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

Blog Directory - Blogged

Powered by Blogger

This site is certified 76% GOOD by the Gematriculator This site is certified 24% EVIL by the Gematriculator

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Trampling Tamborine

Mt Tamborine botanical gardens

One or two things happened toward the end of last week that got on my nerves a little. Things I don't need to go into here, but they were things that gave me the incentive to slaughter Mt Tamborine en route to a hike on Saturday. Actually, it took me a little while to get going. I'd negotiated only one kilometre of the ride (and about three sets of traffic lights) before realising I'd forgotten my camera and had to go back and retrieve it.

This little patch of rainforest can be seen froma  brief detour to Welchs Road

Once this was done, the ride was able to start in earnest. The excitement of this one doesn't really begin until about 40km in, with the opening climb of Wongawallan. It's one of those climbs that threatens to do some damage with a 12% gradient, but it doesn't really sustain it long enough to cause any serious problems. This would be a theme for the day. Mt Tamborine did exactly the same thing, and I was surprised how quickly the summit was reached. The remarkable thing here was the temperature. I reached for my jacket upon reaching the summit, I think it must have been around 16 degrees C with the big southerly wind screaming across the plateau.



There were basically two hikes on the mountain, the first was a simple "rainforest circuit" which was extremely short and similarly muddy. The rainforests on this mountain are actually more spectacular than I recall from my previous visits. I've always regarded Tamborine as something of a poor man's Springbrook, but I was soon dispossessed of that theory. The lunch in the botanical gardens was also extremely pleasant. I intend to set aside a date to visit this place during the winter months when there are more flowers in bloom.

Botanical gardens

The afternoon involved a walk of around 6km on the western side of the mountain around Witches Falls. Despite the huge amounts of rain that have fallen, there was surprisingly little water coming over the falls, but the walk was a beautiful one regardless. The most remarkable thing about this track is the speed with which the vegetation changes from eucalypt to dense rainforest and back again. At times it was almost like walking through a doorway from one to the other.

Witches falls



After an afternoon tea at a winery, and a discussion to plan the group's next adventure (I've had some input into that one, but won't be revealing it just yet), it was left for me to ride home. The descent of Tamborine passed easily enough, albeit the steep sections of the road were a little bumpy. Having seen the earlier roadwork around Hope Island, I decided I didn't want to negotiate it a second time, so I took the Kreideman Road/Birds road detour at the foot of Wongawallan toward Nerang. Unfortunately, I discovered that a bridge on that road had been closed for some time. Lifting the bike across two fences was difficult, but I just about managed.

The view from Mt Tamborine



After this, the ride home passed by relatively uneventfully. If GCCC ever finish with that bridge and re-open it (that was scheduled a month ago according to the sign), the detour around Wongawallan will provide an interesting alternative, albeit one with slightly more net climbing. The day overall was also a memorable one. Mt Tamborine actually offers quite a bit more than I had realised, and I need to make some time for some other visits of this kind. That said, I have more than enough to keep me occupied over the next six weeks or so.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Martin Haworth said...

The pictures that you have shared are really nice. Mt tamborine is a beautiful and amazing place. I will recommend everyone to visit there and have a wonderful experience at various places such as: mt tamborine wineries,mt tamborine restaurants,mt tamborine skywalk and many more.

6:54 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home