Mid-life Cycle
Cyclist Liz Quine shares the experience of her first cycling holiday.
Liz Quine shares the experience of her first cycling holiday.
For my 50th birthday I decided to embrace my mid-life crisis and so bought myself a hybrid bike and soon after joined a BUG (Bicycle User Group).
Six months later I was off on my first cycling holiday. Travelling alone but with 1000 other cyclists. Cycle Queensland was promoted as '9 days in paradise' - and it was (except for one day that was... um... challenging)!
I blame BikeNorth for fuelling my cycling addiction with their enthusiasm and encouragement to try my first 'Big Ride'. I was given volumes of advice on cycling preparation, what camping gear to take and how to pack light. The phrase I heard most frequently was “you'll love it". How did they know I would love it? I hadn't slept in a tent since I was a teenager. I hadn't ridden 9 days consecutively ever! I hadn't travelled with 1000 strangers ever! Why were they so sure I would love it?
Training complete and bags packed, the first challenge was how to disembowel my trusty bike and shove it (I mean, meticulously pack it) into the bike-box for the flight to Queensland. I wish I had taken a photo of my cycling buddy, Joan, my bike and myself lying on the lounge room floor trying unsuccessfully to detach the pedals. In desperation, Joan produced a hammer from her handbag (as you do) and we belted, wrenched, twisted and cursed - all to no avail. Finally I resorted to female techno-savvy and stomped with my foot on the spanner. Voila! That loosened the pedal.
And so the adventure began...
The BikeNorth contingent had arranged to meet for dinner at Goondiwindi on the first night. Many of us had never met before but we soon became a great support group for each other during the ride. There was always someone to exchange ride experiences with, to share a beer at the pub or a coffee at the cafe.
The ride began down the main street of Goondiwindi. We cycled a total of 561kms (not counting extra trips to and from the pub), arriving at the Gold Coast nine days later. The rest day was at Stanthorpe, which just happened to be surrounded by vineyards and wineries. Many of us joined wine tasting tours to rest our weary cycling legs and replenish fluid supplies.
Our arrival at the Gold Coast was to the applause and cheers from a large welcoming crowd. We felt like we had just completed the Tour de France!
The organisation of the event was above reproach. The overnight stops were well located, the back-up services were extremely efficient and the meals and nightly entertainment were excellent.
Some of the highlights...
- Cycling the country roads of southern Queensland
- Friendliness of all the cyclists
- Daily massage
- Yummy meals provided
- Friendly pubs at each country town (and the number of thirsty cyclists!)
- Downhill runs: YE-HAA!
- Scrumptious morning/afternoon teas provided by the local community groups
- Camaraderie of fellow cyclists who always offered assistance in changing flat tyres
- Sitting cross-legged in my tent while Joan instructed me on how to locate and patch a puncture in my tyre tube
- Flying past the slow 'roadies' on the gravel section screaming 'passing!' with an evil glint in my eye
- CQ Ball where we dressed up as a 'C' or a 'Q'. We had chocolates, coasters, questions, queens and queers. The winners were a group of corkscrews.
My only fault with Cycle Queensland is the bout of 'post-paradise blues' that I suffered on my return to earth after nine days in paradise. On my first day back at work in Sydney I started to chat to the person next to me as I stood in the bus queue only to be greeted with a stony silence... Ooops! I'm not in the brekky queue anymore - I'm back in Sydney now.