crazy idea for a short break

asterope said:

in a few weeks time, i will have 3.5 months off uni... i usually go
absolutely bonkers during this time regardless of wether im working
full-time or not, so ive made some plans on what to do during this
time, and one of them concerns me taking a little bit of a holiday! (i
havent had a holiday in over 3 years, so im about due!)

Im going to bounce an idea off you all...

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap NP for a week of
trekking and tranquility. Meet a friend there that has driven there and
taken all the big stuff like tents and clothes and food (well, someone
has to do it!)
I know the road there is steep as anything and frequented by big
trucks, but i do recall that its got a pretty nice wide shoulder. (and
the scenery is to die for!)

so, the question is; is this a crazy idea? Im planning this for mid
february, so if i train and train and train and bust my a*se on hills
until then will i have a chance of making it there (its about 120kms
from brisbane)? its not the distance im worried about, its that HUGE
mofo mountain at the end of it!
has anyone ridden this route before?
should i put this off for a little while?

Thanks in advance 🙂

--
asterope

Donga said:

asterope said:

in a few weeks time, i will have 3.5 months off uni... i usually go
absolutely bonkers during this time regardless of wether im working
full-time or not, so ive made some plans on what to do during this
time, and one of them concerns me taking a little bit of a holiday! (i
havent had a holiday in over 3 years, so im about due!)

Im going to bounce an idea off you all...

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap NP for a week of
trekking and tranquility. Meet a friend there that has driven there and
taken all the big stuff like tents and clothes and food (well, someone
has to do it!)
I know the road there is steep as anything and frequented by big
trucks, but i do recall that its got a pretty nice wide shoulder. (and
the scenery is to die for!)

so, the question is; is this a crazy idea? Im planning this for mid
february, so if i train and train and train and bust my a*se on hills
until then will i have a chance of making it there (its about 120kms
from brisbane)? its not the distance im worried about, its that HUGE
mofo mountain at the end of it!
has anyone ridden this route before?
should i put this off for a little while?

Thanks in advance 🙂

--
asterope

[censored], don't you hate server errors that lose your post? Here goes
again.

- Post this request on the Bikeqld email list
http://www.bikeqld.org.au/wiki/Bikeqld
- Have a look at Peter Gordon's website and perhaps email him
http://petergo.customer.netspace.net.au/
- Look at Dave McLeod's blog and contact him
http://aussiewriterdave.blogspot.com/

If you are on an MTB, try Spicer's Gap as an alternative to the
highway.
There is another road, sealed but steep, from the back of Lake Moogerah
up to The Head and Queen Mary Falls. Or you can ride from the Head down
the Condamine on the dirt to Killarney.
There are lots of wonderful dirt and tar roads into the Main Range from
the top side.

Make sure you post any good ones on Bikely!

Donga

Donga said:

Donga wrote:

[censored], don't you hate server errors that lose your post? Here goes
again.

- Post this request on the Bikeqld email list
http://www.bikeqld.org.au/wiki/Bikeqld
- Have a look at Peter Gordon's website and perhaps email him
http://petergo.customer.netspace.net.au/
- Look at Dave McLeod's blog and contact him
http://aussiewriterdave.blogspot.com/

If you are on an MTB, try Spicer's Gap as an alternative to the
highway.
There is another road, sealed but steep, from the back of Lake Moogerah
up to The Head and Queen Mary Falls. Or you can ride from the Head down
the Condamine on the dirt to Killarney.
There are lots of wonderful dirt and tar roads into the Main Range from
the top side.

Make sure you post any good ones on Bikely!

Donga

Thanks Donga 🙂
Might do some emailing when i get back from my ride... ive started toying around with some routes on bikely, will post the route im most likely to take when i decide which one it is!

I was thinking of doing this on the roadie, is it worth doing it on the MTB? I didnt think there were any mtb trails out there so i didnt consider it an option and just decided on walking around for a week instead. I shall endeavour to find out... The possibility of trails and a new mtb make this a bit more of a tempting break than it already is!

asterope said:

Thanks Donga 🙂
Might do some emailing when i get back from my ride... ive started
toying around with some routes on bikely, will post the route im most
likely to take when i decide which one it is!

I was thinking of doing this on the roadie, is it worth doing it on the
MTB? I didnt think there were any mtb trails out there so i didnt
consider it an option and just decided on walking around for a week
instead. I shall endeavour to find out... The possibility of trails and
a new mtb make this a bit more of a tempting break than it already is!

