Helen and Tom's excellent bike adventures

Well, hello! We’re back in the ‘land down under’ but there’s been a distinct lack of missives so far this trip – soz! That’s because there’s been so much loveliness, busy-ness, and excitement that, frankly, I haven’t had the time! There’s been catching up with Will, Nicky and the gorgeous Caden, there’s been the welcoming of beautiful baby Finn, there’s been living like a local (well almost) in Northern Beaches and taking root in the lovely Narrabeen caravan park, and there’s been the odd jaunt here and there, plus a proper road trip up t’north to Queensland. No wonder there’s not been time. And now, I find myself half way – yes, half way – through our almost 6 month gallivant and I suddenly felt obliged to drag out the old laptop and do a bit of reminiscing.

So here goes, and maintaining the football analogy of it being half time in a game of two halves, etc etc, let’s focus on the first half analysis, have a good rub down from the physio and talk formation.

A strong back four

A strong back four of Clare, Jamie, Besh and Mike (plus kids) had set us up nicely over Christmas and New Year with lots of lovely family time and, although a bit of a mad few days getting sorted before leaving, we were able to set off for the sunshine of Sydney early January which felt a very welcome thing to do. We even managed to miss the worst of the snow which I was worried might scupper the travel plans, and our arrival after a pretty straightforward and enjoyable trip was indeed a joy. We were even more excited to be heading up to the new HQ in Bilgola Plateau in Northern Beaches to catch up with the Aussie family before having a few days in an airbnb to get over the excitement of the previous few weeks (and jet lag). Once recuperated, it was time for Will & Nicky to get some R&R pre baby, and so we moved into the new HQ and had the delight of looking after Caden for a few days. Wow! How he had changed and developed in the time since we last saw him. Proper conversations and lots of play. Perfect. Not so perfect was the couple of days of storms that blew in with power losses and everything, but nothing too drastic and no damage so all good.

Goalie/safe pair of hands

Our goalie/safe pair of hands for the majority of this trip has been the Narrabeen Lakes Holiday Park and especially the availability of en-suite sites. I must have mentioned these before, but they are a game-changer. Being able to deposit all your toiletries and have sole use of the toilet, shower and handbasin is fab and I have to say we have been well and truly spoilt now. Most sites offer them and it’s a deal breaker on the occasions when they haven’t got one available. Good job we have so far spent close to two months in the same site – helps no end. Being static for so long has also not only enabled us to be an extra pair of hands when needed for the kids, but also to get really acquainted with the local surrounds. Narrabeen itself we knew a little bit already, but being reacquainted with the cafe across the road – Girdlers – and the bar/restaurant up the road – Oceans – has been great. I’m trying to get better at swimming too and the easy availability of the ocean pool literally across the road means there’s little or no reason to not go for a swim (and coffee/cake en route of course). I’ve always been a bit of a untidy breaststroker (apparently I have a screw kick – who knew), but I’ve never quite mastered front crawl. This is due to two things: 1) being a bit inept and remembering when to breath in and out thus avoiding copious amounts of water being imbibed and, 2) getting dizzy with all the head turning and having absolutely NO sense of direction. Lane swimming my arse – I’m more of a going-round-in-circles kind of girl. Even the purchase of some goggles that fit properly and didn’t fog up (the previous ones were kids’ goggles – they were cheap, what can I say) didn’t really help, but did ensure I saw what I was about to collide with before I did it. Anyway, suffice to say, I have persevered and although still no Sharon Davies, I’m getting there.

