A mess

Things didn't go quite as planned on the 600km ride at the weekend. First of all, my train from Fortitude Valley to the start at Westlake (both suburbs of Brisbane) didn't show. This meant that a) I had to ride 25km to the start; and b) I got there 20 minutes late. Still, I arrived confident that I could make up the time -- after all, I've been through enough crap to get there. I set off from Westlake, and just pootled around the outer suburbs of Brisbane, focusing mainly on finding my way through the convoluted route than trying to make up serious time. It was at this point that I started to enjoy things again, all the crap that went on last week finally disappeared under the joy of just riding largely unfettered.

25km or so in, I passed one of the riders doing the 300k -- he told me he was basically abandoning there and then, and that he didn't feel as though he'd make it. I couldn't really think of any consoling words -- how do you lift the spirits of someone who's quit after 25km (and who you've already caught after a 20 minute delay)? I rode on, through Ipswich, and out to Laidley and the first checkpoint. Here I caught one of the earlier starters, Dave, who had been delayed acting as a witness in a car crash. We set off together after that, over the climb of the Great Dividing Range via Ma Ma Creek. This was probably the most scenic part of the ride.



I managed to stay with Dave until Clifton, but I had a dilemma. He was setting off quickly to try to catch the other riders (of whom there were now just two). I hung back to eat some serious food -- this was probably my fatal mistake. I had enough muesli bars to hang on until Pittsworth, but just didn't do it. Darkness fell on the way to Pittsworth, and the wind and rain intensified. I was struggling, but I hung on through this section. On making it to Pittsworth I realised that I wasn't losing any ground on the other riders, but again, arrived at the checkpoint just as they were leaving. The 20 minute delay at the start still haunted me! Again, I opted for more food, and again I was riding alone.
Pushing into the wind and probably the first decent downpour this area has seen for several months, I began to get disheartened. There was no reason for this, as I wasn't really losing any time, but the distance just seemed daunting. At one stage I literally ran off the road through tiredness, but managed to recover enough to avoid a nasty crash. I made it to Oakey and decided I'd had enough after 280km. I abandoned and got a ride out to Dalby, the 600k was effectively over. This was another mistake, as I had, in fact, negotiated the hardest part of the ride to get here. Had I just continued -- even if I'd had a break for 10 minutes to get my thoughts together, I have no doubt I could have made it to Dalby.
As it was I got back on the bike at Goombungee the next day and rode the final 170-odd km to "finish". For most of this I felt surprisingly good, apart from a little fatigue in Toowoomba (which didn't last long). That disappeared on the descent of the Toowoomba range where I passed four trucks. I shared the ride home with Lisa, who had traveled up from Inverell for this event, and was still a chance to finish. Clearly, she knew what she was doing better than me, having already done 300k and 400k events (I was jumping in without ever completing either of those). We passed the time with some idle chatter, and I learned that when I hit a flat spot, I just need to persevere and ride through it. Had I done this the previous night, I could have completed the thing. I suppose lessons are never too late for learning.
We had one interesting moment where the route slip... er.. gave us the slip. We ended up taking a stretch on the Ipswich Motorway. The signs didn't seem to list "bicycles" among the prohibited items on that road, so we may have even been doing this legally! Even so, I think the dangers of riding on these roads is grossly overstated. I didn't actually take any pictures on the second days' ride. There were probably one or two opportunities, but I just didn't really think of it.
As for what I'll do differently next time, I'll definitely be doing the full series next year. I've done enough 200km rides to sink a battleship, but the 300 and 400 would have been useful preparation, as well as being decent achievements in and of themselves. I will also (hopefully) eradicate the late start and the pre-ride mechanical problems that basically destroyed my final preparation this year. Overall, considering the preparation and how naive I was about this, I probably did reasonably well to finish with 458km. Physically I know I'm up to this, it's just the mental barriers that need to be knocked down.
Incidentally, Saturday's 280km was the fifth time I've been at or above 280 without managing to break 300km. This is becoming a habit, and one that I want to eliminate as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Maybe an extended ride taking in Byron Bay, Ballina and back through Mullumbimby in the near future might be the tonic.

USCG Cutter "Alder"

On my way home today I glanced out over the lake and saw a boat coming through the Susie Islands.... I pulled over and grabbed my camera and attached the telephoto lens. When I looked through the camera and zoomed in on the boat, I could see that it was the United States Coast Guard cutter "Alder", coming from the direction of Thunder Bay. I snapped a few images then went home. Upon some quick research on the internet, I learned that the Alder had gone up to Thunder Bay to break ice for some ships that were still active up there. The Samuel Risley, a Canadian ice breaker that normally handles ice duty in the Thunder Bay harbor, was already busy in Sault St. Marie. How nice of the Alder crew to head up from Duluth and help out in Thunder Bay! When I saw the boat passing through the Susie Islands it was on its way back to Duluth to break ice for the last couple of ships of the season.

