CQ16 - it's just around the corner

One day left of work and counting. Bike serviced, bags packed and it's all systems go.  CQ16 is only three days away and life has been so busy I've found it hard to get too excited by its impending start.

So where are we off to this year?  Day one sees us starting off from Woodford looping out and back around on what has become something of the norm for CQ events over the last few years.  Loop rides are quite a nice way to start the ride, as it gives us a chance to set up camp and have a night without the worry of pack up in the morning.  

Sunday morning will find us climbing the range and spending the night in Maleny.  I'm looking forward to this day, as my dad grew up in Maleny and I have many fond memories of visiting my grandmother in this beautiful part of the world.  I'm also particularly excited to hit the gelato shop in the Main Street.  Oh, and the fudge shop next door may get some of my hard earned cash as well.

Day three we are off to Kenilworth, another part of the world I'm more than familiar with.  More ice cream at the dairy, and I'm hoping there will be some of their famous chocolate mousse on hand.  After all, with all of the riding we are doing, we earn a treat most days.

From Kenilworth we head off to the familiar campsite of Gympie.  The long route option on this day takes us out past our favourite camping ground at Imbil and up to the dam.  Will I do the long options? Who knows, we will play that by ear each day, depending on how sore the legs pull up from the day before.

Gympie to Rainbow Beach may just prove to be the the best day, because we know we have the rest day to follow, which can only mean one thing - rest day party that night!  This year's entertainment - Abba Rebjorn - how can we go wrong?

Lots of rest day options on offer - 4wding, swimming, surfing, sampling local fare - the hardest thing is deciding which one to do.

Rainbow Beach transitions to Maryborough, another town where we have had the pleasure of staying on CQ previously.  Next to last day we move onto Burrum Heads before finishing in Hervey Bay on Sunday.  

I'm looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces again and making new friends on the road. Many Chicks Who Ride Bikes members on this year's trek, so lots of new friends to be made.

But that's not what I'm looking forward to the most.  The best part about this week away is rediscovering myself.  For a whole week I'm no-ones mum or wife.  I'm not the performance and reporting officer.  I'm just Sue Boyd, a cyclist discovering new roads, facing new challenges, laying my head down at night exhausted from self-sustainable transportation.

For one week I wash up my own dishes, clean my own clothes, pick up after nobody but myself.  I am responsible for me and me only.  It's a liberating time, an opportunity to really enjoy some me time. As I type this, I realise that while I thought I wasn't excited, I really am.  I can't wait til Saturday morning to set up my tent and begin my 2016 cycling adventure.