Words are inadequate

For a number of years, Springbrook has been one of my favourite destinations for getting away, be it for a few hours, or the whole day. It was a big challenge in my earlier years as a serious cyclist. As I improved it became a quick ride to fill in on days when I didn't have time to do 200km+ efforts. I've even described it as "only" Springbrook at times recently -- this is clearly a mistake. Firstly, because the climb is still a challenging one, and secondly, because it can turn on days like this one at any time. Even before the climb started, it was "on" today.





As I got higher on the mountain, I encountered a cow who would only move when a camera was pointed in his (her) direction.



And ran into hills that might well be green, given that this place claims the second highest rainfall on mainland Australia.



However, it was up at Goomoolahra where things got really interesting. Here, mere words are inadequate, I'll just let what I saw speak for itself...













However, not everything today was pristine and beautiful. It seems the developers have discovered the place -- an old farm has been subdivided and covered in trailer parks. There are other dwellings that weren't there on my last visit. While the National Park is protected, the surrounding areas on the escarpment are vulnerable, and South Queensland has the fastest rate of land clearing in the world -- which isn't a promising fact. It also seems that the new arrivals on the mountain have brought all of the anti-cyclist bigotry up from the coast.

For all of that though, I was still smiling on the descent. Springbrook remains capable of turning on days like this one at anytime, it's power remains. While I have plans to leave the Gold Coast at the end of 2006, I will still treasure my time on this mountain, and it will be one of the things that I genuinely miss when I move on. I'm sure I'll shed tears on my last ride of the mountain.