--
asterope

I used to weekly-commute Warwick-Brisbane. I've never seen a bike on
the Cunningham's Gap road, but every time I drove it, I thought about
riding it. It looks like a wonderful, long, moderately steep ride with
fine scenery, but the trucks might be a bit nasty and the motorists
could be impatient. Heavily trucked roads often have very bumpy
sections from the torque ripping up the tar - inlcuding the verge. So
I'd say, "Do it", but have your wits about you. I'm tempted to join
you.

As to the roads: all the roads shown on a more detailed map that lead
into the range turn into dirt and then into tracks, so you can pootle
around on an MTB. Once my sons and I drove to the top of one of these
in a Subaru and camped by a large pool. In the morning we watched a
couple of platypuses. Then we followed the creek up, trod on an
enormous python that finally decided to let us pass, and eventually
came around a corner to find a huge pond with a cliff at the top, with
a waterfall that must have been 50m high. We swam across and stood
under the fall, which was like getting nails driven into you. No sign
of other people having visited, nada.

Spicers Gap is a wonderful adventure road - the old track before
Cunningham's Gap was opened up. You get a few 4WDs going through there.
Once I did my commute through there when the main road wsa blocked by a
crash. I got the Subaru stuck in mud and thought I could pull the MTB
out of the back and ride out. Fortunately got the car loose.

The tar roads between Warwick and Killarney, and on the north side of
the highway where you will be at Goomboorian, are all lovely to ride.

So I'd say for your trip, just walk, or ride either bike, and you'll
have a great time.

Donga

--
Frank
[email hidden]
Drop DACKS to reply
"asterope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in a few weeks time, i will have 3.5 months off uni... i usually go
absolutely bonkers during this time regardless of wether im working
full-time or not, so ive made some plans on what to do during this
time, and one of them concerns me taking a little bit of a holiday! (i
havent had a holiday in over 3 years, so im about due!)

Im going to bounce an idea off you all...

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap NP for a week of
trekking and tranquility. Meet a friend there that has driven there and
taken all the big stuff like tents and clothes and food (well, someone
has to do it!)
I know the road there is steep as anything and frequented by big
trucks, but i do recall that its got a pretty nice wide shoulder. (and
the scenery is to die for!)

so, the question is; is this a crazy idea? Im planning this for mid
february, so if i train and train and train and bust my a*se on hills
until then will i have a chance of making it there (its about 120kms
from brisbane)? its not the distance im worried about, its that HUGE
mofo mountain at the end of it!
has anyone ridden this route before?
should i put this off for a little while?

Thanks in advance 🙂

--
asterope

Last year I went to Europe toting an old MTB with 25kg of stuff in panniers.
I trundled around Tuscany, through Austria and then through Germany. Going
through Austria makes it clear that Australia doesn't have mountains - we
only have speed bumps :-P

I'd say you should go for it. Don't worry about the hills or the HUGE
mountain. You'll make it up the mountain OK - just keep telling yourself
that you've got all day; speed isn't important. Just make sure your gearing
is low enough to maintain a rhythm. Persistance is more important than
speed. That's what I found after the first few climbs.

From my experiance, the first couple of days are hard work, then you learn
to relax into the ride and get used to trundling rather than pushing the
pace. Don't set yourself too much distance in a day - you'll end up watching
your odometer instead of the scenery. I found targeting 100km a day was
enough, but some days I only did 30. That's fine too. Long rides like that
are about getting your head into another space, one where the speed and
distance are not important.

I wouldn't worry about training. You'll tend to train for maintaining speed
and fitness. When you start your long ride, you'll try to ride to what you
trained for. If you do 'train', do it with long slow rides, targetting
having enough energy left to enjoy where you end up.

Go for it and keep us posted!

me (fat, balding 48 year-old who can trundle along quite happily...)

Thanks for the replies and encouragment donga and plodder... this is sounding all the better if i just pace myself and take my time 🙂 just got to keep the supplies carrier interested till then (though, with the promise of a good few days of fanging down trails on the mtb, i dont think its going to be too hard!)

