Munchow's Crossing to Home in Brisbane

Monday 25 June : Munchow's Crossing to Maroon Dam

42.4km, 2h 31min, max 65km/hr.

But a Few Alphas and Omegas.

THE FIRST...

+ time I rode a road which I'd actually driven on, and later a road I'd actually ridden on.

+ camp over night and breakfast with someone I knew.

+ camp with a dog - 'Thermo-dog' otherwise known as the 'Free Spirit' or Jordan.

+ day riding in real warm sunny Queensland weather and sweating heavily and feeling burnt.

+ chat with a lucene grower in 'Bell country' (local family).

+ visit to Mt Alford and the Mogerah Area.

+ time I'd ridden nearly 360 degrees around a range (Mt Moon area)

+ incidence of riding parallel to a train track I've travelled on before will happen tomorrow

THE LAST...

- day on the official BNT, and only for a few kilometres.

- significant stretch of gravel road for the trip is tomorrow.

- gates are as I leave Maroon Dam camp... and there's two in quick succession.

- time above 1000m on the trip was near the Moss Gardens.

- bush camp was last night.

- time I will use my trusty MSR stove to cook will be tomorrow night.

- chance to catch a fish is at Maroon Dam.

- of hand washing my clothes is also here at Maroon Dam.

- stuff up of a rendezvous with friends.

- dug dunny/horror hole/____ pit/bush bum bare was at Munchow's Crossing.

- pitching of the tent would be at tomorrow's campsite

- time I'd be riding south for a considerable distance will be tomorrow.

- time within sight of the NSW border is tomorrow.

Tuesday 26 June : Maroon Dam to Andrew Drynan Park

53km, 3h 00min, max 64.4km/hr.

Notes and associated thoughts.

Held composure well I'd been wondering how I'd handle this leg - so familiar and close to home - where it all started with gear testing etc. A few tears and plenty of thinking as I rode towards Rathdowney from the west.

A dawn over the dam to remember The most notable before this was at Newton Boyd - this wasn't as alien though - just very pleasant... especially the temperature.

2 hills to start - thought "push, take it easy" but once 1/2 way there was no backing down! There was no need to push myself and I remembered these hills quite well as they were some of the shortest yet sharpest of any I'd ever ridden before the trip. However with my adventures in Victoria at the fore of my mind I wasn't going to let some bitumen road try to get me to dismount, and it was with a hearty "yeah!' that I rode over the crest of each. The quads were burning though.

Spider web and fog shots Fog was settled at the end of my last gravel road and it was about 9am. It reminded me of Dunns Swamp with the light and scenery so I got a photo. A bit further down the road there was this wire fence and small stock yard that had glistening spider webs scattered along it and in the grass as well. I had to get a photo. I'm not fond of spiders (I'm more fond of snakes actually because they're easier to see and avoid), but gee they make some beautiful works of art.

Ride was cruisy (more so that I remember and I was in R. by 10) On the trial ride in March I'd been quite weary on the return leg having ridden the 37km to get to Maroon Dam the previous afternoon. There has been an obvious improvement in fitness as this ride was simply 'easy'. I had a heavier load this time, was coming off 5 consecutive days of riding and had ridden further yesterday.

Shop lady remembered me On the overnight trial ride I'd been able to leave my car under the watchful eyes of her dog overnight. I waltzed in with hairy face and all and asked " Remember me?" and she did immediately. I told her where I'd come from this time and after a little moment of disbelief we continued our conversation.

Butcher? No! Extinguish supplies! Like Scone. I stopped, as was becoming the custom, outside the butchery. Before I'd even parked my bike I realised that it was stupid to get any fresh meat as I had about 2 meals I could cook up from my remaining supplies and it would just be extra unnecessary weight. I was in the position to eat whatever remained in the beaten up panniers - similar to when I was headed for Scone after staying at Glenbawn Dam (remember that sunset?)

Phone : Dad to give arrival time + Cathy re. party The change I'd got after I'd bought a caramel choc chip Paddle Pop (yum.) I used up bar 50 cents on these two calls.

