Flooding rain

It's traditional at this time of year to write about the top 15 rides from the previous year. Yesterday I had an early contender for . I hadn't realised how heavy the rain had been when I pushed aside the big southerly wind on the coastal strip early in the day. Evidently it hadn't reached this far. I realised the extent of the rain when I rode through Urliup, with three crossings of the creek flooded.


Further south I continued in the rain, around a wet loop through Stokers Siding, Uki and some back roads behind Murwillumbah before coming to a decision. I would return via the 'back' route, and the climbs of Numinbah Gap and Salmon's Saddle at Springbrook. This was where the ride really started, the climb of Numinbah Gap hesitates for a while, before settling into a 12-13% slog as it gains around 400 metres. Fortunately the rain decided to get particularly heavy here, which kept me cool for the duration.


From here the ride and the scenery were absolutely stunning. As I descended through the valley there were clouds nestled in the surrounding mountains, and "new" waterfalls cascading down the slopes, and it dawned on me that I was witnessing something very special. It was almost reminiscent of the crossing of Haast Pass in similar conditions in New Zealand almost two years ago -- the day that I rate as my greatest ever on the bike. Here it also dawned on me that virtually nobody else had been around all day to spoil the experience. Part of me hopes they never realise what they missed.


The rain continued as I approached the notorious western climb of Springbrook. Virtually nobody even attempts this climb, and I was soon to find out why. The first few kilometres are bearable, with an average grade of around 8%, but there is a final kick near the summit, where the gradient hits 24% at one stage, and probably averages 15-18%. In less technical terms, it's just a bloody hard grind. Fortunately, the surroundings in this area compensated for the effort, and the rain continued to make things easier.

The gale for wind returned at Springbrook, and it became apparent that the final few kilometres after descending the mountain would be hard work. The descent itself was an exercise in concentration as the wind had covered the road in a layer of debris. My familiarity with this road gave me an advantage here, and I negotiated it comfortably, before grinding my way home against the wind. The final tally for the day was 169km and 1,901 metres of climbing for those who care about the minor details.
This had been one of the most rewarding and special rides I could have asked for. Many people seek shelter from the elements, yet there is a special beauty in the rain, in a tropical downpour that is both invigorating and calming at the same time. It just requires the courage to put one's self out into the elements, and expose themselves a little. On days like this, the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Return to Burringbar Tunnel

The reasons why we do things aren't always clear. A couple of weeks ago I decided to join Martin and his friend Haggis on a return to Burringbar Tunnel. I had only just recovered from the scrapes from the last time, and shaken off a persistent cold, but with the Rajneeshee off the road for the weekend anyway, I couldn't really think of anything better to do. We all set off at the slightly later time of 6.30am, but made reasonable time down through Urliup, Murwillumbah and Stokers Siding, despite Martin getting an early flat tyre.


We were soon riding along the old railway line again. This time I wasn't as nervous as previously, although I suspect that's because I still had some of the effects of the cold and was probably too tired to get nervous. Either way, we made much better time on this stretch to the tunnel than previously. It was actually quite a warm day by this stage, and I was relieved to get into the tunnel itself and get a temporary reprieve from the heat that was blazing down from above. In that respect, it reminded me of some of the tunnels I rode through in Japan a couple of years back. This one, however, had glowworms, clinging to the roof, looking almost like stars above our heads.

Someone had hacked a narrow path through the scrub that covered the line south of the tunnel. I could almost actually see where I was going, and Haggis thoughtfully made the decision to charge ahead of everyone else, and pick up all the scrapes from the lantana. After this, it was time for a quick lunch, then the scenic ride home through the Mooball National Park, and the final stretch over Tomewin. This part of the ride is very pretty, largely because this is an area of virtually virgin bushland, with different types of forest all along the length of the dirt road. After the bumps of the railway track, a dirt road was a relatively pleasant diversion.

That only left the final climb of Tomewin. We were all doing it tough in the heat, and I don't think any of us got up there in super quick time -- I certainly didn't. It was, however, much cooler and greener at the top. It just left us with a simple ride home after the descent, to ponder why we had done it all again -- and whether we'd be silly enough for No. 3.

Little Rock

Hey, I am still around. Not much to blog about the last 3 weeks. Cold, nasty weather. So, I decided on a rode trip to Little Rock.
Made a quick ride in town to check equipment, then headed to the N. Little Rock River Trail. Rode to Burns Park. Coming back was in the wind. Riding over the Main St. bridge almost did me in, heart rate way up, riding at 5mph. Fast recovery.
Damn, it felt good to be back on the bike!

This Old Rock

As more gardeners put the daily events into garden blogs, will anyone still make entries in paper journals? In the nineteen seventies & eighties I used the kitchen calendar to jot down frosts, rains, bloom dates and first tomatoes. By 1989 the garden had expanded too much for a small square, and I started filling the first of a series of blank books. The entries range from rapturous descriptions to weather complaints, to terse mentions of plant names and dates. Sometimes the subject has nothing to do with gardening, as family joys and tragedies, politics or world events take over the pages. Because I kept notes, even in my slapdash style, I can look at this photo and know that the holey rock with the sedum growing out of it was bought on July 7, 1993, in Cave City, Kentucky

UV Water Sterilization

Thursday, 21 February (part I)
On the road to Maxwell AFB Famcamp — Montgomery, Alabama

It’s great to be rolling down the road again! True, the Phaeton did get to drive around a bit while in Red Bay, but not enough to stretch her legs. It’s a sunny day; no sign of any thunderstorms, but I imagine we’ll be getting some wet stuff tonight if the radar images are any indication of what is awaiting us. It’s an easy drive from Red Bay back to Montgomery … a good time to write a post or two.