4 minutes added time

Some other local observations to add to my musings:

• HQ is located in Bilgola Plateau as previously mentioned. Now, the clue was in the name, but it was still a surprise to scale the heights of the, quite frankly, mountain to get there. There’s a couple of tricky corners on the ascent which, if you end up in the wrong gear, it will be all over. I’m pretty sure I’m exaggerating of course, but it is pretty tasty. I don’t volunteer to go that way on the back of the Triumph I can tell you. We have found an alternative longer route – still with its fair share of alpine-like slopes -but much more manageable. Actually, once you are used to the roads, it’s fine and the views from their house are outstanding so well worth it. I won’t be cycling up (or down) there any time soon – even with an e-bike – as there’s a bus that’s does the work for you, is a regular service, goes right past the house and that suits me fine. It suits me and Caden too when I use the bus service to collect him from day care. He loves it. We have a good giggle and if we have to wait for the second bus, there are snacks and a play ground to pass the time. ‘What’s not to like?’ as Timmo would say.
• Along with these very steep slopes are some incredibly vertiginous driveways to some of the houses (thankfully not HQ’s) which could be better described as Cresta Runs. Failing to apply the handbrake in the correct fashion would not end well.
• Blemming bluebottles. No, not the annoying flying things, but the little jelly fish. One down-side to swimming in an ocean pool after rain/storms is that the little gits find their way in and it they catch you, it bleddy-well stings! I only had a glancing swipe but that was quite enough, thank you.
• Low-tide and ocean pool cleaning means so little water in the pool for a day or two that my swimming style is hampered still further as you actually end up beaching on the bottom and crawling along the sandy base on your tummy like a crab.

Top Striker

Our Top Striker that joined the squad for this first half is, of course, Finn Graham. A true sweetheart (him being born on February 14^th and all that) and a proper beaut. Mum and baby are doing brilliantly, expertly supported by number one Daddio. Now a bouncing boy of 8 weeks, he changes almost every time we see him and is doing really well. Caden is largely indifferent at the moment, I mean, Finn doesn’t really ‘do’ anything after all, but that will all change before long and then it will be a different game altogether!

An adventurous midfield

In the mid-field was a trip up to Queensland whilst the new family had some time together. Timmo had seen information on the longest rail trail in Australia – the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail – and so it just had to be done. 160Km off road. ‘What’s not to like’? It follows the route of the former Brisbane Valley railway line which was built between 1884 and 1913 and primarily used for transporting timber, coal, diary products and passengers and later served as a strategic transport route during WW2. It closed down between 1960s and 90s due to increased efficiency of road transport and developed into a recreational trail opening in 2003. It still has lots of lovely old station buildings and derelict platforms to conjure images of times gone by.

We set off in the trusty Bob – who had begun to wonder what the hell was going on (6 or so weeks and no action) – and pushed on as far as Coffs Harbour and a nice site near the beach. After this we continued up past Brisbane to Ipswich (no, not that one) and our final destination of the Ipswich Caravan Park. Now, the reviews had frankly been crap and so I was dreading what we were likely to find. People posting photos of a pool that was more black slime than azure blue, telling of loud, lardy ‘residents’, unkept pitches, dirty toilets etc etc. I was assured it was the only option….. What’s more we had given ourselves a ‘settling in’ day before the cycle trip and we were about to leave Bob in this seeming ‘shanty town’ of a place for three days. I tell you, the lines from Vicar of Dibley and the nativity play rang in my head: ‘be afraid, be very afraid’. BUT, like all things, reviews are one thing, reality is quite often another. The place was beautifully kept, the pool was crystal clear, the toilets were spangly clean and the neighbours delightful. Talk about relieved. Note to self, do not always believe Trip Advisor.

Anyway, the night’s sleep was trouble free and we spent our settling in day walking to the Queensland Rail Workshop museum (as you’d expect) which was actually very good indeed and all was well with the world.

The start of the trail was at Yarraman which was a couple of hours by road from Ipswich, so Timmo had arranged for a shuttle to collect us and our trusty steeds and deliver us to the start point. Very nice bloke, very chatty and time flew by. After brekky at the very strangely named Pink Flamingo cafe (we were in a very remote, stockmans’ kind of town), we headed out. We were really fortunate with the weather. We were told that we would likely be the only ones on the trail as ‘no one does it at this time of year’. Ah well, mad-dogs and Englishmen and all that and we were blessed with some cloud cover and nice breezes to help us cope with the 30 degree plus temperatures. The trail itself was great. All small tracks or paved sections, well signed, and through some lovely scenery and countryside. Nice B&B too to finish the first day.

