle of winter and so close to home.

Latest on the BP oil spill

2010-06-25T13:51:00.004+10:00

Some fun in the surf

2010-06-15T09:31:00.002+10:00

The forecast 20-25kts and 2m seas on a 2m swell didn't eventuate but there were some fun, clean waves to be had on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Click here to see the video.

Back on the bike

2010-06-06T15:39:00.001+10:00

After a few weeks off the bike with injury, its good to get back on ... even if was only urban.

Dirt next week.

New boat.

2010-05-23T18:26:00.001+10:00

The new Nordkapp LV has arrived ... and how sweet it is.
... and its name?

Yeti .... of course ;-))

Mountains of sea

2010-05-16T11:49:00.001+10:00

Image: Brett Costello

Congratulations to Jessica Watson for her round the world sailing accomplishment. Certainly an extraordinary feat.

SnowGaz

2010-05-09T17:32:00.002+10:00

Still waiting for the boat so time to delve into the past again. This time its a couple of images from many cross country skiing and snow camping trips that I did in the 80's and 90's .... no, not the 1880's as the beard and woollen clothing might suggest.

Had some great trips, some lasting up to 10 days out in the snow with 3 trips taking in the summit of Mt Jagungal. There was some weather to die for and some that you could die in, if not careful. We had to dig the tents and even the huts out more than a few times.

Friendships forged on such trips remain strong as everyone needed to work well together to survive in a really harsh environment carrying everything on your back.

Nebo revisited

2010-05-02T19:29:00.000+10:00

Today was the first Gap Ck/Mt Nebo ride of the year for me and will be the first of many training rides for the Epic 100km mountain bike race in August. It was the standard route today with about 50km and 1,500m of vertical gain. The halfway point is the great cafe at Mt Nebo ... if you like a big coffee, ask for an "Abyss".

The weather was great, track good and always a great laugh riding with mates from the Wednesday morning crew.

Upgradeitis

2010-04-23T13:01:00.003+10:00

A common problem amongst the mountain biking fraternity, I have now found upgradeitis to be very much alive in the sea kayak community as well. As try as hard as we can, it is difficult from eyeing off another's boat/bike and not getting kayak or bike envy .... or is it just that everybody likes new toys.

As others have also mused in their rationalisation of catching upgradeitis, I will also argue that there is a perfectly rational reason to get a new kayak. (imagine serious music playing .... like in Schindlers List) The kayak that I have just sold was a perfectly good kayak, in fact it was a great carbon/kevlar, Canadian made, excellent expedition kayak for me .... but it was too big for me unless I put on a lot of weight or am carry a weeks worth of water. It was kind of a Kombi of kayaks, well made, well designed and very capable.

BUT, I needed something that put a smile on my face on day paddles, something that would stretch my skills and maybe even scare me a little. SO, as I have rationally argued, I have on order what could be seen as more a sports car of kayaks .... like a Porsche vs Kombi.

Behold below, the Valley Nordkapp LV .... shortly coming to a beach near you. :-)

15 minutes of fame

2010-04-13T08:51:00.005+10:00

Easter 1985 - I was walking south from Dead Horse Gap to the Old Tin Mines through some tall mountain ash trees when we stopped to talk with a couple of other walkers. One of them said to me, "Hey, aren't you the guy on the cover of Wild?".

Puffing my chest out a little and trying not to seem too pleased at being recognised, I replied, "Yes, I am" .... to which he said, "I thought so .... I recognised the shorts." It was clear that my 15 minutes of fame was over before it had even started as my shorts were more famous than I.

And yes, that is me a quarter of a century ago with more hair and a little less weight. There have been many great adventures in the outdoors for me since then .... and I am happy to note that I am still out there enjoying new adventures.

What do these 3 have in common?

2010-04-07T10:48:00.002+10:00

What do the three men below all have in common?

A man with a can - pink spray paint to be exact:

A man with a dog:

A mountain biker without a bike:

Answer: They were all on top of Mt Maroon on Easter Saturday.

The man with the can, spray painted the wrong way up with his can of fluro pink paint which upset the park rangers no end as now they have to scrub it off with wire brushes.

