This is starting to sound like a broken record but this ride is now postponed indefinetely. Recently I had decided to use this ride as a shake down for the Outer Hebrides Trip, but a week of wet weather means that it would be just to miserable to ride.
So what does this mean? Firstly, it means I am heading of to the Hebrides without shaking down my bike or my set up. Not a particulary great idea! Secondly, I am now unsure when this ride will take place in the future. When I get back from the Hebrides I have the Mt Solitary hike and a possible partial ride on the Mawson Trail still kicking around so this trip will be on the back burner for a while to come. It will happen eventually, I just can't be certain when.
Showing posts with label Darling Downs Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darling Downs Tour. Show all posts
Darling Downs Tour; Shakedown ride for Barra to the Butt.
One thing is for sure, this will be my only distance ride before I leave for the Outer Hebrides in May so it will have to serve as a shakedown ride to iron out any kinks in my set up. Not only that I am limited for time as I get back from New Zealand at the end of March then leave for the Hebrides in early May.
Looking at my work roster the only available dates I have are between the 26th of April and the 2nd May. If I don't go on those dates then I will be heading overseas without trying out my set up; not a good plan.
I may also consider extending the Darling Downs ride by one day, making it a four day tour. That should allow me enough time to sort out whats working and whats not. That's the plan for now anyway, lets hope the weather holds but I will probably go raining or not as I'm sure I will see a bit of rain on the Outer Hebrides.
Looking at my work roster the only available dates I have are between the 26th of April and the 2nd May. If I don't go on those dates then I will be heading overseas without trying out my set up; not a good plan.
I may also consider extending the Darling Downs ride by one day, making it a four day tour. That should allow me enough time to sort out whats working and whats not. That's the plan for now anyway, lets hope the weather holds but I will probably go raining or not as I'm sure I will see a bit of rain on the Outer Hebrides.
Darling Downs Tour Update, FLOOD!!
Torrentail rain turned into devasting floods so this tour appears doomed for the near future. Although the flood waters have receeded the newspapers are reporting widespread damage to roads and bridges in the area so I think it will be wise to put this trip on the back burner for a while. In a months time I will check on the state of the roads and bridges to see if I can finally make this trip become a reality.
Darling Downs Tour; Torrential Rain!!
Well, my rostered days off have come around again and it appears that this ride will not happen this week. A week of torrential rain and more forecast to come over the following days paints a bleak picture with minimal chance that this ride will happen this year. There may be a small window of opportunity for somewhat finer weather this Thursday, Friday and Saturday but that positions the trip during New Years Eve and New Years Day which would almost certainly rule out any vacancies at the campsites I intend overnighting at. So, at this stage the Darling Downs Tour will be in 2011, somewhere around 29th-31st January depending on our "beautiful" Queensland weather.
Darling Downs Tour; More Delays
I'm not sure this ride is ever going to happen the way things have been going. Thirty two degree heat, afternoon thunderstorms, general slackness and the lack of motivation to pack have stopped me this time. At least I have assembled the Nomad as it has been sitting in the bike bag since I packed it for the cancelled bike ride on the Mawson Trail.
I think the key for me is to have as much as possible packed and ready to go during the days I am at work leading to up to my rostered days off. That way it will just be a case of throwing the gear in the car and leaving. I have developed a distaste for packing and use it regularly as a excuse not to get away. No more excuses I say. Having said that this ride will definitely be my last longer ride for some time as the QLD heat and humidity is starting to bite. Probably by mid March I will have to kick up the kilometres and iron out any set up kinks for the Outer Hebrides trip in May/June 2011. At this stage I am pencilling in the 28th, 29th, 30th December as the days for the Darling Downs Tour.
I think the key for me is to have as much as possible packed and ready to go during the days I am at work leading to up to my rostered days off. That way it will just be a case of throwing the gear in the car and leaving. I have developed a distaste for packing and use it regularly as a excuse not to get away. No more excuses I say. Having said that this ride will definitely be my last longer ride for some time as the QLD heat and humidity is starting to bite. Probably by mid March I will have to kick up the kilometres and iron out any set up kinks for the Outer Hebrides trip in May/June 2011. At this stage I am pencilling in the 28th, 29th, 30th December as the days for the Darling Downs Tour.
Darling Downs Tour; Delayed Again!
Its starting to sound a bit like a broken record but this ride has been delayed again. After eight fine days while I have been at work rain has developed again now that I am on days off. This seems to be the pattern for me recently. While the weather may be a bit on the nose the truth is I was struggling to fit this trip into my days off as I am kayaking the Maroochy River Trail on Saturday and have to pick the kayak up on Friday evening.