I decided to start my preparation for nasty mountain bits this morning by doing a loop from ashgrove to samford and back again via camp mt... a nice brisk morning, fog in the valleys, the smell of fresh forests after a good drenching of rain the day before... birds singing, joggers jogging and me deciding that why the hell not, im going to climb a 16% grade! (Mclean Rd Sth) I got most of the way up it, in complete granny mode, with 4 stops, before i was passed by some joggers on their way down who informed me that it gets worse (!!!) but then you reach the top. So i walked the *worse* bit and had fun fanging alllllllll the way down the mountain... Quite a nice ride really 🙂 I really must work on getting a rhythm going for the steeps... hopefully after a few tries i can make that road seem a bit piffling.

"asterope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap.....

In 1992 I was driving back to Brisbane with some mates after doing a course
in Melb. We were in four cars (one pers in each) and as we got to Warrick
it just started to rain. Our cars were loaded right up and as we went down
the guy in front of me in his crappy VH Commodore that he had bought three
weeks earlier was going a bit quick for my liking. I got on the CB (anyone
remember those??) and told him to slow down a bit as there was no rush.
About two corners later there was a right hander with no Armco railing
(although I think there is concrete barriers now) on the left. The rear end
of my mates car started to oversteer in the wet....he panicked, hit the
brakes, and speared straight off of the cliff, narrowly missing two big
trees!!!. I stopped, put on the hazards, yelled on the CB that "Macka had
gone off the edge" and then ran to the edge and started going down. The
guys in the other two cars were back a bit and thought I was joking but came
around the corner just in time to see me jump off the edge of the road and
into the scrub.

The car was about 30m or so down the hill, resting against a tree with the
drivers door on the ground. As I was running down I had all of the CPR
stuff going through my head "15 compressions, 1 breath" and I was pretty
well [censored] myself. As I got to the car I could smell petrol so I wanted
to get the hell out of there pretty quick. I took a running jump and
managed to clamber up onto the side of the car (adrenelin is a good thing)
and as I did, my mate stuck his head up through the passengers door. I
helped him up and then got both of us the hell away from the car. He was
the luckiest [censored] in the world as although the car was smashed to hell,
with the roof caved in on the passenger side below the level of his head,
and the fact that he had tool boxes and a stereo and all sorts of [censored] in
the cabin, he came out without a scratch or a bruise.

He later said that he speared in across the hill, came almost to a stop but
then started to roll down the hill. He lost count after the first 4 or so
rolls and then ended up wedged up against a tree. We started getting all of
his things out of the car and up to where the other cars were parked and an
old guy driving the other way was having a rubberneck and then ended up
going into the ditch. He got out of his car holding his neck and soon after
an ambulance came screaming up Cunninghams Gap and pulled up. The guys from
the ambo started treating the old guy until he informed them that his car
was in the ditch and not over the edge of the cliff. The ambos then came
over and took my mate off to the ambulance for observation despite his
protests that he was fine.

Tow truck came and dragged the car back up the hill and as we were getting
the rest of his stuff out, Macka found the bottle of black label Beam that
was also in the cabin and it was unbroken. He held it up over his head and
we all sorta cheered a bit......didn't impress the coppers who had showed up
too much so they then gave him a breath test (which he of course passed).

The tow truck driver reckoned that heaps of cars went off that corner and
this was backed up by the number of hubcaps, mirrors, arials, etc that we
found when going up and down the hill with his stuff.

Final funny thing that happened was when Macka filled out the insurance
claim form. There was a picture of a car on it with instructions to shade
the damaged areas.......he just coloured in the whole thing!!!!

Be Safe,

Gags

Donga said:

The tar roads between Warwick and Killarney, and on the north side of
the highway where you will be at Goomboorian, are all lovely to ride.

After that, you can add east of Killarney and up the Head (of the
Conadamine Rr, which is a gentle gravel ride[1], then down to
Boonah,then north to Ipswich, or east via Woodenbong(?)and Lions(?)Rd
back to Brisbane area (going from memory)

[going up and over via Browns and Queens Mary's Falls is the hard hill
climb, although mostly sealed. It is a steep climb out of the Head back
to Queen Mary's.]

Donga said:

I used to weekly-commute Warwick-Brisbane. I've never seen a bike on
the Cunningham's Gap road, but every time I drove it, I thought about
riding it. It looks like a wonderful, long, moderately steep ride with
fine scenery, but the trucks might be a bit nasty and the motorists
could be impatient. Heavily trucked roads often have very bumpy
sections from the torque ripping up the tar - inlcuding the verge. So
I'd say, "Do it", but have your wits about you. I'm tempted to join
you.

