Nocturnal beast

It would seem that my new bike has become something of a nocturnal beast in it's first 420km or so. Since last weekend's Springbrook by night ride, virtually all of my riding (apart from commuting, which makes up fewer kilometres anyway) has been at night. Tuesday evening saw an extremely rewarding ride to the end of Tallebudgera Valley, and the glow worm colony by the creek. That was stunning, but the talking point of that evening was the fire that threatened the old Ingleside State School in another part of the valley. Fortunately, the local fire crews had this one under control, but it seems the idiots are moving further afield.

Last night I opted for the gorge ride to Little Nerang Dam. I hadn't ventured there by night for some time, and given that I was a little apprehensive about this weekend's challenges, I opted for a more leisurely pace. This gave me the chance to take in the sounds -- the crickets and the nocturnal bird calls that set night riding apart from what happens during the day, not to mention the billion stars that light up the night sky outside suburbia.

Speaking of this weekend's challenge, it involves riding the Midnight Century, the annual Audax ride from Ipswich. However, this time I'm doing it with a twist. Given the current inability of QR to provide a reliable train service on weekends, I've decided to ride to the start of the event from my home on the Gold Coast, an additional 145km if my estimate is correct, which should give me a ride a little over 300km. I haven't had a 300km ride since April, so this should be an interesting exercise, even if my main focus is time in the saddle in the lead up to the Alpine Classic in January.

Looks like my bike will remain the nocturnal beast for a little while yet.