Crash

There is nothing nice about crashing. I can't say I've ever enjoyed the experience, and if I ride long enough to accumulate another million kilometres, I don't expect I ever will. It's not so much the injuries sustained (although in my case, these have never included so much as a broken fingernail), it's more the time off the bike that follows (two days so far and I'm already climbing the walls), and the anger in the immediate aftermath of the crash that never quite subsides, the wishing you could go back and navigate that corner again just one more time, and all the things you would do differently.



Yes, mine happened on the descent from O'Reilly's Plateau at Lamington National Park on Saturday in the wet. For me the really annoying thing was that it was the absolute last corner of the descent that I failed to navigate, having easily dealt with every other corner on that 14km descent. I suppose I should look on the bright side and be glad I didn't crash higher up the mountain (as I did in 2002) and have to deal with cooler temperatures and the prospect of still having half the descent to do, yet it's still rather annoying.



The day itself had been wet, and the temperature barely made it into double figures on the mountain itself, yet conditions in the valley below were pleasant enough to make me think about climbing Beechmont for an encore on the way home. The dropping temperatures on the climb didn't concern me because I generally enjoy riding in the rain. Today there was an added bonus as the rainforest on the final 7km of the climb came alive even more than usual.



Of course, the descent on that higher part of the mountain was freezing, but I had brought a long a jacket I'd bought in New Zealand some three years previously. It hasn't had much use on this side of the Tasman, but it justified it's price tag today. I even detoured out to Kamarun Lookout, just a little off the "main" road to take in some really spectacular views of the clouds swirling around the mountains on what had been a truly remarkable day in terms of the weather.



Of course, my crash at the bottom put paid to any plans I had of returning over Beechmont and another ride in the clouds. That said, I was genuinely surprised how well I handled the final 50km ride home, particularly the climbs on the gorge road from Canungra. It was only the flat final stretch after Nerang that caused limbs to stiffen up and the loss of blood started to pose an issue. I ended up buying an energy drink at a convenience store to make sure I got through it all. That said, the final damage hasn't been too significant - despite the blood stains on that cycling jersey that didn't come out in the wash. My knee looks to be regaining flexibility already, and I could be back on the bike in time for the weekend. God knows I need it.

I have my mountain back!

One of my cycling goals this year is to ride a vertical century, or accumulate 100 miles of total climbing before December 31. Oddly, I was actually a little behind schedule until last month, when I managed 17km of climbing in 31 days. Yet I had to do all that without being able to climb the highest mountain in the area, as it has been closed by the landslide that came within 15 minutes of killing me for the last two months. Well, the road to Springbrook was re-opened last week, but as I was touring around Crows Nest, I didn't get a crack at it until Saturday morning. It's amazing how I didn't think what happened last time, and simply headed straight for it.



The landslide from before took out quite a chunk of the mountain, and the view from the inside of one particular narrow switchback will be scarred for some time. Oddly, given the length of time that the road was closed, there was surprisingly little work done in the area - only the erection of a rather flimsy 'fence' that won't even slow another landslide should it happen next wet season. Nevertheless, it was a good feeling to be back. Each mountain climb has a unique feeling about it, and Springbrook's was in evidence on a cool morning. I realised how much I've missed it since that crazy April day.



Yet something else about that place that's not often noticed is just how many different things there are to see, be it flower or exotic plants. I think that's why I keep coming back, even when the mountain threatens to throw rocks at me. Still, I don't mind, the variety gives me a great escape from suburbia, and a great way to spend a morning. Now that I have my mountain back, nothing is going to stop me!

The awakening

Again it seems to have been a while between posts. Actually, there are a few things that have been happening, but I've not had time to write anything lately. Last weekend I finally made it to Crows Nest National Park for a three day bike tour, the one I've been planning for almost three years. It was beautiful as expected, and a few other little events made it more interesting than I'd hoped.

I'm also taking pictures on a new camera after the previous one took an impromptu swim in Mt Cougal Creek at Dickfos Falls a week and a half ago when I fell on it. The old camera took over 2,200 pictures in the 18 months or so that I had it, so perhaps it was time for an upgrade. I've gone for another Canon camera because I've always been impressed with the pictures they take, but the resolution of this one is 10 MP. The rate at which these things are improving is almost scary, I remember 5MP being state-of-the-art just a few years ago, now 10 MP is relatively inexpensive. That said, I'm still hoping to save the last few pictures from the old camera.

Finally, changed the route by which I was riding to work, by more or less restoring my old commute through Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. I now have a 26km round trip as opposed to the 17km round trip that just wasn't doing it for me before, and I get to spend a big chunk of the ride next to the ocean. On the other hand, passing through Surfers Paradise enables me to observe some of the great nonsensical situations of mankind.

For the last two weeks there has been a guy holding up one of those stop/go signs that is used to control traffic in road construction zones. His problem? He's at least a kilometre away from the nearest bit of construction that's actually going on. I'm not entirely sure what this is supposed to achieve. I do realise that all current construction projects relating to public infrastructure aren't due to be completed until at least 2010 (there are no elections this year at any level of government around here), but really, this is a waste of time even allowing for that fact. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have plenty of similar tales to relate in the coming months.