Info centre bloke was useful re. Mt Chinghee - not Mt C. N.P. site at all - reserve kept by council On my Hema map there was a camp area symbol below Mt Chinghee N.P.. I'd assumed it was part of the N.P. but the info guy (3 bypasses and knees no good for bush walking) informed me it was a council reserve, and a fee one at that.

Rode on approx 15km to where info bloke 'pinpointed reserve on my 1:100th... tiring quickly - he was 3km short Locals know where stuff is but are often (considerably) out when they 'pinpoint' it on a topographical map. I guess reading these things is a learned skill, but a 1:100th is fairly in your face. Maybe I should ask people to 'thumbpoint' places so I don't get flustered when they don't appear. Its funny though that the places are always further down the road and never earlier in these situations.

Paddock sprinkler entranced me w/- rainbow for a while I couldn't remember seeing a rainbow other than at the Euroka Camp in the Blue Mountains near Penrith. This was artificial and only a section, but it was still engaging. How nature attracts attention.

Set up tent to air/dry after gouging on lunch Again packed up a wet tent, but it would be the last time it would be pitched for the trip. A late lunch and I'd only had half a Power Bar to power me along earlier in the morning. I was depleted, but I'm not sure that the fruitcake, peanuts and two scotch finger biscuits were the best thing... but the panniers were getting lighter.

Cleaned chain etc. + pumped tyres a bit considering next two rides are on bitumen (and mostly flat) which is nice A service to ensure I got to Beaudesert. Broken spoke is the only item of concern. I'm not counting out a major malfunction or break though. This bike has seen some very, very hardy miles.

Anthony cruised up -> over Richmond Gap @ head of Running Creek from Lismore, interesting/weird bike, home made trailer - was bike framer and courier Anthony was on a 5 day trip to Lismore and back to Brisbane. Two days of riding each way and this was his halfway point. A very interesting bike and passenger. He's studying to be a teacher, so as you can expect chalkie talk took some hold on our conversations, but not as much as bike stuff.

Wood and water from near creek+ from under trees Mundane little things you'd think ,that are a key part of the trip, but they always turn into a little adventure on their own. You get to explore the area, balance on slippery rocks and juggle water bottles, tempt splinters , startle wildlife (and hopefully not encounter legless reptiles), contemplate fuel burning times and then ride your bike with dangerously occied chunks of wood on the back. Who could argue that this was mundane?

Quiet sort of pm, road nearby (<-> reserve + creek) flush toilets in brick toilet block, good camp spot - swim hole, large flat area, picnic tables, fire places... A relaxing time in which I also had a snooze and transferred photos from the camera. Dinner consisted of the corned beef and rice dish with onion and peas - that's a real winner and a future essential for any camping trip. Typed emails and then did a bit of site editing to extinguish the battery to about a half hour remaining. That took until nearly midnight as I'd had it recharging in the toilet block at Maroon Dam early in the morning.

Wednesday 27 June : Andrew Drynan Park to Beaudesert

49.9km, 2h 28 min, max 68.2km/hr.

Drive a what? Where?

An odd sensation this morning. It's really hit home that I have very few days left on the trip. Very few things will be repeated from now on. There will be plenty of 'lasts', but still a few 'firsts' to knock up - the most immediate being a ride with company.

Anthony was all packed before I even got out of my tent. He then munched on his breakfast, which as you know I eat first thing upon waking, while I did a bit of stuffing and wrapping and zipping and strapping etc. - the all too familiar routine of creating the impression that I was never there. Amidst our chatter and my hurry (Anthony was going the full 110km to Brisbane) I had a not so memorable 'first' moment. I left my corned beef tin on the hotplate. This I remembered once I reached Beaudesert. So close to a perfect record of spotless campsites. Perfection is only ever one mistake away from imperfection though (it seems such an unfair and narrow margin) so I achieved this all too common and unimpressive 'second place' .

