The Blonde Assassin

I will concede that it may be a strange name, but in view of the colour scheme of my new MTB, and in view of something that happened on Saturday, I think it's wholly appropriate. Martin and I decided on a slightly shorter ride taking in Urliup and Tomewin, with a slight detour out to the Garden of Eden on the dirt. The reason for the shorter ride was largely to do with the crazy weather that we've been experiencing lately. Only on Friday, someone in Surfers Paradise had been killed by a tree branch being driven through a window, but that's not enough to keep me off the bike for a day.





As it happened, we did get battered by a headwind while heading south, but the rainforest at Urliup provides shelter against the most vicious wind in existence, and in truth, despite the extravagant language used in some of the news reports, I still recall encountering stronger winds in both New Zealand and Scotland in the past. Still, we also had to negotiate FIVE flooded creek crossings in the first 45km of the ride to reach the start of the climb of Tomewin.



I had never managed to do this climb in under 25 minutes before Saturday, and I didn't look like I would this time either, as my early attack faded alarmingly quickly. However, when the climb kicked up to 11% in the middle, I felt strangely comfortable. At the higher end, where the gradient eased to something a little more sane, I realised I had more than enough time to finish this one off. I did it in just under 24 minutes at it turned out, on the first ride on an MTB!? I think The Blonde Assassin is highly appropriate after this.



We took a detour on the very beautiful but very cut up Garden of Eden road at the top. These days we can no longer ride across the top of the ridge back to Bilambil, so we had to settle for the out and back ride on the western side. I'm still trying to figure out how there were no leeches in the rainforest on a day like this. After this little detour, it was a simple matter of descending Tomewin, and coasting home on the back of the tailwind. The only noteworthy thing that happened on the rest of the day was a successful "test" of my disc brakes on the 14% section of the descent in the wet.

I feel sorry for those suckers who stayed inside during the wind and the rain. I really do.

Tosspot of the week

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over this story.

Two friends held mobile phones to each other's heads pretending they were guns when one grabbed a loaded firearm and fatally fired at the other, a court has heard.

Driver Scott Quantrelle, 26, fatally shot his front-seat passenger and friend Luke Pollock early on Sunday while in a moving car, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court has heard.

Detective Senior Constable Sallyanne Leach said the pair were holding mobile phones to each other's heads pretending they were guns before the incident at Seaford in Melbourne's southeast.

As Quantrelle drove, he grabbed a loaded sawn-off .22 gauge firearm that was in the car, and the gun discharged, wounding Pollock, she said.

Pollack, aged in his 20s, from the Seaford/Frankston area, suffered a head wound and died. He was driven to a home in Seaford, where police were called about 1.10am (AEST) on Sunday.

Det Sen Const Leach said Quantrelle tried to resuscitate Pollack and waited at the scene while paramedics worked.

She said Quantrelle had known the trigger was sensitive.

Quantrelle, of Seafood, is charged with manslaughter and six other counts including recklessly causing serious injury, reckless conduct, possessing an unregistered handgun and ammunition without a licence.

I suppose to doesn't technically qualify as a Darwin Award, but it's probably the next best thing. Apparently the offender is up on seven different charges, but we really need an eighth charge to include "being a dickhead".

Perfect timing

Perfect timing is sometimes the most important thing when it comes to experiencing the awesome power of nature. After two days of wild weather culminating in floods, road closures and trees coming down, I managed to get out for a quick 45km ride this evening. I left a little later than usual because of time I had to spend doing other things, but that may have been for the best. I headed for Little Nerang Dam, but at the crossing of Mudgeeraba Creek near Austinville, some sirens illuminated a "road closed" sign.

A quick discussion with a council worker told me I had arrived around 10 minutes after the water had fallen below the road level (although not by very much as it turned out), so I was able to continue. A little further along I turned off, and started climbing the gorge to Little Nerang Dam, this was where the ride really got interesting. My eyes for the moment had to focus on avoiding some debris, which took a little more work than expected due to some thick fog that covered parts of the ride, but my ears were given the treat this time. On one side of the gorge I could hear cascading waterfalls, on the other, the torrent that Little Nerang Creek had become.

On reaching the summit and descending right to the dam wall, it got even better. Little Nerang Dam simply wasn't designed to hold the volume of water that was now flowing in from the downpours in the mountains around, and the gorge below had flooded. Somehow some ambient light had made it's way here (from where I don't know, there was no moon up), and I could clearly see the torrent cutting through the gorge between Mt Nimmel and the Wunburra Range, the former shrouded in cloud.

Yet away from the power of this torrent, the other side of the dam wall was the complete opposite. The almost total lack of wind in the valley had given the lake an appearance not unlike glass. There was not a ripple in the water, and I could clearly see the reflection of Springbrook and the surrounding hills. In the sky, there was a clear view of a million stars above. All of this, was just a matter of perfect timing, and nothing more.

Upper Ormeauning

Someone needs to tell me not to make all "recovery" rides over 100km, but for the moment I can't help myself. So it was yesterday, as I 'recovered' from another epic day in Lamington National Park on Saturday (more on that when my Internet connection is working properly), I opted for a not-so-quick 108km into the valley at Upper Ormeau, to the north of the Gold Coast. Just how I originally discovered this place, and what motivated me to come here five years ago I don't know. While the valley itself is undoubtedly beautiful, there is nothing in the surrounding areas to suggest there would be anything worth seeing here.

As it was, yesterday I took it in for the first time since 2006, and wondered just why I had stayed away for so long. I guess the 90km return ride through less than inspiring places can't justify the pretty 18km or so in the valley. Whatever the reason, it was good to be back.

History

After a late night Saturday night I was chasing a shorter ride yesterday, just 117km. Since Springbrook road is still closed after a landslide, I decided to do the old Numinbah Valley ride the old way, via Advancetown lake. There was another detour required, through Latimers Crossing Road, because the road over Hinze Dam is also closed (as it has been since 2006). Still, it was pleasant, but the real attraction started on the old Nerang-Murwillumbah Road near the lake.



The road twists and turns, climbs and descents sharply by the lakeside in the shadow of the Beechmont Range. I should take this route more often, or perhaps I shouldn't. A causeway has been named Shingles Creek since I was last here, I was wondering if Swine Flu was going to be next. Still, the headwind slowed me down much more than any illness would have done. Numinbah Valley is like a funnel when the southerly wind blows, intensifying the wind speed to three times what it is anywhere else in the area.



At the southern end, the valley flattens out, then climbs gradually, revealing spectacular views of Springbrook to the East, and Lamington National Park to the west, while climbing through rolling greenery. When the southerly blows, it's virtually impossible to feel the climb, but the scenery compensates. Just a few kilometres before the NSW border, the Natural Arch can be visited, or at least it could be if it were not also closed. It seems "closure" is the order of the day, but not in a legal sense. It gave me something to ponder as I crested the Macpherson range, and descended into the Tweed Valley.