Day: |
004 |
Date: |
23 July 2007 |
Accommodation |
Onsite caravan in Gympie |
Summary |
Riding from Burleigh Heads to Gympie |
Start Time: |
4:15am |
Finish Time: |
6:15pm |
Daily
Map Kms: |
257 |
Total
Map Kms: |
1,052 |
Map Kms To Go: |
13,359 |
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule: |
0 |
Daily Odometer Kms: |
290.2 |
Daily Average Speed: |
25.72 |
Weather: |
Mild temperatures, partly cloudy with a few
light showers. |
Nutrition: |
McDonalds for breakfast, two pies for lunch
and noodles and an ice-cream for dinner. |
Encounters: |
As I rode along a bike path next to some
small bushy trees, there was a sudden flurry in one and I got hit by
a beak just in front of my right ear! |
Highlights: |
Cresting a big hill in the last of a
beautiful sunset and seeing the lights of Gympie in the distance. |
Lowlights: |
So many to choose from! Losing my way many
times as I tried to negotiate Brisbane. Stopping for innumerable
traffic lights and map checks. Getting wet multiple times by
showers not quite long enough to justify stopping to put a raincoat
on. Finding out the scheduled distance assumed you could ride on
freeways, and you could not (my mistake). Arriving late again.
Finding all motels in Gympie were booked out. Getting an onsite van
at the campground and finding out the hot water was only lukewarm. |
Daily Pictures: |
Here |
Daily Podcasts: |
Here |
Journal: |
I thought it might be a tedious day and it
was. I left as usual before dawn, and enjoyed the initial few
kilometres riding through the quiet streets of Surfers Paradise.
However, I soon encountered my first obstacle when following a sign
to Brisbane and then found myself on a freeway with a ‘No Bicycles”
sign. I turned off and looked for alternatives, buying a map in an
early morning service station. Even with a map it was hard to work
out how to get to Brisbane without going on a freeway. I just
muddled along, stopping frequently to map read and occasionally
having to backtrack. Progress was slow and it took me nearly six
hours to travel the supposed 100km to central Brisbane.
I
found my way across the Storey Bridge, the first of Eugen Schilter’s
checkpoints that I must pass, at 10am, dicing with multi-lane fast
moving traffic that really got the adrenalin pumping. I headed
north out of Brisbane following signs to the Sunshine Coast, which
worked fine for about 15km when the road suddenly turned into a
freeway with another “No Bicycles” sign. I had to start reading the
map again and it was difficult to know many times which road to
take.
I reached the spectacular Glasshouse Mountains area
where these small vertical and rocky mountains jut out of the
forested countryside, and passed Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. From
there it wasn’t obvious which way I should go to get to Gympie
without returning to the freeway. I decided on a winding back road
on the map but, just before the turn-off, went into a store for a
drink and ice-cream and discussed my plans with the lady behind the
counter. She said the road would be a very tough ride and that I
would be better to go via the Sunshine Coast, even though it was
longer. My mood plummeted and I recognised that I would probably
not reach my goal of Gympie for the night, which was already looking
difficult before the latest news. I had to cross the freeway on my
way to the Coast and I was desperately hoping there was no “No
Bicycles” sign. As I followed the signs to Gympie onto the freeway
I anxiously scanned every sign, but didn’t find any prohibitions.
My spirits soared. It was still 90km to go, but I averaged around
33kph and made it in less than three hours, despite a number of
solid climbs. With 30km to go I was getting very tired and
desperate to finish. As usual, I just kept pedalling and I
eventually got to central Gympie around 6pm.
I couldn’t
find a motel with any vacancies (it was now quite dark) and
eventually ended up with an onsite van in a caravan park.
Unfortunately, it was some distance from any shops and after
checking in, I had to ride off to find some dinner, making it an
even later night.
Despite only five hours sleep last
night, I managed the day OK, but would welcome and early night
tomorrow (probably only five hours again tonight). However, I have
a 299km target, although if the road is good and wind is favourable
I could be OK. I feel like I am operating at my limit, especially
with the diary, etc., taking more than an hour each night. However,
that was always going to be part of the experience for me, so I’ll
persevere for the time being.
On the positive side, I
didn’t have any bike problems today, and don’t have any significant
sore spots, apart from occasionally painful toes. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
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|