Maiden Voyage – Pats First Cycle Adventure - Part 3
Ever itched to mount your bike and pedal into the wide blue yonder for a few days – but not sure where to start? Pat is about to try his first self-sufficient tour – test his endurance and test his gear.
Saturday afternoon has finally arrived and Pat is on his “maiden voyage”- unlike Titanic this maiden voyage was successful!
Pat and I turned for Burrum Heads, on the Queensland coast, under a hot sun a tad after 2pm Saturday afternoon. Neither of us are keen on traffic but we needed to cover distance fast so we forsook the back tracks for the main road. Pat’s earlier experience on a bicycle showed as he powered over the hills around Dundowran. Before long we reached Beelbi Creek and pulled up under a tree for a fruit juice and a nibble.Toogoom to Burrum Heads is a fairly new road- wide, good surface and a shoulder most of the way. Burrum Heads hove into view by shortly after 4 pm and after buying drinks for the night at the pub we made a bee line for the caravan park on the water’s edge. Burrum Heads Caravan Park is pretty shipshape- good ablutions blocks, barbecue area and kitchen sink by the laundry (as opposed to a camp kitchen).
We barely had time to spread the tents out before other campers came over to talk- folks from the same workplace as Pat but not known to him. We both love the cameraderie of camp grounds. We pitched camp in-between drinks, nibblies and socialising before heading for the superb blue water of the Burrum River mouth staying in the water until failing light and the dread “wrinkled prune” syndrome drove us out.
Knowing Pat’s desire to learn all things touring I left him to cook tea while I wrote. Pat cooked an excellent brew based on cous cous (by the way if travelling in groups clearly define catering roles- saves embarassment at tea time! I was supposed to bring something too- but Pat had ample for both of us.) Dessert was an almost too sweet rice bar.
Pat’s recipe
Ingredients –
• packet cous cous
• dried peas
• sultanas
• chopped up cooked meat
Method (in a single billy) –
• boil the dried veges
• add the cous cous and sultanas and simmer
• when about cooked add the meat
(Cous cous is a Middle Eastern wheat-based dish- the supermarket version is complete with herbs and various additives). Pat’s little gas stove was so hot that he had to keep turning it off to avoid burning.
Night settled in very raucous fashion with the bird scarer (and the lorikeets) competing with the campers beside us top throat. Pat and I talked for hours sinking Lambrusca, sharing experiences and chatting with the other campers as they came past from time to time. Neither of us experienced any soreness from the day’s ride apart from minor suburn on my part. Pat found his bike somewhat unstable loaded and he decided to experiment with packing before leaving in the morning.
Morning dawned bright and sunny. The ride and the Lambrusca stood me in good stead- I didn’t surface until after 6pm- proving cycling is good therapy. Pat cooked a superb porridge breakfast (with more sultanas). Black clouds started rolling in bigtime shortly after we rose and mid-breakfast a torrential downpour bucketed down (good news- we discovered ours tents are watertight!)
Packing was leisurely and the tents were nearly dry by the time we packed. Pat spent considerable time trialling packing heavier weights lower down in the panniers to improve the centre of balance.I was happy with my rig- I was travelling light anyway with only two rear panniers and my tent on top of the rear rack.
Leaving around 10pm we made good time to the Toogoom turn-off. A quick vote saw us turn into Toogoom for a cold drink and lunch of flat bread and tinned fish; rice bars and fruit. An intermittent south-east wind cooled us but also opposed us. No matter we made good time through Toogoom suburbs; then up over Mal Campbell Drive through Craignish, Dundowran and Lower Mountain Road to avoid the traffic.
Cyclist are divided on choice of roads- some tour unperturbed on highways with traffic thundering past continually. Pat and I can handle traffic but consider the stress of highway riding negates many of the positives of cycling so we take back roads whenever possible.
We arrived back home around 2pm very relaxed and cheery after a great short trip and overnight camp. I’ll let Pat have the last word…
“I really felt a sense of achievement- comfortably managing two short days of riding at my age, and my camping was successful too. Good preparation allows you to enjoy the fruits of your cycling and I certainly enjoyed the time I spent cycling. I’m looking forward to many more cycle tours and honing my skills as I enjoy many more good rides.”
We trust you have enjoyed reading about our touring – we hope you will be encouraged to experience cycle touring for yourself!
This is part 3 of a 3 Part Series. Review Maiden Voyage – Part 1 | Maiden Voyage – Part 2
Article by Dave McLeod of Hervey Bay in Queensland Australia. Dave is a Writer, Music Educator and Cycle Tourist. Find out more about Dave at his blog “Aussie Writer & Cycle Tourist”.
This article has been provided for publication by Dave McLeod. Unauthorised use or reproduction is strictly prohibited. All material & images are © Dave McLeod. Break Loose thanks Dave McLeod for allowing us to bring you his excellent cycling article.