From what I remember, I'd be more worried about the flat country
approaching the climb. I remember the climb as being okay as it had
verge to go over onto and dump the following traffic, but on the flat
further east, there was nothing on the left and you would be sharing the
lane with everything.

Further east, Places along there you have multiple lanes andwhat looks
to be wonderful, then strips of really narrow with drop off.

Just check alternatives route, but give it ago.

If you and your mate have mobiles, then you could just phone for a
pickup if it gets too much. And there were public phones along the road,
just not frequent.

Gags said:

"asterope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap.....

In 1992 I was driving back to Brisbane with some mates after doing a course
in Melb. We were in four cars (one pers in each) and as we got to Warrick
it just started to rain. Our cars were loaded right up and as we went down
the guy in front of me in his crappy VH Commodore that he had bought three
weeks earlier was going a bit quick for my liking. I got on the CB (anyone
remember those??) and told him to slow down a bit as there was no rush.
About two corners later there was a right hander with no Armco railing
(although I think there is concrete barriers now) on the left. The rear end
of my mates car started to oversteer in the wet....he panicked, hit the
brakes, and speared straight off of the cliff, narrowly missing two big
trees!!!. I stopped, put on the hazards, yelled on the CB that "Macka had
gone off the edge" and then ran to the edge and started going down. The
guys in the other two cars were back a bit and thought I was joking but came
around the corner just in time to see me jump off the edge of the road and
into the scrub.

The car was about 30m or so down the hill, resting against a tree with the
drivers door on the ground. As I was running down I had all of the CPR
stuff going through my head "15 compressions, 1 breath" and I was pretty
well [censored] myself. As I got to the car I could smell petrol so I wanted
to get the hell out of there pretty quick. I took a running jump and
managed to clamber up onto the side of the car (adrenelin is a good thing)
and as I did, my mate stuck his head up through the passengers door. I
helped him up and then got both of us the hell away from the car. He was
the luckiest [censored] in the world as although the car was smashed to hell,
with the roof caved in on the passenger side below the level of his head,
and the fact that he had tool boxes and a stereo and all sorts of [censored] in
the cabin, he came out without a scratch or a bruise.

He later said that he speared in across the hill, came almost to a stop but
then started to roll down the hill. He lost count after the first 4 or so
rolls and then ended up wedged up against a tree. We started getting all of
his things out of the car and up to where the other cars were parked and an
old guy driving the other way was having a rubberneck and then ended up
going into the ditch. He got out of his car holding his neck and soon after
an ambulance came screaming up Cunninghams Gap and pulled up. The guys from
the ambo started treating the old guy until he informed them that his car
was in the ditch and not over the edge of the cliff. The ambos then came
over and took my mate off to the ambulance for observation despite his
protests that he was fine.

Tow truck came and dragged the car back up the hill and as we were getting
the rest of his stuff out, Macka found the bottle of black label Beam that
was also in the cabin and it was unbroken. He held it up over his head and
we all sorta cheered a bit......didn't impress the coppers who had showed up
too much so they then gave him a breath test (which he of course passed).

The tow truck driver reckoned that heaps of cars went off that corner and
this was backed up by the number of hubcaps, mirrors, arials, etc that we
found when going up and down the hill with his stuff.

Final funny thing that happened was when Macka filled out the insurance
claim form. There was a picture of a car on it with instructions to shade
the damaged areas.......he just coloured in the whole thing!!!!

Be Safe,

Gags

Nice story! I shudder to think how many people had 'the other' ending.

Donga

Doesn't matter what you do, sometimes you just can't convince someone
that....they don't have to be there yesterday.... cause unfortunately it
cancels all braggin rights about the best time they made the trip at the
next barbie!!

DJ

asterope said:

in a few weeks time, i will have 3.5 months off uni... i usually go
absolutely bonkers during this time regardless of wether im working
full-time or not, so ive made some plans on what to do during this
time, and one of them concerns me taking a little bit of a holiday! (i
havent had a holiday in over 3 years, so im about due!)

Im going to bounce an idea off you all...

