Coddiwomple

Dalby to Jandowae 50km Seriously, this is what today looked like, all 50kms of it. The only thing that changed was who was in the lead position, and we swapped it every 5km just to change things up a bit.  On the plus side the sun shone all day, and the headwind was minor but good enough to keep the flies off. We also finally figured out what this crop is, looks like short seedy corn, and is being harvested here right now. It's Sorghum  And the soil really is black, it's called vertosol, and is both fertile and water holding!  The only other thing of interest to occur on the road today, Kerstin thought she spotted a snake.  Now Kerstin really does not have a good eye for reptiles, there have been multiple instances over the years where she just sails right past, with me noticing how close she is just in time to call out snake.  Her response... just lift your feet off the pedals and continue rolling.  Like that carpet python on the way up the mountain. ...

Dandabah Campground Bunya Mountains NP - Dalby 62km Route planning over a couple of drams of Whiskey is maybe not the best idea but it eases the disappointment when you realise that the road ahead might not be as straightforward as you think. Due to the big annual show at Kingaroy, there's not a piece of lawn available to pitch a tiny tent nor a bed. So the peanuts will have to wait and we make our way down the mountain heading for Dalby (further west). This is quite the detour but the BOM promises a dry 25° and sunshine plus tailwind! No further encouragement needed for Louise. But first, we need to get down the mountains.  Leaving the woods Normally fellow travellers (those in cars and with caravans in tow) wish us luck going up the mountains. This morning it's the other way around. The look on the lady's face is a bit worried, I glance over to Louise, the same on hers. Hopefully the fond memories we have of this magic place will cushion the downhill anxieties. I am sad t...

Bunya Mountains National Park 11km of hiking I was not such a happy camper this morning, it had rained overnight so the tent was wet.  Getting out of a tiny wet hiking tent without getting yourself and the interior of the tent wet is an acrobatic exercise that even years of yoga has not prepared me for.  So on exiting, and now damp, what joy to discover that we are blanketed in a pea soup of fog, the wind driving the drizzle sideways, so even the undercover picnic area is wet and 100% humidity.  Coffee helps, as does watching the wallabies and brush turkeys graze the campground, untamed. But the mood shifts into the positive as I am surprised to observe a dingo make his way through the camp.  An uncommon sight, as they are few in number here and relatively cautious. Hopeful that the weather might clear, we leave the tent to maybe dry a bit.  And head out for a hike.  The scenic circuit track sounds promising, we dutifully clean and disinfect our shoes and h...

Yarraman - Bunya Mountains NP (Dandabah Campground) 57km We couldn't have packed more into this day if we tried. I know, 57km sounds pretty harmless but a destination ending in 'Mountains' implies a little something for the lower gear range. Not that I ever doubted that we wouldn't make it to the lofty heights in the National Park, but I had hoped it to be a bit more straightforward. The puzzle starts as soon as we pull out of the caravan park's driveway, onto the D'Aguilar Highway, trying to find the turnoff into Yarraman State Forest. State forests are a bit of a trap for the travelling cyclist. They are inviting because they lead you away from the traffic and lure you with tranquility and pretty gravel roads. But missing road signs and a lack of accuracy on Google Maps, often due to poor GPS signal, can turn them into a maze. So when we eventually head into the forest, I feel a slight "Hänsel und Gretel" sensation.  Where the roads have no name Over...

Blackbutt to Yarraman 21km I was full of gratitude this morning, waking up in a bed, snuggled under both doona and sleeping bag, while the cold and rain persisted.  A quick check of the forecast was not reassuring, showers had been upgraded to rain 15mm, and a headwind, joy!  In a bit of denial I downloaded a new book on my Kindle app and settled in as if the bike was not waiting, still filthy, damp and squeaking. Kerstin, reading the room, gives me two options, much in the style of dealing with recalcitrant children.  Either we can stay in the dry, if not at all warm Blackbutt pub or we can ride the final twenty kilometres of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail and stay in a cabin at the Yarraman Caravan Park.  I'm sold when she mentions the cabins have a)heating and b)their own bathroom.  Twenty kilometres is not that far I tell myself, especially not if the reward is a warm and dry room that you don't have to leave to go pee. With time to kill in Blackbutt, we vis...