It was great to have Anthony's company for this final 'away from familiarity' ride. I hadn't ridden a whole section with someone before - just a few minutes with Doug's trio outside of Gundaroo and with Michael for a few km south of Canberra. We did a lot of weaving and dodging (not due to liquor) to maintain a conversation amongst passing cars as we averaged a healthy speed following Running Creek and then the Logan River downstream. (A big sentence - particularly for the time of night I'm typing this!)

We stopped for a break at the entrance to Kooralbyn where there is an international resort, golf course, school and other exotic things in a valley over the hills. Kooralbyn ends with a dead end up a valley and it's a fair way in (on a bike anyway) so I wonder how the businesses there survive. My mobile was still out of range, and I really didn't care. "So be it" I thought, "It's nice not to be bothered anyway". It's been nice to be out of reach and range. To be hard to contact and hard to track. To be the one initiating communication at my own convenience. Now that's more of a luxury that having a mobile.

A notable conversation after our break was about roadside rubbish. We had both noted in our travels that the majority of rubbish has either a "McDonalds', or 'Coke' or cigarette brand label on it. The packaging from these companies finds itself everywhere. There is other rubbish about but in nowhere near as notable a frequency. Is this another form of advertising? I figure if it wasn't these companies' packaging it would be some other companies. Why do people chuck stuff out of their car? Why is there so much packaging on our products, and are certain types of packaging more fun to throw out of a car window?

This brings me to a very sidetracked and belated observation I made back near the NSW and Victorian border : VB beer cartons are green, while XXXX beer cartons are yellow. Most of Victoria's countryside is green (well what I saw anyway) while most of Queensand's countryside is yellow. I reckon that these colours were chosen so if the carton was left behind in the bush by 'people-who-do-that-sort-of-thing' it would blend in well with the environment and be less obvious and thus keep the brewers' names cleaner. I probably reckon very, very wrong, but then lots of people reckon wrong stuff - at least I'm aware of it.

I re gave Anthony my site address, which funnily you must have since you're reading this (think about that - there's more to it than you'd imagine). He'd misplaced it and so I wrote it out again. I wish I'd got to that printery before I'd left to get stickers made up with the address on it. We fare-ye-welled before continuing along our respective paths. Mine was much shorter and this pleased me to no end. Anthony however was not even half way.

I pedaled hard along Cryna Rd as I wanted another first today - first day with a trip average speed of over 20km/hr. It ended up being 20.23km/hr. I didn't even achieve that coming down Tom Groggin from Thredbo and that was an hour shorter ride. The wind was trying its hardest to blow my chances away of achieving this (heh heh), but I was not going to be denied.

Dad was a little surprised to see me since I said I'd be arriving around noon. It was 10:20am. The dogs (Monet and Diesel) were happy to see me once they worked out who I was, but I don't think they appreciated just how far I'd ridden. I forgave them. On the other hand my dad and I did - and it was a top hug. He'd been over in Europe on a cruise and holiday for a few weeks so there was going to be some serious chattering over the next few days.

He noted that it had been strange for him to be in London, much further away than normal, yet he was able to read my latest from there on a cousin's computer. We took some photos of the occasion before I stripped the bike so I could do a 'stock take' which would involve taking as much as possible out of the panniers ...and binning it.

Before all of the binning happened we had to take both vehicles into Beaudesert because Dad's car had been starting erratically. I drove the tray back. (That's a Toyota, or a ute, or a tilly or a 4WD or whatever else your local dialect might stipulate you call it.) The 4WD's a manual. You want me to drive what? Where? I didn't ask if he'd upgraded it so it had thumb shifters or if the rear derailleur was delivering the chain to a cluster of 6,7,8 or 9. I have a manual licence, but I'd just been riding a bike for nearly 100 days.

Boy did I have to concentrate. I think that's why I have a headache now. I am proud to say that I did not stall it or cause a major disruption to the flow of traffic in the 'CBD' of Beaudesert. Needless to say, I let Dad drive it home after I got us a little further up the road to Coles. It was so noisy and nothing was at my fingertips... and you should see its turning circle!

