Diary of a wannabe technical official - The beginnings

Fourish years ago, I decided to do the level one technical officials training course offered by Triathlon Queensland.  I’d done a few tris myself, and my hubby was pretty keen on doing them, and if you’ve ever supported someone

CQ18 Day 8 - End of Days

Final day.  Can’t believe it. Where has that week gone?  It seems like both only yesterday and a year ago that I was riding around FNQ.

A nice flat, fast 28k from Gordonvale to Cairns Esplanade this morning.  It was an earlier start for me as I was a little worried about getting my bike dismantled and boxed and luggage collection and showered and to the airport - you get the idea!

Gordonvale has a sugar mill that seems to operate 24/7, so the air has this beautiful sweet smell to it while they are processing the cane.  Even cooler, as I was packing up I noticed a light about 2/3 of the way up the pyramid - and discovered it was a hiker making their way up to the top to watch the sunrise.

So rolled out at 7am, along some lovely smooth roads and meandered along backroads, the Bruce Highway and the main drag into the finish chute.  Cycle Qld was over again for another year.

To my delight, the bike boxes were delivered early so while I waited for the luggage truck (so I could shower and change before my flight) 8 pulled my bike down, packed it in its box and delivered it to the luggage area ready for transporting home.  Then jumped up in the luggage truck and helped unload a crap-tonne of bags ready for rider collection, collected my own luggage and enjoyed the first real shower in a week!

Looking back on the week there were some interesting differences to our normal ride.  The catering was great - I know a lot of people started the week complaining, because these poor buggers just could not fathom how much cyclists eat - the normal person diet is about a third of a touring cyclists diet, and the portion sizes increased over the course of the week.  I never had an issue with the quality of the food though - it was delicious and I’d love to have another serve of the seafood paella.

The next thing may be a little trivial, but keep in mind we have been sitting on a bike seat everyday for 8 days.  The old toilet trucks used that single sheet papery toilet paper, and it got very hard on soft, sore bits by the end of the week.  The new toilet trucks had the most luxurious, soft toilet paper.  Winning!

Disappointing was being in my tent on the rest day and over-hearing a couple of older blokes discussing the “tits”of one of the girls on the ride, and how she wore a bikini knowing that she had fabulous tits and was showing them off for the world to see.  I know I could have said something, but knowing I was camping next to them for two nights, I bit my tongue but lost a bit of respect for them.

Made another new friend in Pup, who had been told about my blogs by Phoebe.  Always fabulous to have someone else to call out to on the long ride days, and he makes for a pretty credible bad cap too!

The next was tinged both good and bad - no route announced for next year as BQ have realised that they have to do a bit of reformulaing of the event for it to continue.  There was a lot of discussion, and a lot of speculation about the future of the event and what it may look like.  A survey will go out in the next little while asking for feedback and ideas to gather thoughts from current riders, but it was clear that there would be a CQ19, just in a different form than the usual.  This lead some people to make false statements about it being the end, comments blaming the management of BQ and speculating about CQ’s demise.

Me, I look forward to what may come.  If the event isn’t cost-effective, if it’s not generating new interest, if it is stagnating and dying a slow death, I welcome a change.  In fact, I want to be part of that change.  I have two more CQs to go until I’m declared a legend, so I’ve got a vested interest in it going ahead.  

So watch this space - there’s more to come for sure.  Next week I’m officiating at the ITU World Championship Grand Finals - and I may just have to blog a couple of those days!

 

CQ Day 7 - E = mc2

We all know that famous formula don’t we? Some of us understand it more than others. Some of us don’t understand it at all? Today’s blog is brought to you by that famous scientific theorem.

Millaa Millaa has not changed a great deal from 2013 - except that the cafe that made the most amazing lumberjack cake had shut down - imagine slogging your guts up hill and down dale with your heart set on said piece of cake and not getting it! That was me apres velo yesterday.

