2022 - On the road

[elantra]

The peaks of Springbrook, Wollumbin, and Lamington are all slightly over a thousand meters above sea level.
There are some good road cycling opportunities in these mountains, weather permitting. (But seek local knowledge (and Strava) about which roads are best avoided)

I've ridden to O'reillys from canungra. Approx 30km climb and 900vm. Last time was back in 2019. Best to go real early as its very narrow in parts. There is a lookout towards the top too with some awesome views but the name escapes me.

Canungra to O’Reillys is a different sort of climb.
On paper looks big, according to Strava it is 34 km and 825 metres of climbing, which sounds it should be a tough ride in subtropical climate.

In reality it is not as intimidating as it should be, the climb has a lot of flat sections, the scenery is breathtaking, and it is mostly in the shade of the forest, which tends to neutralise the heat.

The lookout that you refer to is probably Kamerun Lookout, which is a small but worthwhile detour.
I think that it is an Indigenous derived place name, unlike O’Reillys which is of course named after the pioneering family who established the popular Guest house up there approximately 100 years ago.
Their history is a fascinating one and is recorded in the book “Green Mountains and Cullenbenbong” by the late Bernard O’Reilly.

The downside to the O’Reillys ride is that the road is as you say, quite narrow, which tends to make descent a bit scary as there must be about a hundred narrow corners
As it is a tourist destination, the normal patterns of traffic density do not apply, traffic is light most of the time, especially on weekdays and at night!

But if all that does not sound challenging enough, the “alternative” route to or from O’Reillys is the famous Duck Creek Road, which is a 4WD road with some very steep sections, and very rough surfaces which require gravel bike or mountain bike..

[MichaelB]

Canungra to O’Reillys is a different sort of climb.
...

Indeed it is ! Done it and it was a nice ride. Some road sections are rough as. The bits near Carunga are a bit dodgy due to the traffic at times.

Some nice roads and climbs around the GC hills.

[MichaelB]

Just before home at the end of a nice 40km/500m ride in the evening

[MichaelB]

Did a century ride yesterday, so time for a nice cruise along the beachfront ...

[warthog1]

Out to Heathcote and back.
It was a beautiful day.
The gravelly was humming

[g-boaf]

I shortened my morning ride because the weather looked threatening, but then it cleared up so I found a few hidden little tracks in the local area good for increasing the elevation - and a small lookout that is very quiet and has a pretty decent view:



The tracks are pretty narrow and overgrown so definitely not for going fast but that was fine since my legs were threatening to cramp up today so it was just easy going instead.

The Cervelo got polished yesterday so it still looks fairly clean despite the damp conditions this morning. It also has a new cassette which surprisingly didn't damage the wallet too badly, still over $400 but not too bad for an XG-1290 SRAM.

[MichaelB]

....It also has a new cassette which surprisingly didn't damage the wallet too badly, still over $400 but not too bad for an XG-1290 SRAM.

Sheesh, >$400 is "didn't damage the wallet too badly"

That's one of my big things re SRAM cassettes, they aren't cheap !

Anyway, back on topic - did a big ride (for me anyway) through the Adelaide Hills - 85km and 1,600m elevation gain. Biggest ride for a looooooongtime.

Here's a snap from the ridge with the sea peaking through




Spied this car that somehow ended up in the wrong place on the way down from Lofty a week ago. Thought as I was riding past "Surprised those mags haven't been stolen by someone..", and then on Sunday morning, they were gone .... (looks like a KJ Verada - wasn't too badly damaged so doesn't appear to be a highspeed crash, maybe someone pulled over to the side and dropped off.)

[g-boaf]

....It also has a new cassette which surprisingly didn't damage the wallet too badly, still over $400 but not too bad for an XG-1290 SRAM.

Sheesh, >$400 is "didn't damage the wallet too badly"

That's one of my big things re SRAM cassettes, they aren't cheap !

However it was actually $100 less than other places and was in stock, they even installed it. Give the cassettes and chains credit, they last a very long time. I get way more distance out of these than I ever did with older 11 speed groupsets. Chains go at least double the distance than I used to get.

The equivalent Dura Ace cassette is nearly $100 more than what I paid:
https://www.bikebug.com/shimano-dura-ac ... sette.html

[MichaelB]

The equivalent Dura Ace cassette is nearly $100 more than what I paid:
https://www.bikebug.com/shimano-dura-ac ... sette.html

All 12sp stuff is just nuts ! Gotta hunt to find a good price and stock sometimes

I'd like an 11sp XD cassette w 10T as a small cog, as sometimes, I like to pedal a bit more on a fast descent, but as they don't exist (in a road ratio), I'll have to do with an 11T

[Duck!]