After touring Ivy Green, Helen Keller’s birthplace, and having one last dinner in Red Bay with friends yesterday, we returned to the Phaeton where we had parked it at Brannon’s shop for our overnight stay.

The last time we were here (Feb 1), we parked in front of the bay farthest from the road to take advantage of the warming rays of the sun. On that occasion, we had no internet whatsoever in the coach, but I was able to get an intermittent signal in Brannon’s lounge. It was a different story this time. We parked near the road and we had blazing fast internet. Either Verizon made some improvements to the cell tower in Red Bay in the last couple of weeks, or just moving a few hundred yards made all the difference in the world to getting a signal that our Wilson trucker’s antenna was able to boost.

A golden sunset sends us on our way to dinner with friends in Red Bay …

… and a colorful sunrise starts off our last day in northern Alabama.

We didn’t have to pull into a bay for today’s installation of an ultraviolet sterilization system on the water line that comes into the kitchen. This was a job that Mui was going to do, but we’re both paranoid about leaks, so we decided to have Brannon do it instead since he has invaluable information about the way the systems in Tiffin rigs work. Had we done it ourselves, we probably would have installed the unit on the main water line. Brannon suggested setting it up just for drinking water so as not to further reduce the water pressure coming into the Phaeton. Definitely a better course of action.

The bits and pieces needed for the install are laid out for the surgeon … ahem … Brannon.

Installing a UV water sterilization system in the rig was not something we had in mind. Until, that is, we went out for a pre-fulltiming dinner with some friends. Keith had installed a similar system in their cabin in West Virginia and shared enough information from his research to convince us to look at doing the same in the Phaeton.

What does UV sterilization do and how does it do it? I’ll let you read about that here. Suffice it to say that what organisms the UV light doesn’t kill, it renders sterile so that they can’t reproduce and make us sick. Considering that we will be getting our water from a variety of sources as we travel across the US and Canada, we felt this was a good precautionary measure to have. After checking out the RV Water Filter Store website, Mui ordered the UVC Lighting Model UV-2G. There is a unit that operates on 12V, but he opted for the AC version since we already have a 110 outlet in the under-sink cabinet.

Brannon made short work of the job at hand. He came into the rig shortly after 7:00a, and he was done by 8:45a. Knowing how frustrating it can be to work in tight spaces — as in the cabinet under the sink — I stayed out of the way and didn’t bring out my camera. While I sat on the couch, browsing the blogs I follow, Mui took a few pictures for today’s post.

The job entailed …

• drilling into the countertop to install the drinking water faucet we bought from Lowe’s in a finish that matches the existing faucet and sink wand
• tapping into the cold water line to add a t-connector for the drinking faucet plumbing
• installing an on/off valve between the t-connector and the sterilization unit to cut off the water if necessary (for example, to replace the bulb, which the manufacturer suggests doing after 9,000 hours, or once a year)
• attaching the water in/out hoses to the sterilization unit
• connecting the water-out hose to the plumbing for the drinking water faucet
• inserting the UV bulb into the sterilizing unit and mounting it on the brackets that came with the kit

(I may have left out a step or two since neither of us was under the cabinet doing the actual work, so don’t take this as gospel!)

After drilling into the countertop by the corner of the larger of the two kitchen sinks …

… the drinking faucet (left) is installed; the swivel head can be moved out of the way if necessary.

A look under the sink reveals all the t-connectors and whatnot that Brannon installed.

Using a piece of paper towel to hold the UV bulb, Brannon inserts it into the sterilization unit.
(The UV bulb comes in its own box with the warning not to handle it with bare hands.)

The unit is in place; the green light visible through the clear hose we picked up from Lowe’s
indicates that the UV light is working … and yes, that is the color of the UV light when you
look at it through a piece of plastic tubing … I checked it on the web ;-)

We have water!

A caution I have for anyone else who might install a similar unit … test the installation with both the water pump and city water so that the fittings can be tightened accordingly.

Brannon once again did a very professional installation for us, and we would not hesitate to recommend him. (He can be reached at 256-668-0973.)

We’re approaching Birmingham and there is a detour to negotiate, so I need to shift over to being the navigator — or the “nag”ivator, as some might say. Time to fill up — with diesel fuel for the Phaeton and with PB&J sandwiches for us. More later …

The Resurrection Life

"Grant me more and more of the resurrection life: may it rule me, may I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence." -The Valley of Vision

Arrived Deerwood, MN

Uneventful drive from home to Deerwood, MN. Weather was "changeable". Cloudy, sunny, sprinkling, humid, pleasant. Arrived at my hotel a little before 3pm. Took some time to unloaded the car.

Debated for a while - Do I just have dinner? -or- Do I take a bicycle ride THEN dinner. Eventually, I decided I really wanted to get out and ride. Visited a little with the hotel owner as getting ready to leave. Headed out for a road ride to Crosby. Hwy 6 from Deerwood to Crosby has an awesome wide shoulder - even wider than a bicycle lane. (Need to take a photo of the hwy while here.)

When I got to Crosby, I rode on to the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail. (today's photo - the road bike on the trail) Rode the trail to Hwy 6 at the Croft Mine. Could have ridden a little further, but knew I had to ride along the highway on the way back and there was a rough hill as I enter Deerwood.

Felt energized when I got back to the hotel. Showered and walked over to Coach's for food. Special was a 1/4 lb burger. Pint of Fat Tire and a cheeseburger & chips cost me a whole $5.15!

Now that this blog post has been written - time for bed. Was a productive day - 500 miles in the car, 9 miles on the bicycle and $5.15 dinner.

Riding in the red dirt at Cuyuna Country Ride Center tomorrow.