The man with the dog wasn't quite sure where he was going but both man and dog seemed to be enjoying their walk.

The man without the bike was doing a bit of cross training. Of all three, he was the only one not to harm the national park environment that day.

Playing in boats

2010-03-30T14:47:00.001+10:00

photo: Eddie Safarik

The weekend was spent playing in boats on the Maroochy River. There were lots of friends with lots of boats to try out. The photo shows Brian catching some swell on the bar .... he enjoyed the wave. Its good to live in Qld where the water is always warm.

New bike

2010-03-24T13:48:00.000+10:00

Unfortunately, I didn't get a new bike but Dave did ... and we all looked on in awe as he stood out from the crowd. ;-) Good ride this morning with a good crew, good chat and good trails. There were still a few muddy spots but finally Daisy has started to dry out after all the rain.

Signed up for the Epic later this year so something to get motivated about and out on the dirt again. Floody signed up as well and can't wait for his new Epic jersey ... no white to turn a lighter shade of brown.

Bicycle race

2010-03-21T18:08:00.002+10:00

It was bicycle week this week and there were people on bikes everywhere. This morning there was the Mt Cootha Challenge but there was also the Daisy Hill Summer Series where hardman Dean0 was racing and so were Dave and daughter. Everyone was a winner.

Dam the rain

2010-03-15T19:49:00.000+10:00

So much for this being the year of the bike :-( ... the rain has made it very difficult to hit the dirt on the mountain bike. On the bright side though, the dams in SE Qld are almost completely full which made for good paddling at Wivenhoe Dam on the weekend. Lawn right down to the waters edge and beyond, no sharks ;-) and great company.

Gone underground

2010-02-28T10:08:00.000+10:00

Went underground today, in fact, underground underwater. How? As part of the Clem7 fun run. There are not many places in Qld that you can go on a 10km run without worry about sunburn. The photo above is at the deepest point of the tunnel ... maybe they should do something about the water before the cars drive through. ;-) All good fun though with 5,000 close friends.

Wed ride turns four

2010-02-24T10:50:00.001+10:00

The Wednesday morning ride at Daisy turned four today with about a dozen riders out enjoying the fine but hot and humid morning. Its a testament to the riders who frequent the forest on Wednesday morning that the ride has lasted for as long as it has with no more organisation than "see you there". A great bunch of guys/gals to spend a few hours on the singletrack with each week.

When is a commute not a commute?

2010-02-23T12:30:00.003+10:00

When is a commute not a commute?
Answer: When you end up in hospital.

Although I have enjoyed(?) the services of the Qld Ambulance before, it was not me today but another commuter going over the bars of his bicycle. Looked liked a broken shoulder - so should be ok to ride again in a few weeks/months. This was the second time this year I have come across this type of accident on the way to work (and its only Feb).

Be careful out there, bitumen can bite.

The Tweed

2010-02-14T13:43:00.003+10:00

After last week's deluge it was great to see the sun out on the Tweed Coast. Kayaking and watching wild dolphins enjoy themselves in the surf were the order of the day.

12 days in the tropics

2010-02-12T18:51:00.002+10:00

(photo: kk&jen)

An image of red cliffs and blue water from a 12 day sea kayak trip up the eastern side of Hinchinbrook Island last August. A great place to walk or kayak.

Point of no return

2010-02-06T16:14:00.004+10:00

Sometimes you have to take the leap off the rocks ... the point of no return. You watch the sets, check out the currents and where the rocks are. At some point you have to decide to jump in .... or head back to the car.

A little over 30 years ago I jumped off these very rocks headed into the impact zone, got worked and the leg rope broke. Bugger. With no board it was a rough swim into land on the rocks, retrieve the board and access the damage. Luckily damage was minimal, and I was to surf another day.

Jumping off rocks into the surf may seem fairly straightforward to the uninitiated ... but there are a few tricks. Unfortunately the surfer in the video below didn't work it all out before taking the leap .....

Australia Day 2010

2010-01-30T16:20:00.000+10:00

With an early start to beat the heat, a dash through Daisy and onto the eastern escarpement (the EE)/ Mt Cotton. Even Michael made the ride - a good way to get back into mtbing after a break of about two years.

