Hard and hilly Noosa

Riding the Noosa Enduro course has its challenges but is one of the most rewarding mountain bike rides you are likely to find anywhere.

The recent heavy rains have gouged out large erosion ruts in the fire trails that used to provide for fast riding but now its a lot slower going.

Neil felt that a smaller diameter wheel was the way to go .... in some situations an eight inch wheel has its advantages .... maybe?

It looks idyllic here but the lush, green grass is lush for a reason .... lots of water, mud and a whole lot of cow dung.

After 40 odd kilometres through the bush, the rain had us thinking that maybe a fast bitumen ride could be a good idea. We by-passed the dairy and headed back to Pomona.

A great day out !!

Far too wet to ride

Its far too wet to ride a mtb anywhere in SE Qld this morning so I
posted up this video that I prepared earlier

... last weekend in fact. It was a lot drier and dustier then.

Click here to see the mtbing video.

Mt Nebo beckons

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Heart rate at 186 bpm within a kilometre of starting .... this is going to hurt. With the motivation of the 2009 Noosa Enduro to push me, I (and a group of fellow mtbers) headed up the standard Gap Ck - Mt Nebo route which is approx 50km and 1,500m of climbing for a training ride. A beautiful morning for it, with a great crew.  

It did hurt .... but after reviewing the gps data, I equalled my best moving average for the route at a lower heart rate than 12 months ago (which was also the last time I did this ride).  No wonder I feel a bit spent. 

4.55am

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Its cold, its dark, its 4.55am .... and I am getting up. Is it worth it ?

The answer is a big resounding YES as the Wednesday morning ride is a great way to start the day and get some mtbing in during the middle of the week. About eight of us out in the forest this morning before dawn and a beautiful morning it was.



Rich looks happy to be there as well.


Neil was also happy ... but on the inside.

Sea kayak rock'n'roll

A bit of fun with a sea kayak.

Currumbin cruising.

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Laurie and I did a surf training day at Currumbin and although the photo of Laurie in the line up above would indicate there was no surf, there were some nice waves to be caught on the sets.



Laurie and the Guillemot taking a break between surf sessions.

Byron Bay sea kayak surfing

Its always fun to harness the power of nature and Byron Bay was the perfect place to do it. Be it body surfing, with a board or a 5.4m sea kayak, catching a wave is an exhilarating experience.


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Dolphin off Cape Byron (image captured from video)

Adventure Russ on Sunrise

A friend of mine, Russell Worthington (AdventureRuss) is about to start on an amazing 7,500km bike ride through 10 of Australia's deserts. He appeared on Channel Seven's Sunrise program this morning and plans to start riding from Alice Springs tomorrow.

His website is here and the Sunrise interview here (choose 10 Deserts Bike Trek from the thumbnails).

Go Russ !!!

Daisy at dawn

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With a crew of 14 regulars on a cold, clear morning the tracks were perfect, the crew was great and the riding was excellent.















Did anyone else see this guy on the ride?

Autumn mornings

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It was my first autumn morning ride this year and it was great to get out onto the tacky Daisy Hill trails before dawn with the regular crew.

Rich managed an OTB on the rock garden but otherwise an uneventful but thoroughly enjoyable ride. Dave made a flying visit before heading off to fly his work toy, while the rest of us rode a 19km circuit. There were about 4 other small groups of riders out there this morning enjoying the forest after all the wet weather. I look forward to next week. :-)

Tropical island?

Not quite (and its not Bribie either)

Bribie dolphins

A great day at Bribie Island paddling around the southern end from the passage to the surf side and return. A small pod of dolphins welcomed us back into Pumicestone Passage coming quite close to our flotilla.

Noosa bound.

I was planning not to ride the Noosa Enduro this year .... but the entries have opened and I can't help myself. The training started today.

Easter camping

Easter means we go camping .... and it usually rains in SE Qld. But its still warm enough to swim in the creeks ...

toast marshmallows ....

and even do a bit of fire twirling to keep warm ;-)

Afternoon paddle

The weather has been very wet and unpredictable lately so it was nice to be able to get out on the bay for a late afternoon paddle in perfect conditions.

Mudfest

The 6hr Enduro at Kuwongbah was held on the weekend and as always happens when a race is held there ... it rained the days before so the track was a mudfest. Glad I wasn't racing but good to catch up with people who were.

Launch of the Guillemot

It has taken over 12 months to build and today was the launch of Guillemot kayak built by Laurie and John. Using plans bought of the web, the pair of new kayak builders sourced and cut their own wooden strips before painstakingly building the kayak up each strip at a time. Laurie had not worked with wood like this before but was happy to work with John who some would say is a master craftsman with building wooden creations, although this was the first time he had attempted a boat.

Rather than break a bottle of champagne over the bow and risk damaging the boat ;-( ... the bottle was duly opened then poured over the bow (testing the front hatch at the same time).

With a shake of hands, the newly built kayak was ready for the water. :-)

There was some questions like "Will it float?"

Of course it did, and Laurie took it for a short paddle without showing us the hull .... he could finally savour the work put in.

Equally, John enjoyed his first paddle. :-)

With smiles all round, the crowd of onlookers enjoyed the remains of the champange.

What's in a blade?

What's in a blade? ... quite a lot really. Although the differences are subtle, the way they feel and perform can be quite different. Try before you buy is the best thing that can be done when deciding on which blade is right for you.

Which one? .... still deciding.    :-)

King Island

Another beautiful morning as we headed out from Wellington Pt to "discover" the remote King Island (not in Bass Straight ... that's Silvio's blog).  Ok, well it felt remote as we were the only people on it. After a short break, we headed across to Tingalpa Ck with its very interesting(?) house boats.

On the way back to Wellington Pt we saw what seemed to be people walking across the water. Was this some mass religious experience on Sunday morning???

As we got closer, thoughts of remote islands disappeared as we realised the low tide sandbar allowed everyone with legs and/or a walking frame could also "discover" King Island.   :-(

Did this lot get caught out by the incoming tide?  Maybe...   ;-)

Gap Creek mid-week

Normally on the weekends all the tracks are busy with mountain bikers going every which way. Mid-week at Gap Ck is another world. Nobody about, tracks to yourselves .... excellent.  

And the bush is looking incredibly green and lush