An ambitious Sunday morning ride

The weather has been a bit unkind this whole week - it has been raining almost everyday! One evening I was riding home in the rain with my daughter after picking her up from her visit to the Gallery of Modern Arts (GOMA) for a school outing. But funny how winter in Brisbane is; it can be raining and windy in the middle of winter but the temperature is still close to 20ºC!

Finally after what seemed like a long week, the weekend arrives and so did the sun! I was not going to waste my last weekend (yup, last one before the fasting month - next Sunday I'm going deep sea fishing with the guys) so I planned a long ride around the South plains - over 300km! Google Maps says it would take 5½ hours but I think just over 3 hours will be enough.


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Bad start; had a late night last night hence late start this morning. Almost did not make it but kept telling myself, "Last weekend... last weekend...!" Where are all my riding buddies when you need them for morale support, huh? Anyway, finally made it out by 7:00 am. Stopped by the 7-Eleven near my house to fill up (yes, here in Down Under, 7-Eleven sells fuel!). A gentleman in his early 50s approached me after he filled up his 4WD. "That is a very nice bike!", he greeted me. I smiled embarrassingly and thanked him for his kind compliment. We chatted for a while about the bike and he kept praising it. I can almost see my bike blushing! "You must be a biker", I added at one point. "No", he said. "I just admire them..." I was thinking to myself how lucky I am. Off I went with a grin on my face and spirit high up for the long ride...

Look at these scenic view along the Rosewood-Aratula Rd.

Such a lovely winter morning... Notice the perfectly clear blue sky.

Other than slight bumps on the road every now and then (this road is not as good as the Ipswich-Boonah Rd in one of my previous trip - no wonder there are no other bikers on the road that day!) it was a lovely ride. Just when I thought how inland this route was and how far I was from the nearest town; I stumbled upon a group of about twenty cyclist! They must be crazier than I am!!!

I thought it would have been a perfect ride until about 20km after Rosevale I came across this sign. My Blackberry camera couldn't quite catch the writings but it says, "Bridge closed ahead. Take alt route". Now, who would've thought to put a sign so far out? They could have warn me before I passed the last junction, don't you think? Oh well, I can't argue on this because there is no one to argue with - so had to turn back some 30km and head East through the more familiar Boonah-Beaudessert-Nerang Rd.

Stopped at the usual place, my favourite Outpost Cafe and "hang out" with the other bikers. I actually did a total of 330km that day and fatigue starts creeping in on the way back. Another stop along M1 for an energy drink struggles to help. I wonder how the ride to Red Centre would be like... I need to be fit, I need to be fit...

Finally arrived home safely, and dry. And oh, here's the garlic bread served with Pandai's special sautéed garlic herb prawn French style I made for dinner for the family... How I wish the weekend never ends...