....It also has a new cassette which surprisingly didn't damage the wallet too badly, still over $400 but not too bad for an XG-1290 SRAM.

Sheesh, >$400 is "didn't damage the wallet too badly"

That's one of my big things re SRAM cassettes, they aren't cheap !

Thing with SRAM cassettes, you're paying for what isn't in it.... The way they're machined wastes an enormous amount of material, probably more than what''s left on the finished cassette!

[Kev365428]

Early morning heading up the Northern Rd to Luddenham. The new runway for Western Sydney Airport is just to the right.

Certainly much nicer riding The Northern Rd now, compared to a few years back when it was single lane with a narrow shoulder.
I love doing the Northern Rd, Bringelly Rd, Camden Valley Way loop.

Kev.

[elantra]

Queensland/ NSW Border Ranges National Park again, few days ago

This was a rather brutal climb from Lilian Rock, NSW. Destination was the so-called “Bar Mountain “ Picnic grounds / walking tracks” where there are ancient trees over 2,000 years old.
Mainly good standard gravel road, but relentlessly uphill.
Weather was “threatening” but hot and humid at the “bottom”
By the top of the climb, 10 km and a thousand metres of vertical climbing later, it was cool and misty.
Very ethereal. The descent was cold enough to get numb fingers and shivering.

[warthog1]

Sounds and looks great

[Sharkey]

Faulconbridge Point in The Blue Mountains - at the end of a 7km dirt road closed to cars.
We sat here for about 20 minutes watching this storm and enjoying a beer before riding back.

[MichaelB]

Got to do a nice 55km route around Mintaro & Minoora including some of the Riesling Trail in Clare over the weekend with a mate. Some nice and quiet rolling roads

[MichaelB]

Some pics from the holiday Monday ride through the Adelaide Hills and down along the coast

[elantra]

Unfortunately, recent unprecedented flood rainfalls have caused huge damages to private property & public infrastructure, especially in north-east NSW, also in parts of south-east Qld.

Many cyclists from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Northern NSW will have at some time enjoyed the magnificent riding country around Tyalgum.
Tyalgum is in northern NSW but only 5 km from the Qld border (as the crow flies) or 20 km by road.

The main road into Tyalgum is now closed after a hill that it goes over has started to slide into the river, caused by the recent epic rainfalls.
It’s gonna be a complicated repair job

[MichaelB]

Now that’s what you call subsidence

[Sharkey]

Wow, that is some serious damage to the road. After all the rain there was also quite a lot of debris on the road shoulder:

[warthog1]

A couple of photos indicating why you don't drive (or ride) through floodwaters

[MichaelB]

Holey moley !!

When there's a lot of water, the power it has is amazing !!

[BobtheBuilder]

The year before Covid - near the Danube delta heading west on EV6 from the Black sea to the Atlantic.

[MichaelB]

Just a couple of pics from recent rides on the Discus Colossus

A quiet day along the coast (Seacliff Jetty)





Lest we Forget (from ANZAC morning ride)

[MichaelB]

Finally, a dry and sunny day with it being a tad brisk in the morning, but got to have a decent ride hom,e along the coast and to see a beautiful sunset ...

[elantra]

Unfortunately, recent unprecedented flood rainfalls have caused huge damages to private property & public infrastructure, especially in north-east NSW, also in parts of south-east Qld.

Many cyclists from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Northern NSW will have at some time enjoyed the magnificent riding country around Tyalgum.
Tyalgum is in northern NSW but only 5 km from the Qld border (as the crow flies) or 20 km by road.

The main road into Tyalgum is now closed after a hill that it goes over has started to slide into the river, caused by the recent epic rainfalls.
It’s gonna be a complicated repair job

It should come as no surprise that the closure of this arterial continues without any indication of early action to reopen it.
And no surprise that it is arguably a nicer road to cycle on than it used to be.




I have been using Tyalgum Rd to ride on while in recovery from my fractured femur 2 months ago.
(not a cycling- caused accident)

The 14 km length of Tyalgum Rd between Kyogle Rd (Murwillumbah) and the road closure barriers is almost ideal for gentle cycling rehab exercise.
Mostly flat, good road surface, not many cars, etc.

The local community is understandably dismayed by the lethargic attitude of governments to reinstate their road access.
It’s a long story but the landslip represents a massive amount of earth which has developed subsidence over a surface area of hundreds of metres and the subterranean water flow cracks are said to extend almost a hundred metres deep

As you can see, the local community has injected some humour into the situation by painting a blue “NSW” on the east side of barrier and a maroon “Qld” on the west side of the barrier

Which is geographically appropriate because looking west over the barrier is (just) visible the summit of the McPherson Range, which is the Qld border!