A great way to start Australia Day and something that is becoming a tradition.

Dugongs, dolphins and turtles

2010-01-25T19:53:00.001+10:00

(click for larger version of image)

Eight friends, eight kayaks, beautiful weather and a long weekend on Moreton Bay. Add to that a large amount of animal wildlife including dugongs, dolphins, stingrays, sea eagles, black swans and heaps of turtles and you have a recipe for a great weekend.

Kayaks sharing a quite moment at Clarkes Pt

at the top of Lamb Island.

"OK, who pulled the plug on the water?"

You take the diesel, and we'll take the paddle,

and you'll get to climate change before us.

A kayak rainbow on Gumnut Beach

2010 - Year of the Bike

2010-01-20T09:00:00.000+10:00

The first mountain bike ride for the year today in this, the year of the bike (well, for me at least). With my goals of completing both the Noosa Enduro 100km and Epic 100km this year, I need to put in a lot of time on the bike to have the fitness required.

30 boats on the Bay

2010-01-17T19:30:00.001+10:00

(click on image for larger version)

There were over 30 sea kayaks out on Moreton Bay for a combined QSKC and Claytons club paddles. Great weather, socialising and paddling were the order of the day.

Although I didn't see it, a very large dugong was following me for a short distance, surfacing just behind me before diving under the waves. Luckily dugongs are vegetarians.

Karawatha revisited.

2009-12-31T12:09:00.000+10:00

Although I was there yesterday, I went there again today with a couple of mates to ride mountain bikes again. Some very nice spots in the forest.

We rode about 26km and climbed almost 500m so it was a good workout in the showery weather.

What rain?

2009-12-30T13:33:00.000+10:00

This was the picture as I arrived at the starting point for the ride this morning. Everywhere else had turned into a mudfest so we thought we would try somewhere different. After we avoided the flooded streams, we found some nice trails that we where able to stretch the legs on.

All in all, a good mornings ride.

The Daisy Hill crew on YouTube

2009-12-27T09:02:00.004+10:00

It's that time of year again when we look back at what happened this year. For the crew of the Daisy Hill Wednesday morning ride it was more great times out there in the forest ... and we ventured away from Daisy as well. I hope your year on the bike was as good as ours.

And have a great 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWmQdJz2kvw

Mates in a mag.

2009-12-23T14:12:00.001+10:00

If you walk, ride, ski or paddle with me there is every chance that you will find youself looking out from the pages of a magazine (with your permission of course). It is good to see some of my mates from the regular Daisy Hill Wed morning crew have made the pages of Australian Mountain Bike over Christmas. At least one of them is available for magazine signings if you like (LOL).

Have a great Christmas.

Snake bites, mountain bikes and art.

2009-12-16T17:53:00.000+10:00

If you have a pet snake it is likely to bite you as some point. Well, this week was that time .... and twice in one week !!! Lucky its not poisonous.

Good mountain biking again with mates. Always a good laugh and a good workout.

Asia Pacific Triennial of Art 6 is showing at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane .... certainly worth a look.

The Christmas ride.

2009-12-09T21:46:00.000+10:00

(click on image for larger version)

It was a good turn for the annual weekly Wed morning ride

... although a few of the guys forgot their bikes .... bugger.

But luckily we found one lying on the side of the track.

"I found it, so I'm keeping it" said Em.

Meanwhile, not far away, Rich was trying to take photos of lightning.

"What do these instructions say" thinks Andrew with his quizzical face on.

"What does all this mean? .... and so many cameras!!"

Climate change is all the rage

2009-12-09T13:45:00.001+10:00

This link below is worth a look at the amount of CO2 that we put into the air.

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita: Map

Still surfing 33 yrs later

2009-12-06T18:29:00.000+10:00

(click on image for larger view)

This image was taken of Rod and myself 33 years ago at Clarkes Beach, Byron Bay. Today I went surfing with Rod and another surfing mate Dave who organizes a surf once a month for the crew. It was great to be surfing with mates after so long. A lot has changed but some things stay the same.