'The motley human that is 'I' walked around Coles agasp at the food selections as I had been doing in supermarkets for the last few months. Do you really realise how much we have to choose from? Choice is a luxury but is it a necessity?

A beer for lunch... plus some mini pizzas that Dad cooked up. Had plenty of chats, showed Dad my best photos, and got my clothes into an electric washing machine. I'd washed most of them at Maroon Dam but you should have seen the colour of the water after the wash cycle. It was a nice warm day and the wind was beginning to gather some gusto so it would be quick to dry. Most of the time I'd been working with a narrow margin with drying times - none narrower than the pre-Walcha fence dry.

Dad packed up for his regular jaunt into Brisbane to play tennis while I sorted out some emails and worked a little on the site before up loading. I checked out Randy and Jody's (ahh - the correct spelling!) site later in the evening and was adding to the guest book when I was disconnected. I'll have to do that later and have a proper look around the site. I actually received an email in Tenterfield from one of their friends who solved a mystery that had been puzzling me, and probably you, for most of the trip.

And with that revelation I'll end today's entry.

Thursday 28 June : Beaudesert rest day #1

Up at a moderate time and was having some cereal when Ang rang. We had a rather comprehensive conversation. Discussed my plans for next year with her and that sort of thing. We got a bit psychologically analytical towards the end.

Typed and typed and then Dad returned from Brisbane. He'd brought his photos with him that had been developed so we poured over those in two stages either side of lunch. Turkey is well worth a visit and has some unusual sights to see and a huge amount of history. Go there, but ride a bit of the BNT first!

Did a clean of the site. Deleted the whole thing off the server and up loaded everything from scratch. This took about an hour and a half. The site has really grown. There are over 180 photos, plus an extraordinary number of words. I'll do a word count one of these days for those of you who are remotely interested.

Friday 29 June : Beaudesert rest day #2

Got up at about 7:15 and walked down the stairs. Not really exciting you'd think, but I haven't been on many stairs in the last 3 months. I had an omelette with the additive of some chunks of the leftover roast Dad cooked last night. It was a relief not to assemble the stove and then disassemble it later when it cooled.

Dad's tractor tyre tube had been leaking very slowly recently. He had disassembled it all and I'd mended it but had a mini disaster when we snapped the valve off while trying to put the tyre back on the rim. A considerably larger scale task compared to when I do it on my bicycle. Valves don't get much bigger in proportion though and Dad reckons this makes it easier to find a pump that will pump it up, but it takes a considerably longer time to actually pump it up.

While in town to get a valve patch for the tractor tyre we bought a newspaper. Found two articles related to the trip. It's good to have the publicity for the fund raising, BNT and national parks - an objective that has been achieved late in the trip. At 5:45pm I had an interview with Chris Walsh on ABC regional radio about the trip as a holiday idea. Tomorrow morning I have another with him on the 612 breakfast slot about the trip in general. Patience is a virtue with getting the media to air your story.

More typing that filled the afternoon while editing photos into the journal filled the evening. Dad meanwhile was doing his "umpteenth edit and proofread of the book he and my aunt are writing about their father who fought to defend New Guinea in WWII. Stay tuned to this site if you're interested in a copy - it should be published before the end of the year, and it will have a web site created by Yours Truly.

Saw Marion, Matt, Jai and Tatiana on the SBS World Sport news and a bit of an article on Lance who I think might make it three in a row.

Added my route for tomorrow to the index page before up loading it and Week 14 of the journal. Headed for the shower and then for bed. A big day is ahead.

Saturday 30 June : Beaudesert to Brisbane

77.77km, 3h 29min, max 50.6km/hr.

The Homecoming.