I recovered enough to have two serves of the delicious seafood paella for dinner (I know - seafood on CQ!) and chatted with some fellow Brisbanites over dinner.  I even managed to give them some tips on bike paths near the airport and around Pinkenba.

While I was getting my nightly coffee, Di asked me if my blog was up and after a quick chat, someone looked at my leg and asked if I was “Sue with the leg tattoo who did the blog” - you could have knocked me over with a feather. Turns out she had been talking to Andrew H who had told them about my writing.  She was very complimentary and I was more than a little chuffed.

So after a fitful night’s sleep we left Millaa Millaa in a haze of mist and worked our way to Malanda, home of the best flavoured milk in the world.  The girl guides really looked after us for morning tea, which was a good thing as we wound our way up and down hills for 20+ks - this is one of the hillier rides I’ve done!

Only a short ride to lunch but what an amazing spot. BQ outdid themselves by booking out the entire car park area just for us - Lake Eacham, one of the most pristine waterholes you will ever swim in.  And swim I did - I’m not sure if it was even a minute between dropping my bike, stripping off my jersey and plunging into the cool and refreshing water.  Never mind the croc warning signs - nothing was keeping me out of that water.  They are only freshies after all and are well fed on the fish in the lake.

Super lunch it was too - got me an egg sandwich, packet of lollies (Hayden will enjoy those as a reminder of past CQs) a refreshing oj chatted with Phoebe and Irene for a bit and then back into the water for another dip.

Finally it was time to leave - and we were in for a treat!  Full closure of the Rex range while we descended over 16km of downhill.  After another 10k of climbs and dips (thanks Phoebe for your support on that big climb - it was good to have someone to swear at!) it was finally my moment. Every day I spend hours on the uphills being passed by all and sundry.  Today was my day and I grasped it with both hands.  Today I passed 107 riders on the downhill - yep I counted - and was not passed by another rider on the range.  It’s a nice technical down that involves a bit of feathering if speed to avoid plunging over the side and today I nailed it!  I got a nice compliment about my descending yesterday after a downhill run so I think I channeled all of that positive energy into today’s efforts! There have to be some benefits to carrying extra weight and that’s where E=mc2 came into play!

The final 10k was a pleasant roll into Gordanvale where we are camped next a sugar cane field with a perfect view of the natural pyramid famous in the area.  In fact the local footy club where we are camping is called Pyramid Power (and are the same colour as Port Power).  Had a great chat with the gentleman who founded the club and discovered a kindred footy spirit in Ambo Dan who plays Aussie rules at the Sunny Coast in a Masters side.  When he told me he played over 60s I found it he’d to believe as he is a powerhouse on the bike and does not look his age!

So now it’s time to head to dinner - it’s roast and vege night tonight - and it smells amazing as I sit here writing this.  It’s hard to believe my 8th CQ is almost over, with only one day left of riding before the bike is packed away and I fly back to my normal life in Brisbane.  The time has flown again and thoughts are already turning to next year’s adventure.

CQ18 - Day 6 - On top of the world

What a day in the saddle. Packed up and rolled out of Atherton, with the first 10k a beautiful easy ramble.  Cue the start of a 2k climb that made the 7k climb we did earlier this week look like child’s play.  After 1k my chest was screaming and I really struggled to get my breathing into any kind of rhythm, which ended up with me pushing my bike the final k of the climb.  This hardened my resolve that I would not be walking anymore today, and happily I was able to regulate better on the long rolling climbs in the afternoon.

This is a really beautiful area to be riding - today we travelled through tropical rainforest, through dairy cattle country, over long mountain climbs and down breath-taking descents. The quieter country roads are great to roll on, however some of those downhills were a little bit dodgy, so there was a little bit of feathering the brakes to account for the road surface, especially on approach to the wooden slat bridges across some sections of road.

