Mountain mist

Climbing a mountain into the mist is always an interesting experience. There almost seems to be a process that must be followed. First the mist is admired from afar, then the climb begins in earnest, you gradually close in on the mist, before realising that it wasn't really that high after all. Thus it was on this morning's ride to Binna Burra. In truth, the mist commenced at around 475 metres above sea level -- not a huge amount, and yet it seemed so high at the start of the day's ride.

The flood damage was considerably less on the range, predictably, than it had been in Tallebudgera Valley the previous morning. That said, an additional 24 hours to start the clean up always makes these differences appear greater than they actually are. Nevertheless, it made for a spectacular ride, as I climbed through mist on the way to the summit of Mt Roberts, before the clouds lifted, and the mountain views opened up on the return. I did manage the detour along the western spur of the range which is now becoming mandatory on that ride. Once again, it was spectacular.

The only downside to the day was yet another flat tyre, my third of the year (there was another yesterday), about 2km from home on the return. At this rate I'm well and truly on course to beat last year's tally of 28 by the end of February. It's probably Murphy's law that I should have a run just after my high-powered pump refused to work, but it seems the no-name pump that I bought in Scotland has a few tricks that I wasn't aware of (hardly surprising as it didn't come with instructions). The extendable stem means that I'm now able to pump with literally twice the power that I had thought, and this makes the job of reinflating tyres so much easier and more efficient.

I've also made some on-line equiries, and should have a replacement camera in use at some point this week. The first objective will be to retrieve the pictures from Saturday's ride.