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Audax Australia
This is the umbrella organisation running long distance cycling events in Australia Their website includes a calendar of events.

Bikejournal
A place where cyclist can keep track of their mileage and any number of other statistics, as well as an attached forum.

Bikeforums
A set of discussion forums covering almost every conceivable cycling related topic.

Cycling Adventurer
The Cycling Adventurer has tossed in the structured life of an urbanite to explore the world by bicycle. A well-written site detailing how he came to cycling, and what he learned along the way.

Crazy Guy on a Bike

Bicycle touring journals from all over the world, including a couple of my own.

Johns Cycles

This is my LBS on the Gold Coast. While they cater more to the racing market, their service, advice and workmanship is the best on the coast.

St Kilda Cycles

Importers of all manner of things hard to find in Australia, including the legendary Schmidt hub dynamo & E6 lights.

Blogs

Bicycle-eye
Wonderings and wanderings out and about in Portland, Oregon, US

The Journey
The journey begins in Perth, Western Australia.

Lance Notstrong
The "other" Lance!

Ms Mittens
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Iron Gambit
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Aussie Writer and Cycletourist
A blog chronicling the writing and cycling of a seaside baby boomer.

Up in Alaska
Jill's subarctic journal about ice, bears and distant dreams of the midnight sun.

The Kin Chronicles
Taking mediocrity to a new level of ordinary.

Allez
Riding and running with a vengeance.

London Cycling Diary
Pedalling across the capital since August 2005.

CouchPilot-2-BikePilot (Zin's cycling blog)
Living an adventurous life with Type-2-Diabetes.

The adventures of Crazy Biker Chick
... Including cycling, adventuring, cooking, knitting and ranting.

Redneck Espanol
The two wheeled Spanish redneck.

Treadly and me
"Work is something I do between riding my bicycle".

Crowlie
Womanist philosophy and theology. Cycling, climbing, art, single-motherhood and fire-twirling.

Adrian Fitch's random rambling.
A bit about cycling, a bit about genealogy, a bit about radio but mostly a lot about nothing at all.

Geo's big adventure
The life and times of Geo.

It's about the bike
Musings on the cycling life.

Spinopsys
Various cycling tidbits.

Industry Outsider
A blog about bikes and stuff.

Tweed Coast Treadly
An old man's bicycle riding diary.

A cyclist's life in Tenerife
(Canary Islands).

Bike to work to live to bike
It's never too late to get back on the bike

Stupid Hurts
Just the random scribblings of a guy with a bicycle

I'm not drunk enough for this
Really, I'm not.

BikeHacks
What can I say? Just read it.

Mozam's cycling adventures
A random collection of the things I like to do most, and mostly that is to ride my bikes, bicycles that is... My musings from competitive riding, long distance endurance to puttering around the neighborhood..

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Sunday, August 12, 2007

Eden's Garden



One of the things about going away on a bike tour that isn't often mentioned is the "new" feeling that all of the usual rides have when you return. Today I threw in the old Bilambil ciruit ride, with a detour along Garden of Eden road. I waited until the afternoon in the hope that the bushfire smoke would clear, and copped 29 degrees C. If we actually got a winter here while I was away, it's long gone now. I passed through Bilambil and rode through the rainforest of Urliup as a way of getting an early taste of the dirt. I had been forewarned that the dirt roads here are extremely dusty and a little slippery as a result, and was reminded of the fact by a long skid by the causeway.



The descent into the Tweed Valley at the southern end served to remind me of just how dry things are at the moment. Never before have I seen sugar cane looking like this.



Fortunately I was able to leave it behind with the long climb of Tomewin. I went for the methodical, cold, calculated approach to this climb, and it seemed effective. I seemed to crest the summit and turn onto Garden of Eden road in no time. This is essentially a pointless "out and back" detour, but it's very pretty, with rainforest and sweeping views.



After this I returned to the main road, turning onto Glengarrie road at the Border Gate for the main attraction. This is a tough stretch of riding, with rocky dirt roads and steep gradients. It's not just a matter of having the power to climb over the terrain, it also requires the timing to use the bursts at the right time. Today it was a little more treacherous than usual, thanks to some road 'improvements' from the council. I have a bad feeling the rich boys want to move up here, and accordingly the council are right in their pocket.



The final descent into Bilambil was also a little tricky, with the loose dust and stones on the road. There are also two short sharp climbs to wake the legs up, and one particularly nasty hairpin/intersection at the bottom of a steep section. A lower section of Glengarrie road has now been sealed, which is disappointing, but hardly surprising in view of my comment about the rich boys above. Either way, it was negotiated without any problems, and I was left with a final 30km of suburbia to negotiate and reflect on what had been yet another memorable ride.

I had been slightly concerned that I'd cop more bushfire smoke on the final ride up the coastal strip, but a sea-breeze solved that problem for me. The bushfires are threatening to play havoc with next weekend's plans as well - I may end up jumping on a train to the Sunshine coast to try to get away, but I'll decide on that later. I also had a thought about whether it's worth trying to get away on the Gold Coast show long weekend. If it doesn't rain between now and then, I don't think I'll bother.

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