Morning tea was spent at Herberton (only 19k in) before working the legs on some fast up and downs to Ravenshoe.  Out from lunch we found ourselves on the highest road in Queensland, with an elevation of 1162m.  Hard to believe that in the last 5 days we have pedalled from sea level to that height - actually less than that as Port Douglas was the last time we were at sea level.  It really was a highlight of the day as it was a nice reward for the climbing we had done today.

I’ve made more wonderful friends on this ride - last night I camped opposite Trevor and Ian who I also had dinner with one night at camp.  Trevor has done a few of these rides now (including a couple with his daughter), and this is Ian’s first CQ.  I asked Ian how he was enjoying it so far and like so many of us he had a few mixed emotions, but still he is out here and working through the kms.

Trevor wanted to know whether he had made my blog yet - I had to tell him he had to do something pretty spectacular to get into my blog, so as I was loading my luggage this morning he came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I think that’s enough to have earned him a mention!

Tonight I am camped next to Troy, Sue and Dylan who have done all 17 CQ rides, along with Jan who has done 15.  They are such a wonderfully inclusive family and have some great stories about their days out on the road.  Dylan was just a baby for his first ride, and Sue and Troy have two other boys who also joined them when they were younger.  Jan runs a cycling company - she leads rides, teaches people to ride and schools people on how to ride on the road - I think that might just be a dream job!

Tomorrow we have a few more climbs before a fast downhill to Gordonvale.  Hard to believe there are only 2 more days of riding left this year.

CQ18 - Day 5 - a restful day indeed

Ah the bliss of not having to put my bruised and battered butt on my minimalist seat today!

This rest day was sorely needed.  I had a lovely breakfast of French toast with banana and maple syrup, and snagged a PowerPoint in the dining hall where I sat and watched 10 webinars ready for next week's ITU Triathlon Grand Finals on the Gold Coast.  I now have a much better understanding of the basics of the para-triathlete rules and can’t wait to see them in action on course.

Mid morning I walked into town and explored the Crystal Caves, the local shops and partook in a pie at the local bakery that is not on Main St ( that one is a Brumby’s so I don’t consider it local so much as cookie cutter franchise).  I may have also had a sneaky bee sting there too - but the novelty was it was built on sponge, not bun.  Still delicious and those caramelised almonds - yummy!

Back to camp where I had a nap in the hall, read my book and then meandered down to the pool for a refreshing afternoon swim before returning to camp to read some more.

Rounded out the day with dinner (pasta) and a scrummy trifle, before finishing off with cheese and crackers served by the one and only Phoebe from BQ - Russell they are getting their money’s worth out of her this year.  But I do miss Barb!

So Phoebe, you can now sleep tonight because I’ve written my blog - good night!

CQ18 - Day 4 - nothing to say but thank goodness that one is done

Tough day in the saddle today.  The combination of almost non-existent training, the heat and the humidity really hit me for a six today.  Still a beautiful day’s riding, but the stint after lunch left me tired and emotionally shattered on arrival to Atherton.

This is our longest day today, a touch over 90km, with rest stops at two wineries - bloody typical given I’m on my no alcohol year!  The first winery was a mango farm and while I didn’t imbibe, just the smell was enough to get the taste buds tingling.  I have their website details committed to memory so come December, look out!  The second winery at the lunch stop is a familiar stop as Hayden and I had lunch there on our 2013 tour.  Beautifully shaded eating areas, lush green grass to rest on, it lulled me into a false sense of security for the final 30k of the day.

Lots of highway riding in this section, with small road shoulders and a few impatient drivers.  One particular branded truck made a very close pass to me, which really shook me up and had me on edge for the remainder of the day, even when we branched off onto quieter back roads.  Carrying that tension isn’t healthy when you’re trying to concentrate on the road conditions, the damn wind that swirled from side to front and back to side again, and the heat of the midday sun beating down.

