Leaving the Sunshine Coast this morning, we made our way to Landsborough while avoiding the motorways and ever-increasing traffic. Landsborough is situated due west of Caloundra and close to the Glass House Mountains. On arrival, we made our way to the Steaming Cup Café for some breakfast while waiting for my riding companion, Kym Ayling, to arrive from Brisbane.
I was put in touch with Kym through a close friend who has known Kym and his family from when they lived in the Blue Mountains. Kym is an avid cyclist who also has experience in the long-distance cycling arena, having completed the Brisbane to Cairns ride a few years ago among many of his expeditions. Kym offered to guide me through to Brisbane as there are numerous motorways which, unfortunately, we cannot utilise. Leaving Landsborough, we travelled along Steve Irwin Way for approximately 2km before we made our first stop at Australia Zoo – home of the Crocodile Hunter. A few photos later and we were on our way again. Our first few kilometres were very comfortable with a reasonable edge to the road; however, it wasn’t long before the white line merged into the roadside grass. We stayed on Steve’s road (Steve Irwin Way) for the next 20 odd kilometres before heading west and onto the country roads enabling us to eventually make our assault on Brisbane.
On entering the north side of Brisbane, we now had to contend with reasonably thick traffic and no cycle-ways. Traversing through the suburbs, Kym guided us through roads and byways I would never have considered. Before long, we had passed through Strathpine as we headed south along Gympie Road toward the city. We had the company of that lovely lady’s voice from the Maps app on the phone who kept trying to direct us onto motorways to make our trip the most direct. Hmmm…I’m not sure that using the directions guide from Maps on the phone would be a good defence if picked up riding on the motorways. So we elected to ignore her and continued through the outer roads of Brisbane.
As we rode through the north-western side of Brisbane, Kym identified the key locations: The Gabba; Ekka (where Brisbane’s annual show is held); the specialist, medical and health precinct; and, some of the older schools of Brisbane. Eventually we dived under a bridge where five lanes of traffic swung around a corner, and the next thing we were heading across the Brisbane River toward our stopping destination – South Bank. Under Kym’s masterful guidance, we arrived safely at South Bank and met up again with Grant under the Ferris wheel which holds pride of place.
Now Kym had been telling me all along that the south side is better riding as there are cycle-ways right through. I just thought this was a north versus south Brisbane rivalry thing. I had figured out from our northerly approach that, as we had not been on any cycle ways, it wouldn’t take a lot to have more on the south side. However, on leaving South Bank, we were immediately following cycle-ways throughout the city and then eventually through to Springwood, being approximately 20km from the city. Throughout that 20km, we were only on the road for about 5km at the very end of our journey.
During the last 10km we were joined by Col, a local cyclist on his afternoon commute who also happened to be riding to Springwood. Col explained that he too enjoys long-distance riding and often heads off on journeys to far away places, including a ride through the Pyrenes in France. Conversations began and another opportunity presented for me to explain the reason for our ride – to raise further awareness of the amputation, limb loss and limb difference community. Only 500m from Kym’s home, we pulled to the side of the road to say our farewells to Col when he dug into his bike pannier and kindly donated $50 toward Amp Camp. A massive thank you to Col and, also, to all of you who have shown your financial support. Every dollar draws us closer to ensuring these incredible teens can engage together in the community that is Amp Camp.
Swinging into the final streets before arriving at our destination we were presented with one final climb. A nice little rise to test the tired bodies.
Tomorrow is our rest day here in Brisbane and we have been kindly offered accommodation with Kym and his wife Deb. At Queens Street Mall on Saturday morning, we will be meeting up with Holly and Lynda from the Amputees and Family Support Group who have coordinated a Lazer Tag Party for the teens we are riding for. We are looking forward to this catch-up with the teens and their parents.
On Sunday, we again hit the road for the last day of riding here in Queensland and we would love to see the support for Amputees and Family Support Group Inc Quensland (AFSG) grow through your financial support. Please support us as every $500.00 raised through this ride, provides the necessary finances for another teenager to attend Amp Camp. Donations can be made via www.afsg.org.au or via the links on our home page.
Arrangements are being made for an official handover at the border between Amputees and Family Support Group Qld and Amputees NSW. The next chapter will begin shortly as we head from Queensland to New South Wales.
Until tomorrow,
Mike and Grant
It is great you had company for the ride through Brisbane.