Day 2 Cairns: Ride YOUR ride...
Friday morning I was off bright an early to the base came of North Queensland Trail Adventures. It
was an awesome day!!!
Simmo picked me up right on time and we head up the mountain. A twisty road that runs for about 60km up the mountain. Some people commute it every day. Needless to say, there are many accidents. At least they don't need to worry about freezing rain.
There is not much to say about the riding except: the scenery was breath taking, the riding was awesome and the lunch was out of this world.
I can even begin to describe the scenery. We started off at the Black Mountain Road and then turned onto a single track which runs from the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda to the Mossman Mount Molloy Road near Julatten.
We were told that many Cassowaries have been spotted along the track and that they should be treated with absolute caution and should not be fed... no worries there. We did not see any and, to be truthful I was not disappointed. The are like Emus - only they take joy in disemboweling you with their big claws...
The trails rose and fell with the mountain range and went from single track to fast gravel roads and jeep tracks. They were all so well maintained - except for those in the wetter areas - there were ruts there that you had to ride through with your feet almost up on the handle bars so you could get through.
Lunch was taken at the Mount Molloy Pub and then we basically backtracked to the start point with a few diversions along the way.
There were only three in the group: Simmo and employee of the outfit, myself and Malcolm, a friend of the owner who just came along for the ride. Greg, the owner was laid up with a broken leg. He'd broken it last week 30km from home after a 5000km trail ride through the outback... thats how it goes...
There were two truth evident to me in todays ride: keeping company with others who are "better" than you makes you rise to their level. Anyone who plays individual sports with others such as golf or riding knows this. The others alongside of you call forth your best effort. Such was the case for me for most of the day. Malcolm and Simmo were excellent riders and I kept pace with them and received a few compliments on my riding ability. The other truth is referenced in the headline: ride your own ride. Coming on later in the afternoon I was tired and unfortunately I was still trying to keep up... the inevitable happened. I went down. I low sided (look it up if you need to - its much better than high siding!!!) on a gravel road and other than scrapes on my knees, the only thing wounded was my pride.
We arrived back at at Tallawah Springs at about 4pm where upon we put the bikes and gear away and Simmo drove me back to Cairns...
I was so tired there was no writing done on Friday night. A shower, supper, some tv and messages and bed... and boy did I sleep - and wake sore... having used muscles I'd not used in a while... and I am really noticing the effects!
But nothing was stopping me from the Great Barrier Reef Experience!! Watch for that in Day 3 Cairns: The Power and Wonder of Water...
...on the Sabbath Road...
was an awesome day!!!
Simmo picked me up right on time and we head up the mountain. A twisty road that runs for about 60km up the mountain. Some people commute it every day. Needless to say, there are many accidents. At least they don't need to worry about freezing rain.
There is not much to say about the riding except: the scenery was breath taking, the riding was awesome and the lunch was out of this world.
I can even begin to describe the scenery. We started off at the Black Mountain Road and then turned onto a single track which runs from the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda to the Mossman Mount Molloy Road near Julatten.We were told that many Cassowaries have been spotted along the track and that they should be treated with absolute caution and should not be fed... no worries there. We did not see any and, to be truthful I was not disappointed. The are like Emus - only they take joy in disemboweling you with their big claws...
The trails rose and fell with the mountain range and went from single track to fast gravel roads and jeep tracks. They were all so well maintained - except for those in the wetter areas - there were ruts there that you had to ride through with your feet almost up on the handle bars so you could get through.
Lunch was taken at the Mount Molloy Pub and then we basically backtracked to the start point with a few diversions along the way.
There were only three in the group: Simmo and employee of the outfit, myself and Malcolm, a friend of the owner who just came along for the ride. Greg, the owner was laid up with a broken leg. He'd broken it last week 30km from home after a 5000km trail ride through the outback... thats how it goes...
There were two truth evident to me in todays ride: keeping company with others who are "better" than you makes you rise to their level. Anyone who plays individual sports with others such as golf or riding knows this. The others alongside of you call forth your best effort. Such was the case for me for most of the day. Malcolm and Simmo were excellent riders and I kept pace with them and received a few compliments on my riding ability. The other truth is referenced in the headline: ride your own ride. Coming on later in the afternoon I was tired and unfortunately I was still trying to keep up... the inevitable happened. I went down. I low sided (look it up if you need to - its much better than high siding!!!) on a gravel road and other than scrapes on my knees, the only thing wounded was my pride.
We arrived back at at Tallawah Springs at about 4pm where upon we put the bikes and gear away and Simmo drove me back to Cairns...
I was so tired there was no writing done on Friday night. A shower, supper, some tv and messages and bed... and boy did I sleep - and wake sore... having used muscles I'd not used in a while... and I am really noticing the effects!
But nothing was stopping me from the Great Barrier Reef Experience!! Watch for that in Day 3 Cairns: The Power and Wonder of Water...
...on the Sabbath Road...
Comments
Post a Comment