Gaz Dave Rod

We're still pretty fit after 50 years of life but unfortunately our hair has not lasted the distance. Below is an image of the way we were in Jan 1976. I'm on the left with Rod on the right .... even had tans then ;-)

Byron revisited

2009-12-04T11:00:00.000+10:00

In the past few years Byron Bay has become so crowded that it has lost some of its appeal. This week I was lucky to be down there and found it easy to get a car park, easy to get a beach front table and even easy to get a wave. The reason for the lack of crowds was "schoolies" who tend not to drive, don't go to the cafes and sleep most of the day. Byron was like it was 20 years ago .... excellent.

To Hells Gates and back

2009-11-27T14:54:00.001+10:00

When its hot as hell outside, why not take a trip to Hells Gates

(in a sea kayak of course).

Flat out Wednesday

2009-11-25T14:40:00.000+10:00

Although the sign says that it was sunny, the first half hour was light rain which was good in settling the dust.

The flats started out as I took the bike out of the car only to find it had a flat rear tyre which I changed before the ride with an audience of a dozen riders watching me looking at their watches. Simon had a rear flat halfway through the ride which Neil and Jaman helped with after the rest of the crew took off. Rich had the third on 2nd Cummin and Max watch him change that ;-)

The fouth flat was not a flat tyre but rather someone charging down the gravelly fire track doing a big slide and skid towards the barbed wire fenced and then proceeded to over-balance, unable to unclip and ended up on their back like a stunned turtle while the onlookers laughed (a lot). So really the fourth flat was a rider flat - namely me - so no photos 'cause I had the camera.

Chickendrinker helps Simon change a flat. Its good to have mates.

A Sunday with the Wednesday crew

2009-11-17T09:56:00.004+10:00

Spent the day racing with many of the Wednesday morning crew at the Karingal 4hr mountain bike race. It was great fun but pretty hot. Below is a bit of the action I captured as I stopped around the track .... a lot of familiar faces can be seen including cameo appearances by Rhino, Jaman, Dean0, chickendrinker, Floody, Token Kid, Rich the Stich, nitronic and many more.

Tall stories and pink lights

2009-11-11T11:22:00.002+10:00

(click on image for larger version)

Great morning again for the Wednesday morning ride with a good turn out ... the diggers would have been proud of the mateship displayed .... which also means ragging each other. Speaking of taking the piss .... who had the pink ayups on their bike this morning?????

... and we were all entertained by Jaman's stories of the Crocodile Trophy mtb race in North Qld recently.

Bike, planes and a lot of bull.

2009-11-03T18:01:00.002+10:00

Sometimes bikes are a work of art.

But they still get ridden and the old ones can only watch on.

Flyboy gave us a lesson about planes ...

.. and then about riding rocks ...

... but there was also a lot of bull out at Old Hidden Vale.

Halfway up the EE

2009-10-30T15:16:00.003+10:00

A perfect morning for an attack on the EE.

...... but I am still waiting for Wezzy.

Too much red?

2009-10-28T11:38:00.001+10:00

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It seems that after the Epic everybody is wearing red and white ....

Great morning at Daisy

2009-10-21T10:59:00.002+10:00

Its Wednesday morning and that means mountain biking at Daisy Hill. Always good to get out with the regular crew before work.

Another view of the same spot.

Coochie

2009-10-18T17:32:00.001+10:00

A great day to paddle or to sail on the bay with 10-15kts of wind. The timing was perfect as we came close but not too close to a flotilla of about 30 yachts as we headed across to Potts Pt. The tide was high so we were able to explore the mangroves of Coochie. .... but where did Henry go?

Ride to work day

2009-10-14T10:19:00.002+10:00

Normally on a Wednesday morning it is mountain biking at Daisy Hill but today was a little different. National Ride-to-Work Day saw a small group mountain biking regulars meet up and ride into the city for a free breakfast. A very nice morning for it ... trouble was, once breakfast was done, I then rode out of the city to work.

Back on the water

2009-10-05T09:37:00.001+10:00

It was good to get back on the water for the first time after the 12 day Hinchinbrook trip back in August. Myself and a few others did some sea kayak leader training in preparation for leading some trips for QSKC. This photo shows the conditions as pretty calm but we were sheltering from the 20-23kts. A good day out.