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap NP for a week of
trekking and tranquility. Meet a friend there that has driven there and
taken all the big stuff like tents and clothes and food (well, someone
has to do it!)
I know the road there is steep as anything and frequented by big
trucks, but i do recall that its got a pretty nice wide shoulder. (and
the scenery is to die for!)

so, the question is; is this a crazy idea? Im planning this for mid
february, so if i train and train and train and bust my a*se on hills
until then will i have a chance of making it there (its about 120kms
from brisbane)? its not the distance im worried about, its that HUGE
mofo mountain at the end of it!
has anyone ridden this route before?
should i put this off for a little while?

Thanks in advance 🙂

--
asterope

Haven't ridden it but we've run up it, it ain't so bad,
babe, just make sure you've got a nice big cog at the back,
or a nice small one at the front.

T

Donga said:

asterope said:

Thanks Donga 🙂
Might do some emailing when i get back from my ride... ive started
toying around with some routes on bikely, will post the route im most
likely to take when i decide which one it is!

I was thinking of doing this on the roadie, is it worth doing it on the
MTB? I didnt think there were any mtb trails out there so i didnt
consider it an option and just decided on walking around for a week
instead. I shall endeavour to find out... The possibility of trails and
a new mtb make this a bit more of a tempting break than it already is!

--
asterope

I used to weekly-commute Warwick-Brisbane. I've never seen a bike on
the Cunningham's Gap road, but every time I drove it, I thought about
riding it. It looks like a wonderful, long, moderately steep ride with
fine scenery, but the trucks might be a bit nasty and the motorists
could be impatient. Heavily trucked roads often have very bumpy
sections from the torque ripping up the tar - inlcuding the verge. So
I'd say, "Do it", but have your wits about you. I'm tempted to join
you.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Donga

If Donga joins you , you won't need good gearing, just a
nice strong occy strap...

asterope said:

in a few weeks time, i will have 3.5 months off uni... i usually go absolutely bonkers during this time regardless of wether im working full-time or not, so ive made some plans on what to do during this time, and one of them concerns me taking a little bit of a holiday! (i havent had a holiday in over 3 years, so im about due!)

Im going to bounce an idea off you all...

my plan... pack light and RIDE to cunninghams gap NP for a week of trekking and tranquility. Meet a friend there that has driven there and taken all the big stuff like tents and clothes and food (well, someone has to do it!)
I know the road there is steep as anything and frequented by big trucks, but i do recall that its got a pretty nice wide shoulder. (and the scenery is to die for!)

so, the question is; is this a crazy idea? Im planning this for mid february, so if i train and train and train and bust my a*se on hills until then will i have a chance of making it there (its about 120kms from brisbane)? its not the distance im worried about, its that HUGE mofo mountain at the end of it!
has anyone ridden this route before?
should i put this off for a little while?

Thanks in advance 🙂

If we tell you you're crazy to do it, isn't that all the encouragement you need? 🙂

I've never ridden that way, but with a few more longer rides of around 100km with hills like Nebo/Glorious, Mt Mee/Wamuran/Caboolture etc you'd get up there no worries. Just get the right gearing (whack a 12-27 cassette on) and plod up it like the other guys said. There may be more indirect routes that are more pleasant than the main highway that avoid all the trucks and traffic. Here's the route of the cunningham classic that goes from just outside Ispwich to Warwick. It's not as steep as the Gap.

bikely.comCunningham ClassicOpen ↗

I'm planning getting a few people together for a camping trip down at Canunga in the next few weeks, camp at the showgrounds, and do day rides up Tamborine & O'Riellys etc, if you feel like a bit of practice. Should be a broad mix of riding speeds.

Adam

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doesn't matter what you do, sometimes you just can't convince someone
that....they don't have to be there yesterday.... cause unfortunately it
cancels all braggin rights about the best time they made the trip at the
next barbie!!

DJ

Hey....you know how it works!!! We used to see how long it took from the
front gate of Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane to the front gate of Watsonia
Barracks in Melbourne (had to either have a passenger or witnesses for
departure and arrival times). It is about 1750km or so from memory. I once
managed Bris to Melb in 15h15min, dropped off a mate and rested for an hour
or so and then drove to Adelaide (24hr trip in total). I thought that none
of my mates would ever be able to beat the time between Bris and Melb but a
couple of years later a mate of mine did Melb to Bris in 12h30min in his
hotted up cortina. Absolutely insane.....said he sat on 180km/h for most of
the trip and from memory he ended up with a couple of speeding fines.