To get me the last 15k I pulled off the road, soaked my jersey with water, soaked my buff and put it in my helmet, spotted a rider in the distance and paced myself to them, at least u til we got to a 14% gradient hill, at which point I promptly dismounted and walked up.  I knew if I pushed to the top I’d get there, but may not have had enough in the tank for the remainder of the ride.  Good decision as the stretch of the legs and back as I walked up worked in my favour and the last 15k flew by.

Atherton is a lovely town with a huge Main Street with lots of shops and cafes to explore.  I have no tour booked tomorrow as I want to just rest, so will spend the day exploring town and getting my wits about me for Friday’s big climb - the 2k ascent to Herberton.

So for now it’s time to brush my teeth, kick back with my book and prepare for a good night’s rest.  Not sure if there will be a blog tomorrow - let’s see if there is anything exciting enough to report back on!

CQ18 - Day 3 - a day of firsts

This is my 8th Cycle Qld.  You’d think that I’d be pretty much an old hand at this by now but this ride has been a day of firsts for me.   

First first - this year I am being more social - sitting in the marquis for dinner, making conversations with other riders and introducing myself to people and showing interest in their experience on the ride.  This has made the ride so much more enjoyable and I wish I’d done it earlier.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love to spend quiet time in my tent, and I still ride solo, but surprisingly more people know my name as I walk through camp.  I am also making sure everyone gets a smile and a greeting as we pass on camp - it really does make for a nice environment.

Second first - today I rode a 7km climb up the Rex Range.  It was slow, but it was continuous, I didn’t stop and I made it to the top within the time limit and avoided the SAG wagon.  For those of you from Brisbane, the climb is about the same gradient as the Gateway Bridge, so think 14 continuous gateways winding up around a mountain and that’s today’s climb.  I have to pay tribute to Belinda from our Cairns ride in 2013 who gave me a great tip for the hills work - that technique has worked every time and was definitely effective today.  It didn’t hurt having my pump play list playing through my Coros helmet too - I had plenty of distractions to take away from my burning legs.

Third first - a new masseuse this year.  Jeff used to work on Hayden when he was on CQ, so I chose him to work on me today and he was awesome - working out the knots and getting me prepped for our longest day of riding tomorrow.

Fourth first - I stopped at the pub before I went to lunch today.  There is an unspoken rule that cyclists meet at the first pub on the left for a drink when they enter town.  Normally I would go and set up first but today I decided to hang a left and hit the verandah of the National at Mt Malloy.  It helped to have a friendly face in my corner - Gillian is an absolute champion who is so inclusive.  She was sitting with another new friend from last night, Pam, who gave me some great tips for riding in Vegas.

I am loving this so much that I’m already planning next year’s ride, perhaps with a volunteering element in the mix.  I’m already eagerly anticipating where the ride might go and even thinking of activities we could offer to give different experiences on the tour.  I want everyone to have the chance to experience the fun and sense of achievement that a CQ event gives.  I want them to meet the awesome BQ team, the fantastic vollies who work tirelessly for us and the sense of comeraderie that is felt with all of the riders.

So with my heart a little lighter and a smile on my face, it’s off to brush my teeth and lay in my tent listening to tonight’s band.  The weather is cooling down and it promises to be a night of snuggling into my sleeping bag and enjoying the cool night air under a blanket of shining stars.

CQ18 - Day 2 Heading for the coast

We woke to something totally unexpected today - wet, dripping fog blanketed our campsite, forcing us to use our lights at 6am to see inside our tents.  It was such a beautifully surreal feeling to be in rainforest country and listening to the world wake up without being able to see it.

After a leisurely breakfast and pack up I was on the road and ready to ride.  100m down the road on a sweeping downhill my back tyres gave way and I pulled up with a flat tyre.  After swearing and cursing, changed said flat tyre and was soon on my way again.

The rainforest vistas soon gave way to sugar cane farms and inhaling the sweet perfume of the cane as we rode along.  The ride today was so scenic with rolling mountains in the distance, ocean vistas, two rest stops at the beach (Wonga and Cooya) and a final port of call in Port Douglas.

