BVRT 100 classic cycling challenge.

Second Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Contract Awarded

06/11/2017 Comments (0) News

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail 100 Kilometre Challenge – a poem by Greg Noble

The BVRT 100 Kilometre Challenge

We assembled at the starting line
Brave and intrepid souls
Ready to take on the challenge
And add it to life goals.
We had prepared for many months
For this epic ride
We had a little anxiety
But confidence deep inside.
We rolled wheels at 6am
The fast ones off in dust
We settled into our own pace
To be conservative was a must.
Other riders were so friendly
And no matter where I went
I was met with smiles and laughter
And friendly encouragement.
The trail from Esk was a picture
And much to my surprise
My fears proved to be groundless
There were no magpies.
I made good time on this bit
Into Toogoolawah
But we had only just started
The finish still so far.
Then, the bypass route to Moore
It just has to be done
We rode without getting lost
The back roads were quite fun.
The stop in Moore was fabulous
The food delicious and so fine
The coffee muffins were my favourite
And the fruit cake was divine.
The trail to Linville flowed nicely
My time was going well
But the trail out of Linville
Is a special form of Hell.
You climb and climb and climb some more
The incline doesn’t stop
I thought that when we were done
There would be snow at the top.
My speed was slow and steady
I didn’t go real fast
I knew we were in trouble when
A mountain goat went tumbling past…
I was determined to conquer it
I refused to stop
I just ground my way resolutely
And made it to the top.
After hours of this climbing
My legs trembling underneath
Was some downhill into Blackbutt
And a good dose of relief.
There we were treated to apples
After travelling so far
And cold bottles of clear water
And home made power bars.
Out of Blackbutt really rocked
A little climb to start
Then a good dose of downhill
Enough to warm my heart.
The approach to Yarraman was a climb
More energy to spend
But I relished this final challenge
For I was near the end.
The finish line soon popped up
It’s presence I did not detect
It was upon me out of the blue
Something I did not expect.
Relief coursed through my veins
As elated as I could get
For the Challenge was in the bag
My goals I had met.
Then, off to the pub
To hale and hearty cheers
United in our collective success
Telling tales over beers.
The bus was there soon after
Our spirits still so high
Telling tales of the ride
Including the odd lie.
There were massive grass trees
Infrastructure from the past
Diverse and interesting scenery
That went whipping past.
Gorgeous and cool creek crossings
Animals and wildflowers
We fell in love with the Trail
Seduced by its powers.
My thanks go to the organisers
For putting on this event
It has left me feeling great
If not a little spent.
When climbing up that mega climb
I vowed never to return
No-one deserves those wobbly legs
And having their lungs burn.
But travelling home and thinking
And it might have been the beer
That now I know what is there
I’ll be back next year.

Greg Noble
05 November 2017

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