Radio Interview :

I had to get up early so I could have my brain working properly for the interview with ABC radio. This was not a problem. I had slept surprisingly well through the night and was feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

The interview went for about 5 minutes. Basically it was presented as an alternative to the regular holiday that could be taken (I agree!) to the listening audience. I got some good feedback from Dad who listened to it downstairs, and from John who came to the welcome home party later in the day. Like the newspaper interview in Tenterfield last week - you never know what you are going to get asked. An invaluable experience. I got to listen to the weather forecast just before speaking which was most helpful. I found that it would be overcast, with the possibility of rain, and with a breeze from the SE. The breeze would be perfect but I hoped to encounter no rain.

I rode with no hands for about 100m on the road into Beaudesert. One of the cycling goals I had for the trip had finally been achieved. Not really a legal one, but it was plenty of fun.

Roadside Quirks :

The last time I was going through the north part of Beaudesert there was this smoke haze across the road. (Keep in mind this is another side track.) Thick black smoke that you couldn't see through. I remember looking to the right to see where it was coming from and there was this van whose exhaust was fuming like a volcano. The bloke trying to get it moving got out and ran around to look at where the smoke was coming from, and then sort of ran around looking confused. I would have turned the ignition off for a start. (See - my understanding of motor driven vehicles is returning!)

I passed what is a classic piece of Australian roadside art - a car tyre cut and bent to resemble a swan... painted white of course. This was in Beaudesert of course. I also noticed that Queensland horse studs have the white fences that I was looking for around Scone.

I passed some dogs who barked at me along the road and I duly barked back. Not your classic 'woof' or 'yap' human utterance - more of a loud 'buhh' after they'd bark. This gets the best response. It only happens when there were no owners in sight though. (When they're biting at your heels English and a foot are the best languages to use.) I had done this every time in similar situations on the trip so figured I could continue to do it all the way into Brisbane if need be. I did the same sort of thing with sheep when they were not bolting away. Other animals got a "Hello cow" (for cows) or "Hello fox" (for foxes and dingoes) and sometimes a wave. I don't speak their languages unfortunately.

Passed a few galahs which were startled by me but not the cars and trucks hurtling past and nearly driving me off the road. The last ones I'd seen were back near Canberra somewhere. I did see some Canberra galahs on the news yesterday strangely enough, but not the feathered type.

The train line that runs north from Beaudesert doesn't really have a lot of traffic on it... Yep, it's time to talk about trains - I know your adrenalin is pumping. Trains are great for traveling as you know you can't really get lost. You can't really get off and look around at places you go past or hear much, but you can take your bike/car/pet/spa/couch/bed etc. with you as freight. It's always fun to hang out in the servery carriage as well... to watch peoples' expressions as they juggle their lunch and dinner past you. Australia has an odd predicament with its train lines - there are different track gauges. To get a cow or a crate of bananas let's say from Townsville to Perth, it would have to change trains up to four times. You can't catch the one long distance train all the way. This is one hitch Federation didn't fix. Just for your records QLD rails have a width of 1067mm while NSW have a rail width of 1435mm.

Jimboomba :

I stopped at Jimboomba for some money from the ATM and to have a little break. A little boy and his father were getting money from the ATM (the father was actually, not the boy) as I was getting stuff sorted in my bar bag. This little bloke was staring at me and my bike with such intrigue, that his father walked off. The next man in line had to tap him on the shoulder to inform him his father had walked off. He freaked out, but not totally, before racing off to catch up.

Rendezvous Success :

Dennis and Janine came out to meet me and we had a successful rendezvous on the south end of the highway at Browns Plains. They bore a gift of chocolate biscuits (well, the two they hadn't consumed) and joyous tales of city living and running. Dennis and I then rode to his house in Greenslopes - a resting point before the final mini leg to the party about 7km away in Norman Park. The traffic was thick at times but there was a generous shoulder to the bitumen in most places. We had a good chat before I took a slight off-road detour with a few km to go through...