Toogoolawah - Blackbutt (Brisbane Valley Rail Trail) 57km First, I titled today's post "Tunnel Vision" but Louise vetoed it. Over lamb shanks, a glass of red and with warm toes tucked in a pair of dry woolen socks, she thought today's telling deserved something more positive. Light and Louise at the end of the tunnel However, today's piece of work involved a tunnel, the only one along the trail, and it provided the driest 100m of riding all day. " The Yimbun Railway tunnel, completed in 1910, is significant as a highly intact example of a concrete-lined tunnel constructed for Queensland's narrow-gauge railway lines ", so the information sign said. From there onwards, 10km into the day, it would have been easy to continue with a tunnel vision and a matching narrow-gauge mind. The predicted showers turned into rain and the condition of the trail turned from 'easy' into, let's say, 'not so easy'. But like so often, it's all in yo...

Lowood to Toogoolawah, via the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail 57km Kerstin and I seem to have an affinity for motorcyclists.   The Lowood Showgrounds/campground is hosting a gathering of motorcyclists and their vintage machines.  We once found ourselves in Rapid City South Dakota at the same time as the Sturgis Harley Davidson motorcycle rally.  But that is a whole other story.  This morning, while we finished our latest read aloud book, we could smell the egg and bacon breakfast being put on for the motorcyclists.  Our porridge and instant coffee was not so appealing.  But with last chapter read the day beckoned, and just as we were setting up for breakfast, we get an offer we can't refuse.  "Do you girls want the leftover eggs and bacon?"  Of course the answer was an emphatic "yes please!" Free breakfast! Spoilt by eggs, bacon, sausage and well buttered bread rolls, we roll out of camp to the sound of vintage motorcycles rumbling away, a sound ...

Ipswich - Lowood (Brisbane Valley Rail Trail) 41km For travelling cyclists like us, the not so hardcore type, the prospect of kissing motorised traffic and busy roads goodbye for a few days and,  instead, pedal along a multi-recreational trail, mostly unsealed, is like the icing on a cake.  Apparently famous... When we push into the pedals at our luxurious (by our standards) overnight stay at the Cumquat House B&B in Ipswich, we didn't know that we would also get to actually taste it (the icing).  We step into the breakfast room at 7:32am and host Peter sighs a breath of relief, "finally, here you are!" - we were expected for 7:30am. Around the table are a few more guests already (and silently) spreading marmalade on their toasts, under the watchful eyes of the landlords, an English couple in their late 60's, not as dysfunctional as Basil and Sybil in Fawlty Towers, but with similar comical elements. Amongst the guests is a young couple from Ipswich wh...

Boonah to Ipswich 51km With a short day in the saddle and and B&B waiting for us in Ipswich, there was no reason to hurry out of the campground this morning.  And 4yo Abby kept us entertained with her fantastic bike skills, the training wheels only came off last week, and she was on fire.  A natural leader she designed a bike course around the campsite and bought the other kids along for the ride.  Her Dad just hoped she wouldn't stack before the wedding they were expected at in the afternoon. But the easing into the day didn't last more than the first kilometre.  The first 16km were brutally hilly, a constant roller-coaster of steep up, steep down and repeat, over and over.  You know you're in Queensland when it's hot, sunny and humid when climbing repetitive 12% grades.   You also know you're in Queensland when the grass grows so quickly that having a ride on mower and knowing how to use it is an essential skill.  Bonus points to the woman w...

