Road Trip

Meg worked in D today so I went in at lunchtime and got the photos of my birthday visit off her camera card.

Tackling the little hill after leaving the lunch site. We didn't eat the catered lunch; we rode on to a cafe.

This is the lady that Drew helped across the road; protecting her from the dive-bombing magpie.

Meg had a seafood basket.

Drew had a chicken schnitzel burger.

I had quiche and salad.

LB had mackerel and salad.

Mum made a little cardboard sign that said '50".

Walking on the beach, collecting coral.

The Wrap Up

So. The Wrap Up. What did I learn and what would I do differently?

First and foremost I learnt that getting an easy campese tent is the absolute best way to go. Having no worries about getting into camp and having to put up your own tent and then being able to walk away from it each morning (instead of being in a hurry to eat and pack up a wet tent and get going) makes for an overall more pleasant riding experience.

I learnt that getting away early each day makes for very comfortable riding conditions, avoiding the worst of the afternoon sun.

I learnt that you can stay too long at rest stops and let yourself cool down which makes you not feel like moving on! A max of 10-15 minutes at morning and afternoon tea and 20 or so minutes at lunch is more than enough time to fuel up (although that depends a bit on the length of the toilet queue).

I learnt that talking to people and learning from them is very advantageous and improves your skills and  ability. As usual I analysed and processed what I'd been told and then applied it as best I could. I think it worked a lot of the time.

I learnt that I really like a sausage on bread when I get into camp. I can't believe how much food I ate over the 9 days. I must have eaten 3 or  4 times as much as what I eat at home and even though I was burning it up each day, my stomach can only hold so much food. Blah.

I learnt that being totally focussed on something else is a great way to shift your mindset (and it reminds you that everything will not fall apart just because you're not there). I only thought about the feedlot once, when Gibbo rang to ask me about some trucking arrangements.

I learnt that having a buddy along for the ride helps you meet people. If I'd been on my own I wouldn't have struck up the friendship with the 3 doctors. I probably wouldn't have gone to lunch with Jill and her crew. I would have just stuck to myself.

I learnt that we don't know what we're capable of until we are challenged. Getting up and over the "Oh Sh*t" hill on day 1 set the tone for the rest of the ride. I wasn't going to walk, no matter how hard it got. Suck it up, soldier. Puke and hair, puke and hair.

Finally, I learnt that it's all in the mind - if you believe you can do something, you will. If you believe you can't do something, you won't. Pretty simple really.

What would I do differently? Nothing really, except get a more comfortable pillow to sleep on. I think it all worked out pretty well.

So goodbye to CQ2012; I'm looking forward to CQ2013.

Oh, and in the end we raised $1,720 for beyondblue.

Day 9 CQ2012 Cooroy to Noosa

Sunday September 16, 2012

A quick dash to Noosa this morning via a closed road through bushland - a road used regularly for training and for the triathlon held there each year. It was downhill and winding; everyone enjoyed it. We stopped at the end and Dr Brian (general surgeon) and Dr Rosemary (vet) came along so we grabbed a photo. As the week had gone on we got to know these two characters quite well along with a colleague of Brian's, Dr David. The three of them were great company and we sat together each night for dinner.

Here's the three of them out on the road.

We were in Noosa by 8.40, riding under the archway that we'd ridden under at the start just 9 days earlier. We had to pull up at a roundabout with just metres to go, to give way to a bus. If we hadn't done that, Gibbo would have missed the big finish! He got there just as LB came in and I was close behind.

Unpacking the easy camping truck; very efficient and all done quickly.

I had to eat so had ANOTHER sausage in bread then headed for Brisbane and lunch with Drew.

Day 8 CQ2012 Gympie to Cooroy

Saturday 15th September, 2012

Only 58km today with two nasty hills thrown in along with a screaming 15% downhill! I rode the brakes all the way down - Gibbo would have been horrified - he doesn't like it when I ride the brakes down the Twba range when I'm driving.

This ride was actually the one I enjoyed the most for two reasons. Despite the hills it was just beautiful riding through the country lanes, everything green and glistening with dew and so pretty. I took my time and just enjoyed the journey. We came across these and just had to stop.