Toohey Forest :

This was to be my journey's last forest ride. I had never considered that this would be the location for that particular milestone, but in a way it was fitting. I do most of my running training in and around this forest so I rode one of my favourite paths for about 700m before rejoining Dennis on the bitumen path that winds through the forest. I had time in there to accept that I was back, appreciate the distance I'd come and stare into the trees mindlessly. I had an aloud word to myself about what lay ahead and behind about halfway through. No more crunching gravel or dodging sticks and stones, no more quiet pure green, brown and blue surrounds.

Party :

I arrived at the party about ten minutes late. My flatmates had passed me with a km or so to go. I caught them at the next traffic lights and said hello but then they scooted off along the road to the party venue. I took a flatter side track through the park next to where the Brisbane Lions AFL side trains. I had a few minutes there to myself for this was needed.

We ate, drank and then ate some more amidst a selection of interesting conversations and people. It was great to see family and friends although there are plenty more to catch up with.

Sunday 1 July : Party Venue to Home

Forget the stats - just ride home! The end is nigh.

The plan was to ride from Cathy and Michael's to My sister's new house, then ride home and get Dennis to bring my car over. Common sense struck me with a big stick in the back of my stupidity and said "Enough with the bike - get your car and drive about! Don't push your luck on city roads and start doing normal things again". A good idea as I was rather exhausted as it was.

I arrived home to find I had been locked out and no one was home. This was one of the funniest moments I have had on the trip. It wasn't so amusing when I realised my predicament, but after I stood back and had a look at the situation the humour seeped in. There was a set of keys in the car but they were Ang's. She had my wallet and I had her keys and we were about 400km apart... how useful. I had left my mobile with some other stuff back at Cathy's so I had to drive to a phone booth. (I was happy that this phone worked - not like the southern NSW ones.) Of course, two of my flatmates had their mobiles turned off and the third was 40min from getting home. Did they not want me back and were they trying to signal this by making themselves scarce?

My own intelligence had gotten the better of me - I had the garage door device in my car but I'd unplugged the mechanism inside last year after we ceased to use the garage for a car. I sat and waited outside after a trip back to Cathy's to pick up the remaining gear. In the city you wait, on the trail you don't.

Some tupperware came for a drive with me to Cathy's later in the day as there were plenty of leftovers from the party. I'd spent an hour or so doing a sort through the pile of mail I'd received while away and since I was in the house at last I could get into a cupboard. When I went to leave I left the house and walked to the car. Not so significant you might think, but I'd forgotten that I needed keys to get into and start my vehicle. I'm not the type of person to lose or forget keys - it's just that for 100 days I'd simply walked to my vehicle and been off down the road. This was the first indication that I had a few behaviour patterns to rescue from the depths of my memory.

The day was filled with lots of conversations and 'hellos' to things and people I hadn't seen for a long time. The terms 'bushranger', 'Ned Kelly', and were used to describe my appearance on numerous occasions (more from the people than the things) and I attribute this to that pie I ate in Armidale. It was totally weird to be back in the confines of the suburbs. Trying to find my place in the house and with my flatmates was an unusual feeling. The items in my room were mine but at the same time were like a distant memory of things from the past and I questioned their validity in my present situation.

Discomfort in my surroundings would be the order of the day for many a day to come.

Notes :

As Fat Boy Slim might say " You've come a long way baby".

"Life is bigger than love. Loving life is bigger than that."

Cathy and Michael - Thanks for a great party. The 'Party Queen' reigns supreme!

Shauno/Fe/Jase - Make way! The wild man returns. A shower? What's a shower?

Equipment profile

Me. I'm not 30 yet. I run, drive, play, write, teach, eat, cook, talk, appreciate, query, question, believe, challenge, seek, see, think, watch, change, laugh, spend, go and return, grind my teeth, organise, visit, direct, sleep and a plethora of other things. I'm also easy to contact and am re learning how to brush my hair and eat in company - as well as developing other lost social graces I rode a bike a long way through some very un-flat beautiful country. My next 'thing' is being drafted in my head. I hope you enjoyed my adventure on the BNT. I also hope that Common Sense, Understanding, Compassion and Responsibility become world leaders, and that you get what you want at your own expense. Ta-ta.