Lethargy

There always seems to be a letdown immediately after a big ride, especially if it's one that I've been looking forward to for some time. Such was the case over the course of the weekend. Saturday's ride turned into a slow cruise through the Austinville rainforest as there didn't seem to be much motivation for anything else. On days like this, about the only thing that can be done is to simply enjoy the surroundings, and appreciate the things I might miss on days when I'm trying to ride faster.

My Name Change

When I decided to become a sort-of professional photographer, I signed my photos Deborah C. Bailey. This is the name I used at doctor's offices and other important official places.
As I got involved in our town's art community, people addressed me as Deborah. This made me cringe, because I was getting to know them on a personal level. People that I care about call me Debbie.
I signed my childhood artwork Debbie Bailey. Through the years I have also signed Debbie C. Bailey and D.C. Bailey. I was having an identity crisis.
I've finally figured out why I've gone through so many name changes...I think. As a child I signed my art as Debbie Bailey, because that is who I was. As I got older, I thought that was too simple a name, so I signed in what I thought was more sophisticated ways.
For the last two years, I've been playing with different names in my mind. I have gone from Deborah C. Bailey to Deborah Bailey and finally to Debbie Bailey again. The pretensions have been dropped and I've again become 'just me'. I'm sure that's a good thing. It'll be interesting to see how, and if, that affects my art. Note: I should have said, "I signed my childhold art Debbie Collins." See comments for explanation.

Xtreme Wheels Century

No, I did not ride the 100+ miles today. But I was up bright and early to take some photos. A good turn out, great weather. Hope every had a good ride.
After the Century Ride start, I took my normal Sunday Morning Ride with Dennis. Was a gorgeous day - Was in the mid 70s and no the light wind. We got stuck by a train - waiting about 20 minutes. Made it was a long ride. The rest kind of rejuvenated me.
After the ride, I headed home to process the photos. Left a CD at the bike shop.
Backing up a couple days, we had a good Friday Night Ride at Lake Manawa. The trail was in mostly dry (just some slick/soft/muddy spots). The sunset is starting to cutting into our riding time.

Ride to Malvern

Its not that I have not been riding - I have (a bit). Just there was nothing to report, nothing worth photographing. Rode pavement to/around Lake Manawa. After the heat we had last week, I rode a little later in the morning. One morning it was 59 when I headed into town for coffee - last week it was 78 at 6am.

Yesterday, I was ready for a ride on the Trace. Since I did not have a planned trip to CB, I rode South from Silver City.

Over the first couple miles, I was wondering how far I could make it - would I make my goal of Malvern (8.5 miles). By the time i was at the Silver Creek Bridge, I was in my pedaling rhythm and felt better.

Hydration stop at the bridge and pushed on to Malvern. G2 and granola break at Malvern and back toward Silver City.

At Janke Rd, I met and visited with Greg & Bonnie Pierce (and their son?) of Pierce Crossing Guesthouse in Malvern. There were out for their Wednesday ride.

Quick stop back at the Silver Creek Bridge (hydration). A mile North of the bridge I was stopped by a solo rider heading South. He was asking how far to the next town. Gave him some pointers into Malvern (refill his G2, etc) and gave him info about the Wabash Trace and towns along the way. He is from Council Bluffs and thinking of longer rides on the trace, likely with a friend or two.

With the stops to visit and only making 8.7 mph on the ride, the morning was shot when I got back home. Was my first ride to Malvern for the year. Tired when i got home, so napped.

Taking the next couple days off the bike.

Well wasn't that well done!

Just after lunchtime today I took a phone call from someone I'd never met or heard of before. "I'm just ringing to enquire about the ride that was in the paper today." Well, of course, it was understandable that if they read about a ride in the Courier Mail (assuming that was the paper in question), and see my phone number listed as the ride leader, that they might phone me about it. There was just one problem: nobody remembered to tell me.

A little bit of background here. I regularly lead rides for Bicycle Gold Coast, and a few of them have received a mention in the Courier Mail, probably due to the nature of the places that I like to ride. I normally don't have a problem with this. However, it's a little annoying when they 1) Get the date wrong (it's actually tomorrow night, hence I'm here typing this now); and 2) Don't tell me to expect any phone calls. I've actually been in and out today on various errands, and it's not inconceivable that I missed a call or two simply through not being aware that this had been published.