Thankfully the beaches had been reopened in the last couple of days after a croc sighting, so after a delayed set up, I took myself off to the beach for a dip in the clear, blue ocean.  So refreshing after a hot sweaty ride and I even managed to share a shower and conversation with a random gentleman cyclist at the surf club - it was all well above board though - the showers are outside and side by side.

A lovely leisurely afternoon spent exploring the Main Street, sampling ice cream and the. Back to the beach with my bucket of fresh prawns where I enjoyed my late afternoon snack staring out at the ocean and imagining life after retirement living the high life up here.

Back to camp to charge my phone and a great catch up with Matt from WA who I met 4 years ago on the Agnes Waters ride.  Made a few new friends (I know, hard to believe, right) with the neighbours and caught up with a nice man who invited me to sit at his table when I was eating my dinner at my tent last night (in all fairness my tent was right next to the dining tent so it’s not like I’d snuck a mile away to eat).  Ian very kindly told me I could eat with them, but after explaining I hadn’t showered and didn’t feel fit for company, he stayed to chat about my infinity saddle and has caught up with me a couple of times since to say hi and ask how my ride went.  

Also caught up with Sue and Troy, who have done all of the CQ rides, and who have also just trekked the Camino de Santiago - morning tea was spent listening to their tales and I’m hoping to catch up with them a little more before the end of the week.

Met Tilly, a very cute and friendly pup of my friend Sarah, who is on the Wicen team for the event - the team responsible for Comms and keeping track of us all as we trundle from one town to the next.

It will be a quiet and early night for me tonight - big climb tomorrow as we make our way from the coast up to Mt Molloy.  Not the toughest day by any means, but will need the mental fortitude to get into climbing mode and repeat the mantra of shut up legs over and over.  

And so, onwards and upwards...

CQ18 Day 1 - heading on up to the Daintree

What a fabulous day in the saddle!  This is truly one of the most picturesque areas you could be riding in in Queensland, with sweeping, green mountain ranges on one side and pristine sand leading to the  crystal blue ocean on the other.   

It was a later than normal start out of Mossman (10am), and with the equivalent of a nuclear reactor on my back from setting up camp and bike yesterday, I tried to stay out of the sun until I absolutely had to be at the start line.  As a result it was 10.40 before my 2018 Adventure began. PS you know your sunburn is bad when every woman who walks past comments on the colour of your neck - yep, I’m a redneck!

So I told you that there were some new things about this year’s ride - the first being our caterers.  I’m dreaming of a whole week of riding where I do not hear the term ‘tandoori wrap’ and that dream may well come to fruition this year.  Last night we had steak and sausages, boiled potatoes, pasta and a fresh salad along with a bite size dessert.  Lunch today was a selection of rolls (meat and salad), the obligatory Jatz and cheese (which I love!) and real orange and apple juice.  Dinner tonight - Shepherd’s Pie and a cheese platter (I know!) - variety really is the spice of life.

So relatively uneventful day on the road, although starting at the back meant I encountered riders who rode like Brown’s cows - the TO in me wanted to have stern words with a few riders!

Lunch at Wonga Beach - a beautiful spot to rest, reapply sunscreen, refuel and replenish supplies.

And then into the most gorgeous spot we have camped yet -  Daintree Village.  We are staying in the school grounds, which is only a couple of hundred metres from the Daintree River.  Our gate keeper today was the lovely Phoebe from BQ - so there was no sneaking in cos she knows me!  Oh and Russell, if you’re reading this, Phoebe named me as the person to take complaints to today - but no one has approached me - given you aren’t here, is that just a coincidence?

After tent set up, chatting to my new neighbours (how cool to have new besties every day) and while waiting for the showers to be set up, I wandered down to the river and found my way onto the Crocodile Express - a flat bottomed boat piloted by a very knowledgeable local who knows many of the local haunts of the local crocs.  Some interesting facts - the crocs in the Daintree are actually estuarine crocs - but they are called saltwater crocs, however they can live in both fresh and salt water.   The tides in the Daintree rise and fall up to 3 metres each tide and the local rainfall is about 6 metres per year!  It’s no wonder the river is up to 2k wide in places.

