Sunday morning saw me out of bed nice and early to drive out to Kenilworth for a day of climbing with a good mate from Brisbane. He was starting in Maleny so we were to meet halfway at Conondale. The valleys were full of fog, so while he had a spectacular view from up on the range, my view was somewhat restricted (though no less beautiful). Apart from the glorious climb from Bellbird Creek to Little Yabba, where i channeled my inner Andy Schleck (the delightful climbing part, not the baby deer on ice downhilling part) i took it quite steady, as i had a solid case of Amoxycillin Belly.
I stopped quite a few times to take photos, and passed up just as many opportunities so i wouldn't keep Phil waiting too long. About 10kms out of Kenilworth i came across a galah which had been hit by a car. It had a clearly broken wing which is not a good sign with birds but i noted the spot and rang the WILVOs at the Conondale General Store. Thanks to the proprietor for letting me use the phone there. It shouldn't surprise anyone to know that i did entertain the thought of taking it with me, but with a couple of hills in the way it would have been an uncomfortable experience for both myself and the bird.
So with a wildlife carer on her way to the stricken bird, we set off for the first climb, the notorious Postman's Track. When Strava warriors the likes of Larry Lactate and 1WD can only average 12kmh on a climb, you know it's serious stuff. The 2 previous times i'd attempted it resulted in a whole lot of walking, but with a super short gear and knowing what i was in for (ie. a gradient on the nasty side of 30%) i was feeling pretty reasonable. So when we finally reached it i selected the Granny Gear of Destiny.
With the 30-32 engaged it was just a matter of controlling my heart rate and breathing for the next 2.4kms as i agonisingly wound my way up the mountain at 3kmh. At one point i had been sitting dead last on the Strava leaderboard, so while i was still a long way off the KOM i was very happy to clear it and land just outside the top 10. I'll definitely be back before long to see what more i can make of it.
From there to Maleny would have been a fairly straightforward (if painful) roll, but sadly by this time the rich kiddies had woken up, so as well as a fair few Mick Doohan wannabes, we had a bunch of absolute arsehats in BMWs and one very impressive Audi R8 V10 with the utterly unbelievable registration plate "HARVARD".
With a poor excuse for a nap before graveyard shift last night i am feeling jolly crook, and well and truly ready for bed. Tally Ho!
Fair Winds,
LDR.