Coming on top of the other f*ck up with the ride calendar (i.e. putting me down to lead rides that I hadn't actually agreed to, then failing to delete them when I made this clear -- I don't know who's going to take them in my place, and nor do I care any longer), I have to say that I'm very close to just washing my hands of the whole situation.

I also have to ask just how stupid some people really are. Now the ride has been advertised as a 6pm start, with sections on dirt roads, and expected to take a couple of hours. It's fairly obvious it's going to be dark (and if it wasn't, the word "glow worm" in the title should be a giveaway), yet of the two calls that I took today, neither of them had lights, in fact, both seemed surprised when I mentioned the fact. Now even if someone's eyesight is good enough to find their way along narrow winding dirt roads in the moonlight (which will be non existent given the current phase of the moon in anycase), there is no way the moonlight is going to effectively penetrate the rainforest of Urliup Road. It's just not going to happen.

Perhaps I should be glad that this monumental cock-up occurred after all. On the forum this week I participated in a discussion asking whether we'd really like it if cycling were more popular. I have to say, after all this, I'm leaning toward agreeing with those who said "No".

Onto something slightly more positive now, I took a pleasant ride in Currumbin Valley this morning, enjoying near perfect temperatures (11 degrees C to 22 C), and the smells of the last of Queensland's winter wildflower wonderland. Sadly, my camera missed most of it this year due to mechanical problems, but that didn't stop me grabbing a couple of snaps this morning. The thing I like about the wildflower season is that the colours seem to be different every year. In 2001, purple was the dominant colour, 2002 it was yellow, last year it was red, and this year it's been pink.



That's not to say that red has had no influence at all.



Of course, the greens are always nice. This ride isn't actually as rugged as it looks in this shot, but it's still beautiful nonetheless.


Whatever happens, I'm going to to the Glow Worm ride myself tomorrow night, regardless. If anyone shows, good. If not, I'll still have a good time out there. Haven't been down Urliup for a couple of weeks, and I'm starting to miss it. Below is how it looks during the day -- imagine that rainforest closing in and being illuminated by a headlight! It's just amazing!

Another must-stop

The scene outside Sherman's Dairy Bar on a warm Friday afternoon.
Add this to the list of places you must stop on your way home from Michigan.
Sherman Dairy Bar, an unprepossessing creamery and ice cream parlor on Phoenix Road in South Haven, has been serving up huge scoops for 50 years. On a hot weekend afternoon, you might have to stand in line for 10 or so minutes, but it's well worth the wait. You can choose between about 50 flavors, from chocolate and vanilla to cappuccino and coconut almond fudge, all made with real ingredients and no artificial flavorings. It's anything but low-fat, and it's utterly fabulous.

Tom Yum Soup

Tom yum soup made last night. Delicious!

Last glimpses of Kosovo

These really will be the last glimpses, before I return to things Scottish. But Kosovo is not yet widely visited, and having experienced it I wanted to show something of its current-day reality.

Above, and the two pictures below, the Sinan Pasha mosque in the town centre. Built in 1615, it is in active use for worship today. My two female companions and I were welcomed inside, without the need to cover our heads. I thought the juxtaposition of the advertising sign and the mosque in the shot above was also notable in this respect. Prizren mingles mosques and churches, crammed in beside each other. We visited a cathedral under restoration (I am ashamed to say I can't remember its name), where we stood in the candle-lit interior listing to a nun having a singing lesson.





Below, the Gazi Mehmet Pasha Hamam, a turkish bath dating form 1575. It's in need of restoration - one call on funding among very many in this new nation.



A view down the Lumbardhi river, spanned by the 'stone bridge' dating from the 16th century. The bridge was washed away in 1979 - the river is tremendously fast-flowing even during the dry period we were there - and rebuilt in its current form.





The Turkish influence is evident in tea, nargile pipes, and many bakeries selling baklava.



The pesky hobbits turn up everywhere. As long as I don't have to sit through that film again...





The street on which our hotel was located, just out of sight at the bottom of the road.





A typical snack food - seeds and nuts in various coatings. Very tasty, and much healthier than Scottish snacks.





A small town we passed on the way south to Prizren. Note the futuristic mosque minaret.





And finally, leaving Prizren, with its backdrop of stunning mountains.





Kosovo is far too complex a country for me to try to sum it up on the basis of a week's stay. My overwhelming impression was of the people - welcoming, open, friendly, hopeful, striving for the future. It is a young nation in terms of age of population - there are various estimates, but around 46% are aged under 25. I'm involved in only a very tiny part of their building for the future, but I feel privileged to be contributing.