Morning tea was here; what a spot!

We were eating lunch at 9.55am in Kin Kin. I could barely eat anything - three meals in three hours just about did me in.

The second reason I enjoyed this particular ride the most actually involved a range - the one between Kin Kin and Pomona. It looked steeper on the map than it actually was and it wound it's way up the mountain rather than going up in a straight line! It also had a really smooth surface which made the job easier. If all the hills I ever climbed were like this I'd never complain. I'm surprised to admit that I actually enjoyed it.

We arrived in Cooroy in really good time and walked back into town. What a cute little place. I was hungry (?!!) for quiche and salad but could only find a roast vegetable frittata with lentils.

Oh - and this!! This was REALLY GOOD!!

Back at the campsite we did a bit of washing and I dozed in my tent. LB's family arrived to have a look around - they were all spending a week at Noosa once the ride was finished so she went with them to pick up the key and unpack. It was too hot in the tent so I amused myself by taking some photos.

At dinner the big announcement of the location of next year's ride was highly anticipated - although there had been a (true) rumour floating around since Thursday.........CAIRNS AND BEYOND!!! A big cheer erupted. When I went to bed I googled train timetables and fares (Sunlander and Tilt). I think a day or two on a train on the way up and back might just be a good way to go!

Day 7 CQ2012 Tiaro to Gympie

Friday September 14, 2012

Tackling the Hills - the best approach to hills is to have the right attitude; just as a journey of 1000 kilometres begins with a single step, it's best to tackle the hills one pedal stroke after another. Start the ride with a positive attitude; rather than dreading the upcoming work, see the hills as a chance to work different muscles, get your body out of the saddle and to spy some different views. For steeper or longer hills, stay focused just in front of your bike. Don't look too far ahead. Maintain a high cadence. See the hill as finishing once you get beyond its crest. Rather than stopping for a breather as soon as you hit the crest, push yourself past it and ease off once you've gone a bit further. This aids your recovery and really does make a difference. Advice in the daily Chain Mail.

102km of hills, hills, hills. I broke the ride up into four sections and rode the first three conservatively, saving my energy for the last 25km of long climbs into Gympie. Morning tea was at Dickabram Bridge - the oldest remaining large steel truss bridge in Queensland. It was built in 1886 and spans the Mary River. We had to stop and walk across after riding on about 4km of dirt/gravel to get there.

Lunch.

I listened too much to people. I didn't take the ride book with me. I didn't want to see what was left on the map. I knew there were an awful lot of jagged peaks to get over and get over them I did. It was really hard but really good at the same time. I ran into someone at the afternoon tea break who gave me some good advice and it helped. There was a lot of traffic and still more hills coming into Gympie. It was such a relief to make it to the camp ground. Dinner was delicious irish lamb, barley and stout stew with lots of horseradish mashed potato, baby peas and salad followed by apricot danish and custard. I slept really, really well that night!

Day 6 CQ2012 Hervey Bay to Tiaro

Thursday September 13, 2012

This was a pretty flat 81km ride with heavy traffic again from Hervey Bay back to Maryborough. We went through a beautiful section of the old town near the wharf and had a hairy couple of street crossings. We finally got back onto country roads and had a great ride into Tiaro. Pulling up for another chocolate milk, LB spied a house with a heap of tie dyed tablecloths/bed throws hanging up, blowing in the breeze. We ventured over for a look and I spied CAMELS so I grabbed this one:

and this one. They're huge. LB stuffed them in her backpack and carried them the 1km to the camping ground.

The view from my tent.

There was plenty of talk at dinner (spaghetti bog with corn cobs and greek salad followed by apricot danish and custard) about the next day's ride and the amount and severity of the hills. It all made me quite anxious and I took myself quietly off to bed and told myself that if I could make it up that range on the first day, I surely could make it up a few hills.

Day 5 CQ2012 Rest Day Hervey Bay

We arranged to meet Jill and her crew for lunch at 12 at a restaurant along the Esplanade. We took our time walking down there, had a coffee, sat around, chatted and chilled out.