Killarney - Boonah via Falls Drive (Ride) 72km When we chat to Claire and Callum, the very friendly and hospitable managers of the Sundown Motel and Caravan Park in Killarney, we say that "things are slowly falling into place" on this trip. Looking back, the first two months were often tricky and the art of letting go and leaving behind had to be learnt from anew. But over the course of the last week, I am starting to feel a shift. Both body and mind are more in tune and at peace with the changed rhythm of life. The Queensland factor is maybe coincidental or maybe it plays a role in this. The degree of friendliness around us is on the rise and I feel more relaxed to engage with people crossing our paths. I also share Louise's sentiment that Killarney is an inviting place and it would have been lovely to spend another day or two here. If you ever get to this part of the continent, make Killarney your base and plan for some adventurous days around this area. Because what ...

Stanthorpe to Killarney 72km Waking up to the sound of rain is only good under limited circumstances, like you have a day off and nothing to do except snuggle in bed, drink cups of tea and read great books or any circumstances at all if you are in a drought.  When you are in your tiny hiking tent, everything is damp because a). humidity is 95% and b). you are peri-menopausal circumstances are less than ideal.  The hills, back into NSW (anything to avoid riding the New England Hwy), will not wait, and I accept that everything will be packed away wet. But, a bit of a sou'wester blows the clouds and fog away, and the sun comes out enough to dry the tent over breakfast.  Layers are stripped off, and we head off.  Knowing the first 15km is uphill, I'm surprised by how easy it feels.  And I congratulate myself for getting fitter and stronger these last two months.  And while this may be true, the sensation of flying along is most likely due to that most welcome o...

Stanthorpe and surrounds 46km For a short moment we contemplated the idea to explore the Granite Belt wine region (whuch is very small) by taxi... shock horror!  Most of the region's interesting sounding producers seem to be in the about 35km and as many hills away. But then, in the sunshine glory of this morning, we come to our bicycle senses and set out a nice casual programme for the day which happens to include an official wine trail, a bicycle route through the entire region, stretching from Stanthorpe to Ballandean. With the philosophy of "less is more" we pedal into the day. The quick stop at the Stanthorpe Visitor's Centre equips us with a map of the said wine trail and the very enthusiastic David, the local expert on all things, needs a bit of convincing that we are actually travelling by bicycle.  The riding is beautiful, the wine trail impressively well-signed, thought through and there are vineyards! We head to a winery called Jester Hill Wines , a small f...

Secret wild camp spot to Stanthorpe 25km After the best night's sleep either of us has had in the tent, we wake with the sun and to the sounds of many unfamiliar birds and the bop bopping of kangaroos as they go around the tent.  Since it's Easter Monday, we have a bit of a lie in and wait for the sun to hit the tent and take the chill from the air before crawling out of the sleeping bags.   The secret wild camp We carried enough water to indulge in two cups of coffee with breakfast, which incidentally gives the tent enough time to dry in the sun.  The condensation on the inner tent walls on these cool nights with high humidity is really impressive, and annoying.  Poor Kerstin, being taller she can't get out of the tent without a little dew shower. It's just a short day today, we didn't really want to share the roads with everyone returning home after the long weekend.  Of course that doesn't mean it's flat, but we certainly did the worst of it yesterday....

Greenup Camp - somewhere near Nundubbermere 67km Almost everyone who hears where we are heading (Stanthorpe, Granite Belt) starts waving their arms up and down, signalling "big hills ahead" or similar. Usually followed by a more vocal "oh boy, you have some hills coming your way" (or similar). To be honest, we are not quite sure where we are heading to exactly, today, but we leave Greenup Camp with a few options up our sleeves.  To be on this road on Easter Sunday is a bliss. The climbing is much more manageable when there isn't a fully loaded 4WD with a caravan in tow passing you every 1km. The focus quickly shifts into the lower gear range as we tackle the first two minor climbs on road A89 - a major connector between Inglewood and Stanthorpe. The bodies are working okay but my mind is absent. The lack of mobile reception worries me more than it should. I was hopeful for a quick "Happy Easter" chat with Mum. A simple worry grows into something much b...