Hats 'N Pipes

I was thinking about that neat hat Dad was wearing in the rain the other day, and decided I should definitely have one. Look at this pup above who's got that cool Tyrolean look goin'.
Here's Dad wearing that hat. I can always recognize him when he's got that thing on.
So whaddya think? Me too. I need a Meerschaum Pipe to go with when I'm lounging about in front of the fire reading up on you alls' doings.
Howza 'bout this one Sherlock?
BTW, you doggies are some smart cookies! The big clumpy things in those trees were mistletoe and the bare tree with those orange balls hanging was indeed, a persimmon. Good job!

Morning jaunt

There isn't really as much to say about today as I would like. However, last night's sunset deserves an honourable mention.



I did manage an early morning jaunt into Tallebudgera Valley, which, of course, follows the notorious 22% climb on Trees Road, although the views just before the forested descent are worth the effort.



Occasionally when venturing to places like this, places I visited often in the past, but less so these days, there are things that come to mind, things that I had somehow forgotten about. The amount of rainforest along this route was just one. The thing is, I'm not sure why I stopped coming down here regularly -- I guess I just lost focus on it in relation to other things going on in my life.





Today has to focus on this ride, because the rest of the day was relatively uninteresting and consisted of a major clean up of my apartment.

Kenosha Lakefront

Sunday I was planning to ride in the morning. But, the forecast was for rain in the morning. The rain hit during breakfast.
Spent the day visiting with family. After some dinner, I was getting antsy to ride. Though it was a bit warm and humid, there was a breeze and I was heading to the lakefront.
Rode from my mom's apartment to Carthage College. From there down the Pike River Trail along Lake Michigan. At Southport I stopped for G2 and granola bar. Today's photo was taken along the channel from the Lake along the marina.
Temperature was much cooler along the lake. Had a good ride. Ended up just over 11 miles, taking my annual miles up to 901.
Monday was driving time to home. Today after ham radio breakfast, brought the Fuel EX7 to the shop for a thorough check-out. Hope the temperatures moderate for more comfortable riding soon.

Avalon Better! Rehearsals for Frankie's Picnic!

We are looking forward to attending Frankie's Picnic in the Bark (get all the info here!). Meanwhile, Avalon's been recuperating and waiting patiently for the big event by hangin' out on her beach towel, which she'll bring to the Picnic!
And I'm all ready for the dunk tank happenings with my own towel and shades! Hope to see ya there!
We've been busy with human events this last week and weekend what with the graduation of Ma and Pa's oldest granddaughter! We are all so proud of her! Have a wonderful Monday!

Coomera gorging

Saturday was yet another memorable day spent in Lamington National Park, high in the mountains behind the Gold Coast Hinterland. After the recent rain, I decided to join some friends for a 17km walk through some rainforest packed with waterfalls and leeches (although only one bite ensued). The ride to get there seemed a little more draining than usual, largely due to another wave of disgusting heat and humidity. Yet what waited at the top was always going to be special on a day like this.


The objective of the walk had been to find some of those Lamington Blue Cray Fish (pictured above if you look closely). The plan was to do the "boring" part of the walk first (the 8km up the hill to the summit through the rainforest, before returning where all the watefalls were). Somehow during this process I ended up as the "leader" of the group, and I'm still not sure who died and gave me that role. It wasn't actually such a chore as it turned out -- I even convinced a few people to join me on some of the detours to the various waterfalls with unpronounceable names.




By a complete fluke, I even managed to find us a perfect lunch spot near another waterfall that I hadn't even realised existed 5 minutes previously. The best part was I even convinced everyone else that I'd intended it to work that way, although I later fessed up that it had as much to do with good luck as good management. I was tempted for a swim on the pool at the bottom, but apparently the water was "freezing" according to those who were brave enough. On the other hand, "freezing" isn't necessarily a bad thing at this time of year.





We visited the rest of the waterfalls after lunch, before heading back to the cafe at Binna Burra (where I created some excitement by discovering two more leeches), to reflect on what had been a memorable day. The recent rain had really given the waterfalls an extra dimension today, but my day wasn't over yet. The ride home would provide further beauty all the way to Beechmont. Once again I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be able to experience these things on a regular basis.

Tramworks

First day of digging up Princes Street, as part of the great tramworks scheme.

Snowy Full Moon Ride

Andrew, Blaine, and I braved the elements to do the first Xtreme Wheels Full Moon Ride of .
By the time we headed out from the bike shop, the snow was falling heavily. There was a strong wind from the North. Sure happy we rode against the wind heading out. Very pleasant riding with the wind later.
We stopped at Valley View Park. By the time we stopped to take a couple of photos, our tire tracks were nearly obliterated as we recrossed the bridge over Mosquito Creek. Ended up at Village Inn for eats.