Lunch was delightful. The food was delicious. The company was great. There was 12 of us around a long table and the conversation ebbed and flowed, as did the food and wine. We didn't have individual dishes - it was more a share type arrangement. Scallops, chilli prawns, spanner crab, slow cooked beef ribs, roasted lamb shoulder, a succulent piece of pork all accompanied by salads/veges/polenta dishes and sauces and followed by several cheese platters. It was relaxing and interesting and a very pleasant way to spend three hours.

It's funny how we see ourselves - I think that my existence is quite boring and banal (ie drearily commonplace and often predictable) but everyone we met was really interested in our lifestyle and our story; especially the wagyu story.

LB hightailed it back to near camp as she'd booked a thai massage; I strolled back and called in at a little shop and bought us both one of these each (not the coffee, just the cup)!

Day 4 CQ2012 Maryborough to Hervey Bay

Tuesday September 11, 2012

Hello 50! You're here - thanks for coming!

Leona gave me a bag that she'd made and a little canvas print of our favourite cycling photo on an easel - it's the one she used as the "letterhead" when the sponsorship letters went out. I think it's a classic!

Breakfast was hash browns, scrambled eggs and onions. Each morning I force myself to also eat half a cup of bircher muesli, just to give myself plenty of fuel in the tank. I have to chew it 50 times before I can swallow it.

Here I am on the morning I turned 50, heading out the gate.

We didn't leave camp until 8am so as to allow the worst of the traffic to be gone (not sure that theory worked). The road out from Maryborough was extremely busy and a little nerve wracking at times. However, we made it to our morning tea stop at Dundowran.

I had been feeling a bit sad at breakfast that I wasn't with any of my family on my big day - but then I thought (and said to LB) that I'd rather be on the bike ride because if I was home, there'd be no-one there anyway - Gibbo would be at Surat, the kids would be away and I'd be at work. So at morning tea I was sitting on a stump, staring at the ground, trying to force a mushy banana down.

And then it happened.

I looked up - and there, holding hands and creeping through all the cyclists were these two - I looked at them but I couldn't believe what I was seeing - I looked away, then back again and they were still there, standing in front of me giggling!! I think I gave a little scream or said "oh no" or something and then burst into tears!!

I couldn't stop hugging and kissing them!

Apparently the visit was all worked out two weeks ago and LB knew all about it. Meg got into my phone and got her number and L let her know where we'd be on the day. They were going to meet us at lunch or the campsite but they arrived earlier than expected. L had been on the phone to them when they were about 10 minutes away and they told her to wait so she stalled a bit by standing in a long line for a cup of tea. I had been a bit preoccupied and didn't notice anything unusual. They parked illegally and ran down the hill to where we were! What an amazing surprise - the biggest one in my 50 years! Drew had got a bus to Meg in Twba last night, then they drove to Dalby and stayed with Mum and G came in for tea. Mum was going to come too but she woke up feeling sick so they left her behind.

After all the excitement we headed off to the lunch break which was only down the road; when we got there we decided to keep going and meet the kids at a little cafe they had seen earlier. There was a rather nasty little hill to get up first though.

The four of us had a lovely meal at the little cafe. I have photos but they're on Meg's camera. There was a swooping magpie in the trees overhead; Drew helped a little old lady across the road. After a really happy lunch we cycled (and the kids drove) the few kms to the campsite. I took them around and showed them everything - my tent, where everything is, how it all works etc. We went for a walk along the beach and collected some coral and shells.

Too soon it was time for them to leave. I didn't' want them to leave but I was anxious about the long drive back. They made it back to Mum's about 7pm and then continued on through to Twba.

LB having a swing and emailing.

That night at dinner, during the evening roundup, it was mentioned that Maryanne had had a special birthday today - and if anyone had seen her crying at morning tea - well she cried all the way to lunch and the campsite as well - because her kids had driven from the Darling Downs to meet up and surprise her. They don't normally announce birthdays but when LB went and told them they asked her was it a special birthday etc - so they decided to go with it.

What a fabulous way to turn 50! Riding my bike with my friend and having my kids surprise me with a visit. Totally, totally awesome.