The second day continued largely the same with a stop-over for lunch in Harlin at the Servo (garage to you and me). Now, this did bring a bit of excitement!! There we were, alone in the cafe section having a cold can of pop watching the owner pacing around outside, when in pops a real life ‘Mick Dundee’ type character complete with wellies and a long pole (sounds like something more suited to a hen do!) Anyway in he comes and he proceeds to walk around the entire premises with a very determined, if stealth-like, demeanour. Furniture was moved, shelves and floor space under shelves were checked and then the penny dropped – he was looking for a snake!! It seems a brown snake (very venomous and dangerous) had been spotted under one of the shelving units (not, I might add, mentioned by the owner nor was it that far away from where we were sitting) and ‘Mick’ was the snake catcher! No luck in finding it so no photo opportunity sadly, but very exciting all the same. He just walked past us with a smile and a nod saying “nothing here, you just enjoy your lunch” and off he hopped back into his Ute and away he went. Wow. After that, the trip continued snake free and after a great tunnel, some old, scenic railway bridges and sighting of three, yes three, skippies, we arrived at our pub accommodation for the night and proceeded to reflect on what could have been a near miss, with a couple of cold ones.

Day 3 proved to be a very nice and varied day in terms of the trail and scenery and we actually came across some other cyclists!!! These were all regular users and Gary was a member of the BVRT users association so he was particularly pleased that a) we were thoroughly enjoying the trail and b) had come especially to do it even though we lived in the UK. As keeper of the facebook page for said association, he was thrilled that we were ok with him taking a photo for his page. We felt like minor celebrities I can tell you. We bumped into them again at the Brisbane Valley Roasters cafe and he proceeded to regale us with his ancestry being from Cornwall and was delighted we lived there too! Onwards to our final overnight stop with no sightings of skippies or koalas although Timmo swears he saw the tail end of a snake going into the undergrowth off the trail. Mmmm.

The last day was hot and a bit breezy but we had lovely wooded areas to ride through so that helped and, although the bum was pretty sore even with gel seat covers, we made it not only to the end of the trail but all the way back to the caravan park and Bob. What a great few days and actually 180km covered. Before getting fully back to the site, we hit the CSI (no, not that but the Combined Servicemen’s Institution) for a couple of well-earned drinks and some food whilst listening to a singer and watching all the lovely old ladies and gents (well, mostly ladies) having a dance. I nearly broke out the Aunty Dance but wasn’t really dressed for the occasion. A couple of more wines and it might have been a very different story.

The trip back to HQ involved a few days at Byron Bay and then Forster which was a new area to us near to the Great Lakes (no, not those ones). A lovely site and a good stop over to be returned to on a future occasion. Lovely to be away but lovely to be back at base and with the family and to help out where we could – especially with bath and bed time for Caden – lovely.

Super subs

The ‘super-subs’ well, not really subs, but things to enjoy again that were also a highlight of the first half could be summarised as follows:

• The B-Line bus service into the City and lunch and drinks at the Lord Nelson Brewery and pub.
• Lazy days just enjoying life on Northern Beaches
• Lovely meeting up with Will & Nicky’s friends and the ever expanding group of little ones and new babies – fantastic
• Meeting up again with John and Jane and seeing the progress being made on his boat that he has great plans for
• An introduction to sailing through the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club – which I was expecting to not enjoy but actually really did!
• Having Caden overnight for a sleep-over in Bob and then having an adventure into the City to revisit the Australian Museum to see the dinosaur bones (honestly, Caden can identify them all)
• Going with Caden to the park and him wizzing along on his balance bike – what a speed demon!
• Cycling into the City – this time via the Manly Ferry for more lunch and drinks at the Lord Nelson
• A trip to the Opera House to see a show ‘Opera’s Greatest Hits’ and dinner after – what a treat

So there you have it, a very quick run through the action-packed first forty-five. I told you we’d been busy. That’s all the team news and analysis from the first half. And the rub-down with the physio? Timmo treated me to a massage in Mona Vale – it was a bit uncomfortable at times but necessary – there was quite a bit of tension in those muscles! What a treat. But remember, it’s a game of two halves and there’s the second half to come. Watch this space!