Dust, dust and flats

2009-09-30T16:19:00.000+10:00

It was only a few months ago that we were complaining about the mud .... now its the dust again. A great ride again this morning and the two flats and two dud tubes were a good laugh as well. Always good to start the day with an early mtb ride.

Bayview

2009-09-28T20:46:00.002+10:00

Its great to ride a place like Bayview with a couple of mates ... the tracks are raw and there is no-one else around. Only 35 minutes from the city, but still a world away. Plenty of offs ... mainly by me ... and plenty of laughs.

Back on the bike

2009-09-23T13:01:00.000+10:00

(click image for larger view)

It was great to be on the bike again after focusing on the sea kayaking in the last couple of months. A crew of 9 took to the DH single track this morning before the dust storm engulfed BrisVegas in a cloud of orange.

It was a long since I have ridden with Nick ... and on the Yeti as well !!!

... its been even longer since riding with Dean ... maybe a year. Good to see you can still ride ... just please don't run over the camera guy next time :-)

Zoe Falls

2009-09-20T20:31:00.000+10:00

There are not too many places that you can sit in a pool on the top of a waterfall and gaze out over rainforest to an azure ocean ... on Hinchinbrook you can :-)

Face your fears ... paddle with sharks

2009-09-17T15:42:00.003+10:00

(click image for larger view)

the next 50

2009-09-14T10:07:00.002+10:00

The first 50 are now done and dusted (mostly good) ... the next 50 will be even better. Thanks KG

Coombe to Dunk ... and almost dunked

2009-08-19T09:54:00.003+10:00

It was time to leave the small coral beach of Coombe and paddle the 12km crossing to Dunk Island. The forecast and actual conditions were the same so it was a couple of hours of heart in the mouth paddling in the 25kts of wind and 2 metre seas that were short, choppy and occasionally breaking. At one point I found myself chest deep in water looking down the face of a steep 2 metre wave ..... for me, that was a challenge. The boat performed well and I coped with the conditions while Sea Mongrel was enjoying the change from calm seas for the first time on this trip.

Unfortunately, the video below doesn't capture the more challenging nature of the paddle.

19km crossing to Coombe Island

2009-08-18T08:53:00.004+10:00

Another perfect paddling day for the 19km crossing from Hinchinbrook Island to Coombe Island in the Family Group of islands. There were hopes of seeing Migalu (the white whale) as it had been spotted in the area in the last couple of days, however no whales were sighted today.

Video by Sea Mongrel

Cape Richards

2009-08-17T12:15:00.001+10:00

The beach at Cape Richards was a great spot with the added bonus of a resort swimming pool up amongst the trees. The exclusive Eco Resort had been closed for 8 months but had a caretaker maintaining the pool and grounds before it opens again next year with $500 a night rooms.

My sleeping quarters weren't too bad though ;-)

Rock or turtle ... that is the question

2009-08-16T11:53:00.000+10:00

Sunset Beach - Some people thought that a turtle was a rock and had to watch it for hours before agreeing that the fact that it kept appearing and disappearing in different locations could possibly mean that it was a turtle ..... maybe. :-?

Blacksand & Sandwich

2009-08-16T10:27:00.002+10:00

(click on images for larger view)

Stopping in at Blacksand Beach on the way north, Nina Peak climbs out of the forest as if to bid us farewell.

The 9km paddle up Ramsay Bay was on totally glassy aquamarine water. Here KK and Jen round Cape Sandwich before heading to Sunset Beach. The complete lack of swell allowed us to get up close and personal with the rocks.

The beach, the view, the paradise

2009-08-15T18:26:00.000+10:00

Nina Beach with Nina Peak in the background. Our camp was amongst the coconut palms .... this certainly is paradise.

This is the late afternoon view looking south along the Hinchinbrook coast from whence we came. The weather .... beautiful one day, perfect the next .... and the next, and next and next

Nina Bay

2009-08-14T10:18:00.000+10:00

The conditions remained perfect with little to no wind for our paddle around to Nina Bay. Many turtles, fish and stingrays were seen.

Zoe snorkeling

2009-08-13T17:39:00.002+10:00

Coral reefs aren't the only place you can snorkel, in fact the pool at the base of Zoe Falls was a great spot including fish that loved to come close.