Well wasn't that well done!

Just after lunchtime today I took a phone call from someone I'd never met or heard of before. "I'm just ringing to enquire about the ride that was in the paper today." Well, of course, it was understandable that if they read about a ride in the Courier Mail (assuming that was the paper in question), and see my phone number listed as the ride leader, that they might phone me about it. There was just one problem: nobody remembered to tell me.

A little bit of background here. I regularly lead rides for Bicycle Gold Coast, and a few of them have received a mention in the Courier Mail, probably due to the nature of the places that I like to ride. I normally don't have a problem with this. However, it's a little annoying when they 1) Get the date wrong (it's actually tomorrow night, hence I'm here typing this now); and 2) Don't tell me to expect any phone calls. I've actually been in and out today on various errands, and it's not inconceivable that I missed a call or two simply through not being aware that this had been published.

Coming on top of the other f*ck up with the ride calendar (i.e. putting me down to lead rides that I hadn't actually agreed to, then failing to delete them when I made this clear -- I don't know who's going to take them in my place, and nor do I care any longer), I have to say that I'm very close to just washing my hands of the whole situation.

I also have to ask just how stupid some people really are. Now the ride has been advertised as a 6pm start, with sections on dirt roads, and expected to take a couple of hours. It's fairly obvious it's going to be dark (and if it wasn't, the word "glow worm" in the title should be a giveaway), yet of the two calls that I took today, neither of them had lights, in fact, both seemed surprised when I mentioned the fact. Now even if someone's eyesight is good enough to find their way along narrow winding dirt roads in the moonlight (which will be non existent given the current phase of the moon in anycase), there is no way the moonlight is going to effectively penetrate the rainforest of Urliup Road. It's just not going to happen.

Perhaps I should be glad that this monumental cock-up occurred after all. On the forum this week I participated in a discussion asking whether we'd really like it if cycling were more popular. I have to say, after all this, I'm leaning toward agreeing with those who said "No".

Onto something slightly more positive now, I took a pleasant ride in Currumbin Valley this morning, enjoying near perfect temperatures (11 degrees C to 22 C), and the smells of the last of Queensland's winter wildflower wonderland. Sadly, my camera missed most of it this year due to mechanical problems, but that didn't stop me grabbing a couple of snaps this morning. The thing I like about the wildflower season is that the colours seem to be different every year. In 2001, purple was the dominant colour, 2002 it was yellow, last year it was red, and this year it's been pink.



That's not to say that red has had no influence at all.



Of course, the greens are always nice. This ride isn't actually as rugged as it looks in this shot, but it's still beautiful nonetheless.



Whatever happens, I'm going to to the Glow Worm ride myself tomorrow night, regardless. If anyone shows, good. If not, I'll still have a good time out there. Haven't been down Urliup for a couple of weeks, and I'm starting to miss it. Below is how it looks during the day -- imagine that rainforest closing in and being illuminated by a headlight! It's just amazing!