Links

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
The Wired Cat on-line

Iron Gambit
.

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..

More cycling blogs

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Been away too long

It's almost hard to believe that it's been three months since the last time I managed a night ride through the glow worm infested rainforest at Austinville. Last night I decided I simply had to do something about that statistic. Everything seemed to start fairly quietly, but once into the valley at the foot of Springbrook, and heard the sound of the tyres on the dirt illuminated only by the E6 headlight, the reasons why became apparent.

If it wasn't the pristine air of the rainforest, it was the sound of the rushing streams, or dodging the forest frogs that crossed my path on a regular basis, or the glow worms lighting up the undergrowth on the side of the road. I also had to unexpectedly dodge a cane toad -- not because I have any compassion for them, but because it was absolutely huge. These ugly, destructive creatures appear to be getting bigger all the time. Perhaps I should have stopped and kicked it. On the way home I even saw a rabbit trying to negotiate a roundabout at Robina -- I had to look twice to be sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Someone at Mudgeeraba was burning a little too much incense.

The overall feeling from the evening jaunt was that I had been away from these night rides for too long. The early morning rides that I had been doing virtually since my return from Scotland have been pleasant and rewarding, but there are delights in a night ride that just can't be found anywhere else -- even if I do make the effort to start before sunrise. I need the additional experiences, the special feeling that only comes from riding deserted roads while everyone else sleeps (or at least watches TV). This is why I paid for such expensive lighting in the first place.

3 Comments:

Blogger TweedCoastTreadly said...

Did the smoke affect you last night? My ride today was! Not as thick as last month but with the added heat the smoke was noticable. Might be best to go north this weekend.

10:12 pm  
Blogger Chris L said...

Hmmm, it cleared up this morning up here and doesn't seem to have been around much today. I think what we copped was a dust storm that came across from Birdsville -- and I'm not sure if the Sunshine Coast would be any better.

I'll have to keep an eye on the situation.

1:46 pm  
Blogger TweedCoastTreadly said...

Just an update the strong SE winds today have cooled and cleared the air. So disregard my earlier comment about the local conditions.

9:08 pm  

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