This would mean that I was going to struggle to fit in three days on the Darling Downs Tour and still have time to get back to Brisbane to pick up the kayak. I briefly thought about cutting the tour back to two days but that seemed to be defeating the purpose and would mean missing out on an area of the tour that I really wanted to see. So, fingers crossed, this ride will now take place on the 14th,15th and 16th December.
This would mean that I was going to struggle to fit in three days on the Darling Downs Tour and still have time to get back to Brisbane to pick up the kayak. I briefly thought about cutting the tour back to two days but that seemed to be defeating the purpose and would mean missing out on an area of the tour that I really wanted to see. So, fingers crossed, this ride will now take place on the 14th,15th and 16th December.
Rain, Rain,Rain
Showers, heavy rain and thunder storms across Brisbane and the Darling Downs over the next few days have put an end to my planned Darling Downs Tour ride. I will attempt the ride again weather permitting on my next days off between 29th November and the 4th December.
Darling Downs Tour Update
Roughly six weeks have passed since I arrived back from South Australia and I have done nothing of interest or note during that time. Not even a single solitary bike ride. A throat infection, a flare up of what I hope is torn rib cartilage, a mysterious muscular left upper arm soreness/deadness, general lethargy after night shifts and bad weather have taken there toll. What I think is torn rib cartilage seems to be slowly improving, the left arm problem remains an issue and will nessicate a visit to the local GP. Regardless, its time to pull my finger out and get a few trips organised for when my next rostered days off come around again.
With that being said, its time to drag out my DLT Tour plans mentioned in a previous post here http://thenorrisfiles.blogspot.com/2010/09/darling-downs-tour.html. I have reworked the route a little since then and have organised so it will incoporate 3 days of riding with a total distance of around 230km's. Overnight stays will be in Clifton, Gordon County Goomburra, and Killarney. The final itinerary should be something something close to the following;
Day 1: Killarney to Clifton 73 kms. After overnighting at Killarney I plan on an early start heading east to Warick for a lateish breakfast at The Bramble Patch Cafe before turning roughly north and heading to Allora following the Sunflower Route. Now Allora apparently has no camping/caravan park although on a previous visit I distinctly remember there being one and my GPS maps indicate a caravan park but an internet search comes up without a result. So I will probably continue on another 12kms to Clifton and camp there.
Day 2: Clifton to Gordon Country Goomburra 89 kms. The next moring I will head north east to the tiny village of Nobby for no other reason than I like the name of the place. Then turning east before slowly making my way south I will continue onto Goomburra and ride toward the Goomburra National Park which forms part of the Main Range National Park. This is a dead end road, partially unsealed, that leads up to the Forestry Reserve Road which brings you to a camping area that is the departure point for the parks lookouts and walking tracks. This time I will avoid this last section as it is spectaculary steep when I check the GPS route profile. Instead I will camp a little short of the National Park entrance at Gordon Country camping grounds which look remote and beautiful and come highly recommended on the internet.
Day 3: Gordon Country Goomburra return to Killarney 68 kms. The last day will see me cycling south through the towns of Freestone, Yangan, Emu Creek and Tannymorel before arriving back at Killarney.
This route through the Darling Dowms is mostly on back or secondary roads that are either sealed or unsealed and carry light traffic. The great thing about this area is that if you find that the road you are on is a bit heavy with traffic there will almost aways be another secondary road with lighter traffic that will still get you to your destination. More than likely it will not be the most direct route but if you are like me and hate traffic they are the perfect road to cycle on.
Looking at the calendar I am rostered off work for six days between November 15th and November 20th so the plan is to schedule this ride in between those dates.
Darling Downs Tour.
Now that the Mawson Trail ride has been called off it leaves me short of a multi day ride on the Thorn Nomad to iron out any kinks in my set up/equipment before I ride the Outer Hebrides next year.
So if my work roster doesn't change I should have nine rostered days off work shortly after I get back from Adelaide. This should allow time for a multi-day bike ride and gave me the idea for a DLT or Darling Downs Tour of three or four days.
Initial planning suggests a route commencing at Spring Creek Cottages down the mountain to Killarney through Tanneymorrel and then overnight at Warwick. From Warwick I would follow the Sunflower Route to Allora, overnight there before continuing the next day through Goomburra and Freestone before spending the night at Yangan. The final day would pass through Emu Vale and Killarney before the huge climb up the mountain back to Spring Creek Cottages.
The distance would be around 170km which should mean only a 3 day ride. That would reduce the need for one of the overnight stays but it would require some rework of initial itinerary listed above. Just about all the ride will be on back country roads either paved or unpaved with very minimal riding on major roads other than short distances into townships. That's the plan, stay tuned for more details when I get back from Adelaide.
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