3 in a row.

An easy paddle around Coochie this morning with light winds. Before a break at the beach I thought I would try a few rolls in the kayak. After completing three in a row I was very happy. This was only my 5th day trying and the first without anyone spotting me.   :-)

3 years of Wed mornings

Wednesday the 11th of February was the third anniversary of the Daisy Hill Wednesday morning ride. Much of the group has changed over that time but there are a core of regulars who are generally there each week.

Some say that we are all similar in some way :-O If you look at the photo closely you may notice something odd ;-) (click on the image for a larger view)

Sunset over the Eastern Escarpement

A different view of the Eastern Escarpement (EE). This was taken from our campsite at Blakeley's Anchorage on North Stradbroke Island which is only accessible by boat. We paddled our sea kayaks from Redland Bay via Karragarra Island to Blakeley's to spend a very pleasant evening there.

The spacious campsite with a great water view.

Beware - the Karragarra Ninja are following.

"Will you guys stop talking and help me get my head out of here ... its stuck!!"

Damiano in an interesting seascape.

Dawn Patrol to the EE

It was time for another dawn patrol out to the eastern escapement (EE). As you climb up onto the EE, the early morning sun can be seen lighting up the city of Brisbane a short distance away. Today the weather was great, the company excellent and all in all another great way to start the day.








... and we found this on the way back ;-)

Bushwalking in the blood

This is a photograph of my grandfather bushwalking on the Baw Baw plateau near Melbourne about 80 years ago.  

This was me about to go bushwalking in the Bunya mtns in the 1960's. There is a distinct similarity about the socks and walking stick. Bushwalking in the blood?

Surfing in kayaks

Taking to the surf for the first time in the sea kayak was great fun. Bribie was the venue with Damiano giving paddling tips and taking the photos of me enjoying the waves.

Wednesday Morning air time.

A great morning for a mtb ride out in the Daisy Hill forest. 18 of us took to the singletrack with our usual skill and constant chatter ;-) There was a bit of air to be had, with Kylie being the winner of most air time and most style.


Flyboy gets a lot of air at work and also got some through the rock garden on TOL today. Here he is keeping it solid.


ABQ took to the air on Koala but landed softly. Here ABQ shows his RR attack style so as not to get any more air over Stonehenge

50k ... its been a while.

Original photo by FPK (this one highly edited)

Its been a while since I rode 50km on the mountain bike ... so it was time to get out and join the Dirt Dogs Glasshouse Mountains tour. A very enjoyable ride of 50km over the best trails that the area had to offer.

... and there was only one patch of mud :-)

A dual suspension single speed ... not something you see everyday.

Turtle, stingray ... SHARK :-0

The plan was a short paddle from Victoria Pt to the northern end of Macleay Island via Coochie .... but with the arrival of a strong southerly change, Kev's inaugural voyage of the "White Knight" was to be some what shortened.

With 20 knots of wind gusting 25 and forecast to get stronger, some of us managed to paddle part of the way to Macleay. On the way, a small turtle surfaced near us, there was also a stingray taking to the air as it flew out of the water. I also noticed the dorsal fin of a shark ..... a SHARK!!!  :-0 .... not more than 7 metres away. I'd estimate it to be about 1.5 - 2m long ... so not that big, and it wasn't interested in us (that we knew of) .... maybe that is why the stingray took to the air ???

An enjoyable and somewhat challenging paddle at times.

Kev making final adjustments on the "White Knight"

Karen gets the jump on Kev and is first out of the starting gates.

Extreme Vespa washing

While most of us go to great lengths to save water, someone went to extreme lengths the other morning to wash their Vespa.

Summer at Byron

Summer means surfing at Byron. After 2 months without a decent swell, it was on for young and old when it did arrive.

Conditions ranged from 35knots southerlies to off shore winds on corderoy lines of swell to glassy mornings of waves to yourself.

Up the creek ... with a paddle.

Spent a very enjoyable few days paddling up the Noosa River. The sky looked ominous as we head out across Lake Cootharaba.

but the weather cleared for a perfect time on the river

... and a lot of time in and under the river as well  :-)

There are so many great places to visit ... so little time.

Christmas Day on the Bay

What can I say?

started Christmas Day

on the Bay

What better way?

It must be Christmas

There was the sound of jingle bells in Daisy Hill this morning which can mean only one thing ... its Christmas eve.  A dozen of us had a great ride again this morning finding all the hills we could to burn off as many calories before Christmas lunch tomorrow

The lads were all in the spirit of things wearing there Christmas antlers which they had to take off before Stonehenge  ;-)

Have a great and safe Christmas 

Summer nights

Summer in Qld means that it is often better to ride at night than in the day to beat the heat. On the shortest night of the year, seven of us got out into the wilds of Daisy Hill to enjoy the dark, moonless but pleasantly cool evening.

There were bugs a plenty but we didn't notice them at the time. Each one of the dots on the image is a bug reflecting the flash.

There were also plenty of koalas out as well.

Kids rides

Its holiday time so its good to get the 10 year olds out on the singletrack ... a new generation of mountain bikers in training.  and its always good to try new bikes :-)

Have a great Christmas !!!

Daisy Hill morning rides in review

Well its that time of year when we look back on the year that was .... and looking back at the regular Wednesday morning rides at Daisy Hill ....  it was a great year.

To view the photo highlights:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Avjh3oB-R4w

Bushwalking the Budawangs ...

Anyone interested in bushwalking may get a laugh from the fashions in the 80's. If you haven't been to the Budawangs south of Nowra, they are definitely a great place to walk. No mtbing though.

For wide screen video:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ao3PK4MUI

hail the mighty Yeti

Finally I got to ride a Wednesday morning again after a few weeks off with wet weather and bike out of service. Fitness has gone down noticeably as heart rate was nearly maxing out on one of the climbs :-O

The lads were impressed by the new frame on the Yeti and held it high so they could worship it ;-)

the return of the YETI

The raw 575 has arrived ... a big thumbs up.