A ride before the NSW Labor Day Weekend

Well I managed to get 1 1/2 hours sleep last night. As parents we had to get up at 3:00am to pt Kaydee on her bus to begin her trip to Japan with her school. That is another story, but we got back at 5:00am so I thought here is an opportunity to see what an early morning ride was like, I usually do not see the sun rise after I wake up but often see it rise on the way home from a job before I do go to bed!  

Okay so I thought as I am new to the traffic I would go the Kingscliff Bike Path to Chinderah and then would travel the freeway and Tweed Valley Way to Cudgera Creek Road up to Duranbah the opposite way the the traffic (I thought wrong).  It was all okay upto the Tweed Valley Way then the idiots arrived, two lanes available to south bound traffic but they couldn't be bothered using the inside lane so there was a lot of hairy moments with trucks and cars zipping past at 100kph just inches away. I gave a sigh of relief when I started on the hills. Passed a fellow morning rider going the other way as I neared Tropical Fruit World,  we passed again at the Condong Sugar Mill after descending Clothiers Creek Road through Nunderi on the way the Reserve Creek Road.

As I approached the crest of Reserve Creek Road there were 2 recently squashed Red Belly Black snakes (I estimate about 900mm long) about 500 meters apart. The only other signs of non-human life were the usual farm animals and birds. Also I eat the bran muffin I had been carrying, as I had not had breakfast yet and was starting to "feel a might peckish".

I decided that instead of heading straight home I would incorporate the Kanes Road circuit. So this rounded off a 80km ride (if you take all the bike path twists and turns into account)

The things that made up for the scary "Worker" traffic was the cool morning temperatures and light winds.

Missed Chance

Today was to see me up early and go for a  group ride with a few blokes from around here ( I had organised loosely with Cameron during the week), the Tweed Coast, but I woke at 5:30am and that was 1 ½ hours too early so I closed my eyes for a short nap until 7:00am but slept through until 8:15am Darn! So of course I missed out. There is always next Saturday.

Missing out, I organised with another riding mate to go for a cruise around the circuit later anyway. I rode the 7.5kms to his place and got him organised, he was trying to find his shorts, sunnies, water bottle and shoes (he had just moved his kit, with assistance from his better half, to a unused bird aviary and out of the laundry. So, of course, he could not locate anything in it's new location 20 mins. later....).

We started out as a few drops of rain began to fall, it was ALL OK as it was just spitting and did not even wet the road surface. The rain held off long enough to get all the way round the circuit until we got to Hastings Point Headland where there was not one hut two separate weddings taking place. It is meant to be good-luck if it rains on your wedding day. So at least they have that. The clouds closed in and it even hailed for a bit while it was raining. Must be really lucky? I got home before it got heavy. But it looks like the Mango Season around here will be a failure again this year with the flowers getting wet  they will begin to rot before they set fruit.

So a cruise of 29.6 km and this is possibly the only time I will get on the bike this weekend with the Yoga and Meditation Seminar in Murwillumbah lasting all day tomorrow. Also I must get the lawns mowed this weekend. Which takes up to 6 hours and that is using a ride-on as well.

And a top up of the tanks water level.

The day after

Just rode the circuit today.  A lot cooler today. and a full reversal of wind direction.

MURWILLUMBAH   1500 ESE/015 24 



Standard 18.5km  all done in a circle.

When you ride a circuit you will have only at most a quarter of the circle with a tail wind. The rest will be cross and head winds.

A Hot September Mur'bah Loop

Rode Round Mountain, Reserve Creek and the Tweed Valley Way to Murwillumbah. Had a quick chat with a couple of touring foreign tourists (no English maybe?) riding into Mur'bah to book a Yoga and meditation seminar for this Sunday.

The ride over Reserve Creek didn't take too much out of me even with the heat and thin Queensland bushfire smoke hanging in the air. With the wind from the West I thought that a push over Burringbah Range and a slow ride along the coast from Wooyung with a cross wind would round off the ride. But the reflected road heat and the sun beating on my back  all the wy up the range ( I found very little shade on the way up the range) was a bit too much for me. I managed to get over the crest but felt the last 500 metres with my left foot noticeably painful I decided to push on to the Mooball Victory Hotel for a schooner of soda water and a 15 minute rest stop.

The only road kill was 2 green tree snakes (about 600mm) on the Round Mountain gravel road section and a very large bandicoot near South Mur'bah.

The length of the ride was only 64km but the sun, heat and smoke took their toll. Along the Wooyung to Pottsville Stretch of road. It was head down and grind non-stop for 10km along the flat road against the now freshening seabreeze, dropping to 16km/hr at one point until I stood in the saddle to relieve the dedicates and managed to increase the momentum and wake me up a little.

I continued on, struggling. I basically just headed home using up what little energy I had managed to save in reserve in the attacks from the Sun, Smoke and Wind. 

The BOM said

MURWILLUMBAH   1500 WNW/022 31

 It took 4hours including stops and the average HR was 149bpm, also including Mur'bah stop and rest at Mooball. 