We were lucky to spot Barrett, a local croc sunning himself on the bank before he slid off into the water, where we followed him as he made his way upstream.  Also spotted plenty of bird life and was schooled in the local botany - even trying wild hibiscus petals, which are surprisingly sweet.

Back to camp where I was frustrated that the showers had broken down again, so I refrained from writing my blog until I was showered and fed - I don’t want to put a negative taint on such a wonderful day.  This is a truly magnificent part of the world and I will definitely be returning with family in tow to explore further one day.

Tomorrow we retrace some of our steps on the way to Port Douglas, where I am determined to sample the local seafood - hopefully some fresh prawns and perhaps a crocodile burger ( they tell us it tastes like chicken).

CQ18 - heading North - Far North

Here we go again - CQ number 8 and just like every other year, I am sat here in my tent on CQ eve wondering what I’ve signed myself up for.

This year we have once again ventured to the beautiful North Queensland region, where we all know we are going to be doing a bit more climbing than normal, but with the pay off of some of the best views at the top of each crest.

I flew up yesterday to avoid an early flight today, and spent the night at an all female backpackers.  For $35 (cash) I had a single room in a converted house.  My shoebox was surprisingly spacious and, although quite warm (it was 28 degrees when I arrived) there was a fan that was on high all night to combat the heat.  The room was a delightful shade of light pink, which impressed me no end (not), but the hostel was only three blocks to the lagoon so I wasn’t going to be too precious!

As I left the room in search of dinner, I was enticed in the opposite direction by the strains of the Harry Potter theme, and found myself in a beautiful new park in Cairns where an orchestra was practicing for a concert next week.  Needless to say, I stayed for the performance and then made my way into the city centre for dinner.

Spoiled for choice, I walked the centre about three times before deciding on a lovely Greek cafe - Mykonos - owned by the same people who own the one in Melbourne.  The food didn’t disappoint and I paired my meal with a delicious sparkling water.

A night’s sleep and back to the airport to catch my bus to Mossman, our first night of camp.  We had some last minute changes as we were meant to stay at Cape Tribulation, however due to safety reasons, the ride has been adjusted, so day 1 will be Mossman to Daintree Village.  About the same distance and still riding on new, unexplored roads.

Caught up with some CQ friends at the airport, on the bus and at camp (they have been doing some awesome explorations of their own and I can’t wait to catch up with them to hear all about Nepal and the Camino).

Registered, found my bike box and put my bike back together.  Brendon will be happy to know I had no leftover pieces.  I’d love to add proof but this browser won’t let me add photos from my phone, so you’ll just have to take my word for it!

Quick shuttle up to the Gorge and a swim in the deliciously cool waters - much needed as I have already managed a bad case of sunburn this afternoon.  Back to camp and then a quick walk into town to get some aloe vera gel and now waiting ptiently for dinner to be ready.

Have heard rumours of some changes to CQ this year - nothing substantiated yet but will keep you all well-informed no doubt over the next week.

One change I can let you in on - this year’s CQ is a dry one for me. I swore off alcohol until my overseas trip at the end of the year, so with 8 dry months already under the belt, this will be an interesting week.  Usually I enjoy rolling into the local pub for a cold cider at day’s end, so there are some habits to break.  Equally challenging, I have not eaten chocolate or lollies for 7 months so the thought of a quick sugar fix is a little different this ride - so we will see how the resolve goes as the days get hillier.

Anyway, enough for today - dinner soon and then if I’m up to it the Mossman Rodeo is on tonight and we can enjoy a bit of country along the way.  Otherwise it will be an early night before pack up and beginning our ride into the rainforest tomorrow.