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

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The comeback is complete



It seems everyone knows about this except my blog readers, as I have once again been slack in updating. However, 10 days ago, and basically 10 weeks after breaking three bones, being knocked unconscious and all the other crap that went on, I have now officially completed the comeback by successfully riding 190km in a day. I talked my friend Martin into coming with me for a jaunt along the Coolamon Scenic Drive in the hills behind Mullumbimby. Of course, that meant that most of the kilometres would be accumulated in getting there and back, but we can live with that.



We started off by heading south, down along the Tweed Coast with the intention, for me anyway, of a complete change of scenery. Those long weeks I spend cooped up in Suburbia were driving me crazy. I'll never forget the feeling I got immediately south of Pottsville and thinking "Damn, it's good to be here again". The feeling continued and must have had something positive, because it was the first time I've ever broken three hours from my place to Mullumbimby. We were flying!



Making friends is easier in some places than others. While putting on sunscreen at Mullumbimby, a dog from near by decided to go and find a stick to bring back to me. I'd never seen this dog before, but as long as (s)he wasn't chasing my wheels, I wasn't complaining about throwing a stick a few times. We soon set off into the hills, climbing the Coolamon Ridge on the accidentaly discovered Possum Shoot Road, then taking in the sweeping views of the surrounding area, and the surrounding rain.



The rain closed in soon enough, although we missed the thunderstorm to the north, there was rain waiting for us after we passed through Mullumbimby on the return, bound for Burringbar. The rain was actually quite pleasant, and made some of the climbs around Billinudgel and Mooball feel probably easier than they were. The food stop at Burringbar was a little rushed, however, and I didn't take the time to stretch.



I believe the stretch between Burringbar and Murwillumbah on the old highway is one of the most underrated stretches of road in the area, with varying views and a lot of forest to please one's senses, although for some reason I have rarely pulled out the camera here. Nonetheless, we rode on, and negotiated Murwillumbah, with it's usual stop-start traffic (just why it's this way I don't know, it's rarely heavy traffic).



The climb of Tomewin was the final test of the day. I knew that reaching the summit here would give me the "century" I so desperately wanted, and I also knew that there wasn't going to be much difficulty in the final 30km after this. My legs had other ideas, so I cut a deal by simply riding up the climb very slowly. Martin showed the value of regular riding during the previous weeks by taking off on the climb and slaughtering it, I was a little slower. As it was, we got over the top and descended to the coast and suburbia.

I did get a bit of a shock to find that we actually finished the 190km at around 2pm. That was a good hour quicker than I had expected. When I get fit again, anything is possible.

1 Comments:

Blogger Dana Christine said...

Hey there! Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!! Please stop by and follow me! I need all the help and donations I can get!

All my love,

Dana

3:02 pm  

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