One good?? thing to come out was that I hit a top speed of 69kmph down the Fernvale Hill(?) and a minimum of 6kmph on one of the last pinches of  the Burringbah Range climb.

Road Kill

Today's ride required swerving around 3 lots of road kill. Sadly 2 fairly large carpet pythons had been squashed and killed by vehicles along different parts of Round Mountain Road near the Sewerage Treatment Plant. And to me, a not too sad, death of a ferrell rabbit/hare (it was hard to tell except that the fur's colour was light brown and the ears were long)

Distance: ~20km along the usual loop with a chat on the way home at the top of Hastings Point Headland with a couple of local house builders who were checking the surf after work. A strong Southerly with a small South ground swell. These waves will probably be flattened as the wind swings to the NE over the next couple-a-days.

Clear Night

Just went outside in the balmy evening (how quaint) and looked towards the dark night sky. It's been a while but tonight the sky is crystal clear, not even a pale ring around the Waxing Crescent (increasing quarter) Moon. There is the slightest hint of a westerly breeze whispering through the nearby tree's branches and leaves keeping the temperature above 22 C but unusually no other sounds- no ocean, no cars or any sounds of the usual night life. Just peace and quiet. A sign of more of the same to come I suppose before the onset of the late Spring afternoon and evening thunderstorms with all the associated night life of mosquitoes, beetles, crickets and of course the onslaught of the bogon moths and the creatures that eat them.

Windy Windup

Todays ride was to start off as an easy cruise over to Burringbar servo via Cudgera Creek Road. It turned into a little bit more....

With the heat and lack of wind on the ride up Cudgera Creek I took my helmet and sunnies off, it helped as there was a lot of shade along the winding gravel road, the descent was good except for one corner I tried to take at 30kph, a little fast, and I needed to use the whole width of the road as the front end steadily drifted toward the ditch along the side of the road. Unusually getting my Heart Rate up on a descent!

I rode on from the servo to Mooball and just kept going... over the old Pacific Highway undulations until I got to the Billinudgel and/or Ocean Shores Northern  Freeway Entrance/Exit. It was then I decided (why?) I might do a fight back against the wind to the Cudgera Creek Road/Pottsville turnoff along the freeway and ride back over Kanes Rd all up a hot and windy 47kms. lasting 2 1/2 hrs with Average HR 152 bpm. Used the Camelpak today but I can see that it will take a bit of getting used to the idea of drinking smaller amounts more often.

Here's the wind during the ride.

Doing the Circuit - with a twist

Rode the training loop Pottsville via Kanes Road and back today.

I started out riding towards Hastings but looking down I noticed I had left my water bottle at home which I had only just filled, so I turned around at 580 metres and went back inside to get it. As I was going back out through the gate a rider cruised southward past me. I thought here's an opportunity to turn a sole ride into something different.

I slowly chased him down and caught him just before the turf farm hill. We exchanged pleasantries and decided to travel the look to Pottsville together. He, Cameron, on his way home, me  on the first part of the loop.

Rode a just over cruising pace, nice ride. After the Pottsville Forge hill Cameron suggested he show me the way through the Pottsville Environment Center from Sea Breeze estate , avoiding the Pottsville main Road. It comes out just north of the Bowls club over a gravel with crusher dust topped track. Here is where I left Cameron and I rode on. Deviating up onto the Hastings headland to make sure i got the 20kms up then home via Round Mountain Road. I did not see anyone else except Sunday Car drivers along the Coast road.

Ride Stats

• Distance; 20.06km


• HR avg: 159 bpm


• HR max: 178 bpm (cresting Kanes Rd hill - backing off a bit)


• Avg: 21.9 kph


• Wind: light NE

That Bad Tooth

I have decided that an MIA post is appropriate here. To get the Tsunami Warning off the Front page and to let my reader (sic) know that I am not dead yet.
Well the tooth is gone now but not it's effects. Noel, my dentist but we can't show you his face on television,  used his drill today (that is Friday over a week ago) to find out the state of the tooth. With no Anesthetic he ground down through a pre-existing filling into the dentine. No pain! I hardly felt anything at all (rubbing knuckles along the ground for effect), where as I  should of been writhing in complete agony like the wuss I am at the Dentist's. OK only left with  2 choices...

1. Root canal  therapy on the 4 nerve root stems of this particular tooth, taken over 6-8 months of visits with a fiscal payment to match and yet no guarantee of success can be given.

or

2. A week of pain and permanent disfigurement having the tooth extracted.

Only 1 of these options has a semi-guaranteed successful outcome (more like a warranty ), the extraction. Except he did quietly mention that the tooth next to it may have dramas, and something else in the way of complications a possible 'dry socket' and all it's associated dramas.
So be it! Begone! I sat in the chair for a bit of  tug-o-war with Noel being held down by the dental nurse with the strength of Hercules and hands as gentle as any mothers.

