Night-time singletrack heaven!

It was just a quick detour tonight, I think I still ended up below 60km for the day -- unusual for a Tuesday. But it was sure worth it. Just a couple of kilometres from the high-rises and square blocks of Surfers Paradise lies The Spit -- upon which there is a rarity. A small pocket of bushland that has somehow survived the reckless development which is wrecking increasingly large areas of the Queensland coastline.

Through this bushland there are a couple of tracks, not worth riding during the day because of congestion near the beach, but at night they come alive! There is a special feeling seeing your headlight lighting up the track and the overhanging trees before you, the sound of the pounding ocean in the background, the tyres on the dirt (always special) as the track winds around short, sharp rises and falls, with the occasional patch of sand just to keep things interesting. Of course, at the end of the spit is the pier, where you can ride out on a quiet evening along the top of the breakwall, the waves crashing right below you, the smell (and sometimes the feel) of the ocean spray all around.

Here Martin and I lingered, cracking jokes about Billy Ray Cyrus (remember him?), before heading back to do it all again on the way back. Sadly, it's over all too soon, but we shall return, and if he brings the spare light along, next time we might do a couple of laps. What an invigorating way to end the day!