Climbing a tree to find a geocache
I shouldn’t have gone out today because my back is excruciatingly sore but my bike was ready at the shop and the weather was lovely. Besides, my back is most sore when I sit still; if I sit or lay down for more than 2-3 minutes I simply can’t get up. Don’t ask what I did to it because I don’t know the answer. All I know is that I’ve been in agony since Tuesday and that my physio squeezed in me in for an urgent appointment at 10:30am tomorrow.
Anyway, instead of sitting around at home today, I rode my motorbike into the city to collect my pushbike. Then I rode 29km around the city searching for geocaches before dropping my pushbike in my partner’s car (which was parked at her work) and riding my motorbike back home. I spent about 4 hours out and about, enjoying the beautiful city I live in. Oddly, my back didn’t give me any trouble while I was out for the day – though I can’t say the same for how it feels now.
A sculpture in New Farm
Moreton Bay Fig tree roots shooting down from high in the tree
Chickens in a New Farm garden
I started my explorations in Fortitude Valley before riding down to New Farm where I located five geocaches hidden in the maze of laneways in this old inner city suburb. New Farm has open parklands, ancient Moreton Bay Fig Trees with their webs of aerial roots, apartment buildings, and old gardens boasting fruit trees and the odd chicken.
The Cathedral that took almost 100 years to build
Brisbane Town Hall
From New Farm I rode into it’s neighbour: Brisbane City. The city was alive with people crowded in shady corners and sheltered spaces. It was delightful to move with the crowds, listening to the colours of the many languages being spoken and smelling the various cuisines being eaten. I cleaned up the remaining two traditional caches I haven’t yet found in the CBD area before moving on to West End.
West End riverside bikeway
Lunch: a healthy Grill’d burger
There were no geocaches for me to find in West End but I still enjoyed a flat pedal along the banks of the Brisbane River under the falling purple jacaranda leaves. My ears were filled with the sound of birds that have colonised this highly urbanised pocket of land, the ticking of my new freewheel spinning, the whir of my new semi-deep Shimano 501 rims and the crunch of leaves as I rode over them. I stopped for a well-deserved and healthy sweet chilli chicken Grill’d burger on the cafe strip. It had a thin grilled piece of chicken breast and lots of salad.
A quaint historic church in South Brisbane
Pelican statues on the Brisbane River
South Brisbane was next. Here I found three geocaches, which took me on a tour to a historic church and a pelican statue.
Waterfall at Roma Street Parklands
I finished my tour of Brisbane with a quick geofind in Roma Street Parklands. These parks are huge with different ‘outdoor rooms’ for families, couples and individuals to explore and enjoy. The ‘rooms’ comprise of mowed grassy areas (both hilly and flat), ponds, boardwalks and pathways, and planted gardens of all descriptions.
Total: 29km cycled and 11 geocaches found.
Transventure 