Now having done "nothing in the way of exertion" for at least 48hours so no riding working ahem!, until Sunday Night, if everything goes as it should, ie no bleeding and no "complications" I hoped by the end of 7days that all would be well. That was yesterday. So the (self-made) prognosis is good! I have managed to get onto the saddle a few times now, usually late in the arvo when it has been cooler and I think might keep the exertion level down! But the HR tends to be higher than usual, up around 150 bpm and peaking up at 177 bpm on my usual training circuit. 

I have still used my time productively though without performing the usual Spring House and Garden tasks make "physical exertion" a hard thing to avoid.  Sitting down programing and TV watching have been of varied interest during the four days of Antibiotics and strong pain relief and suckable non-sticky food.

I will now try to not mention my teeth again until something NEW rears it's ugly head, Ah! the pleasures of getting older something for the youthful reader to look forward too.

"Look after your teeth. You only get one chance!" said my mum when I was young, makes me think I should of listened closer and those quick and frequent overnight and longer short excursions should of always involved taking a bit of paste and a brush in my wallet. Ahhhhh....., past mistakes!

Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning issued today

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

AEST: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 09:10:26 PM

ORIGIN TIME -  1110Z 12 SEP 2007
COORDINATES -   4.5 SOUTH  101.3 EAST
LOCATION    -  SOUTHERN SUMATERA  INDONESIA
MAGNITUDE   -  8.2

SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY ALREADY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG SOME COASTS.

Source: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/

I hope it is a false alarm or if not that it is limited in its damaging effects to this suffering area of the world.
... AN INDIAN-OCEAN-WIDE TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

INDONESIA / AUSTRALIA / INDIA / SRI LANKA / THAILAND /UNITED KINGDOM / MALDIVES / MYANMAR / MALAYSIA / BANGLADESH / MAURITIUS / REUNION / SEYCHELLES / MADAGASCAR / SOMALIA / OMAN /PAKISTAN / IRAN / YEMEN / COMORES / CROZET ISLANDS / MOZAMBIQUE / KENYA / TANZANIA / KERGUELEN ISLANDS /SOUTH AFRICA / SINGAPORE

The above link doesn't seem to be working try
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/distant_tsunami/WEIO40/index.html

Wet Days - A Damp Spring

This afternoon saw me visit my local bike shop while waiting for "grub" to finish her Karate Training session, and I got myself an XL rain jacket and some guards for the hybrid, now I no longer have any excuses.

Neither Rain nor sleet... etc.. etc
So tomorrow will see me finally get back on the saddle.

If I can get some kilometre's in I might even fill my Fathers Day present, (2lt Camelbak), on special down from $79 to $45 at A-Mart Sports before dad's day.

The tank is full again at least and the water couldn't be cleaner!

So much not to do with 2 wheels

Today started unusually, I was up and on site before 8:30am, extraordinary. Used our "Fire Permit" on Sunday afternoon to get rid of all the debris from the Strange August weather we have had. It required me or somebody else, but I couldn't find them when I was looking for them, to watch the fire all night, yes all night! to ensure no embers escaped into the surrounding bushland. So not much in the way of sleep and this was added to the throbbing pain I was in from the inflamed Molar. (It started to become noticeable on Friday night while I was "chewing" some nicotine gum and steadily got worse throughout the weekend of course while the dentist was unavailable). Thankfully, the dentist could fit me in for an emergency appointment at 3:00pm, so working was the smart thing to do to keep my mind off the pain until I could see him.

I was willing to get it pulled. He has other ideas. Take the antibiotics until next week and see if it starts to get better. Sorry, but I've been here before, It will be painful and promising results can only be given a 50/50 chance of success. Ah but I won't get another chance to save the tooth, I have decided not to get root canal therapy on this tooth... If I did it would be 4 teeth getting root canal therapy in the last 18mths..... Shit! I don't need this at the moment!....

Quick Xircuit

Well I did manage to get in a quick 20k this arvo between the grading and tonight's presentation. The wind was the lightest for any ride I've had in weeks. So different!

And it was also the most I have perspired as well.

Only notables on the ride was the road kills:

2 wallaby's, 1 echidna and 1 ring tail opossum.

I don't know how they keep breeding with so many deaths, the limit must become critical one day and tip them into extinction in this area. Speed kills!

Today, if I had time, it seems I could of had a couple of chats 1 with a bloke on a recumbent-tri and another bloke on a road bike having a rest at the top of the Pottsville forge hill, but as I only had 45mins it was a friendly gid'day and off again.

Grubs grading weekend begins

Well tonight "grub" begins her 2 days of San Dan-ho grading. Which will include a presentation dinner, Ho!Hum! :( I will still be there for her if she needs me. So this weekend even though it's "Dad's Day" it will be grub's day, that's the way it goes being a parent.

Today I worked at Cabba, and so rode the treadly. I then rode Clothiers Creek Road to the freeway and pushed it down to Pottsville/Cudgera Creek turn-off. Continuing the push along Kanes road all the way home, a push, for me that is, of 20kms after the 5km cruise to Cabba.

Today's fauna contact was of a white kite (bird), I don't know what type it was, but it wont last long if it continues to hunt on the freeway!