Welcome to Ride with Alex. A place to embrace the bicycle and human ability. In this space you will find words, images and film from the (off)road. It’s my hope that what I share here and learn from riding our great planet might inspire you to go places you never dreamed of so this becomes more than humble bragging. These are my Adventures by Bike. So let us begin with whimsy in our hearts and the wind on our backs (please have mercy on us thou invisible force). I hope you will get an insight into who I am as you read my entries and I myself will learn and improve for the better.
Act one
There is much to talk about in regards to bicycle gear geekery, yes I love bike stuff, for now I will save gear talk for another post and get on with the story of the first overnight bikepacking adventure with my good friend Dave. Dave, pictured below on the summit of Mt Barney is coming with me to New Zealand in a few days time for a two week exploration of the North Island.
Keen to be fully prepared we both set out on a local overnight adventure in our own backyard.
Woodford – Kilcoy – Toogoolawah – Somerset
Distance: 94.2km / Time Moving: 4:37 / Elevation: 871m ~ Strava Ride Data
Using Woodford as a starting point we ventured off on our maiden voyage. Bikes laden with “everything” we should need for an overnight adventure. I didn’t have much expectation for the ride out being mostly bitumen. But there is some great typical Australian landscape in this area.
After a brief stop at Toogoolahwah we continued on with the sun chasing our tails to Camp Somerset, we came across this, pedal box as I called it. I’ve seen many quirky mailbox adaptions out of town, the most common being old microwaves.
We arrived into camp under the night sky, with stars so bright I now regret not stopping along the road to capture some great images of the Milky Way. After all the journey is the destination no? Dazed and exhausted we both were, it was so good to get off the bike, pitch the tent and just lay down on the grass.
Morning was upon us in not time at all and we were able to explore camp and the nearby Somerset Dam in daylight. Refuelled and a quick nap before heading off before squawking about tender bums on saddles, I did most of the complaining here.
Somerset – Kilcoy – Woodford
Distance: 52.9km / Time Moving: 3:04 / Elevation: 706m ~ Strava Ride Data
Such pain, much wow. I was mostly consumed about how much my butt hurt, taking any opportunity to stand up and pedal. As the day progressed it was apparent the my bum was not happy with the new saddle I had fitted recently, having some pain shooting down my legs I brought up the rear end toward the end of the ride, literally and physically. We had one climb to knock over early on and the views over Lake Somerset did not disappoint.
Continuing on our way into Kilcoy we found an old bridge which looks prime for a place to sit and picnic, however the urge to grab a cheeky pie in town and head home to complete the overnight circuit was too much, so a quick photo and then onward.
Looking Back
Post ride discussion made it clear that food and water is really heavy. Tent and sleeping mat choices were ace. My seat was not ideal, gel padding and all the shape does not fit me. Overall good to put a lot of gear to the test. This was also the first outing of my travel camera a FujiFilm XT1 with the XF 23mm f/1.4. Possibly I’ll be adding a wider lens for NZ or next years adventures. Talk soon, when this NZ thing is done and there is time to write about it.