Those were the days.....young, stupid, no speed cameras in NSW.......

Fortunately I now know better and don't do any stupid trips like
that......can't anyway with two young kids in the car wanting to stop every
time the golden arches appear on the horizon.

Gags

Tamyka Bell said:

If Donga joins you , you won't need good gearing, just a
nice strong occy strap...

Or give him more of the shared gear {:-).

Tamyka Bell said:

Donga said:

asterope said:

Thanks Donga 🙂
Might do some emailing when i get back from my ride... ive started
toying around with some routes on bikely, will post the route im most
likely to take when i decide which one it is!

I was thinking of doing this on the roadie, is it worth doing it on the
MTB? I didnt think there were any mtb trails out there so i didnt
consider it an option and just decided on walking around for a week
instead. I shall endeavour to find out... The possibility of trails and
a new mtb make this a bit more of a tempting break than it already is!

--
asterope

I used to weekly-commute Warwick-Brisbane. I've never seen a bike on
the Cunningham's Gap road, but every time I drove it, I thought about
riding it. It looks like a wonderful, long, moderately steep ride with
fine scenery, but the trucks might be a bit nasty and the motorists
could be impatient. Heavily trucked roads often have very bumpy
sections from the torque ripping up the tar - inlcuding the verge. So
I'd say, "Do it", but have your wits about you. I'm tempted to join
you.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Donga

If Donga joins you , you won't need good gearing, just a
nice strong occy strap...

Maybe on the flat bits, not the hills! I'd be shopping for a 27!

Gags said:

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doesn't matter what you do, sometimes you just can't convince someone
that....they don't have to be there yesterday.... cause unfortunately it
cancels all braggin rights about the best time they made the trip at the
next barbie!!

DJ

Hey....you know how it works!!! We used to see how long it took from the
front gate of Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane to the front gate of Watsonia
Barracks in Melbourne (had to either have a passenger or witnesses for
departure and arrival times). It is about 1750km or so from memory. I once
managed Bris to Melb in 15h15min, dropped off a mate and rested for an hour
or so and then drove to Adelaide (24hr trip in total). I thought that none
of my mates would ever be able to beat the time between Bris and Melb but a
couple of years later a mate of mine did Melb to Bris in 12h30min in his
hotted up cortina. Absolutely insane.....said he sat on 180km/h for most of
the trip and from memory he ended up with a couple of speeding fines.

Those were the days.....young, stupid, no speed cameras in NSW.......

Fortunately I now know better and don't do any stupid trips like
that......can't anyway with two young kids in the car wanting to stop every
time the golden arches appear on the horizon.

Gags

Yep, young and stupid. Worked in Canberra. Girlfriend in Brisbane. Used to drive to Brisbane for the weekend. 1300km door to door. And then back again. Used to leave work on Friday evening and be in Brisbane for breakfast. I always drove at legal speed through towns but let loose on the open road. Got a few speeding fines. Biggest was for 196kmh from a NSW Highway Patrol guy who sat with me at that speed for about 15 minutes. (I think he was enjoying the high speed run more than he should have!). It was also in the days when fines in one state did not turn into loss of points in another. I am now a reformed character too - it's amazing what stopping to render assistance at a few bad motor vehicle accidents does to your thinking. Along with the realisation that driving so fast at night on country roads populated by kangaroos etc is bloody stupid.

SteveA

adam85 said:

If we tell you you're crazy to do it, isn't that all the encouragement you need? 🙂

I've never ridden that way, but with a few more longer rides of around 100km with hills like Nebo/Glorious, Mt Mee/Wamuran/Caboolture etc you'd get up there no worries. Just get the right gearing (whack a 12-27 cassette on) and plod up it like the other guys said. There may be more indirect routes that are more pleasant than the main highway that avoid all the trucks and traffic. Here's the route of the cunningham classic that goes from just outside Ispwich to Warwick. It's not as steep as the Gap.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Cunningham-Classic

I'm planning getting a few people together for a camping trip down at Canunga in the next few weeks, camp at the showgrounds, and do day rides up Tamborine & O'Riellys etc, if you feel like a bit of practice. Should be a broad mix of riding speeds.

Adam

Saying its crazy is definitely all the encouragment i'll need 😄
And Tam saying shes run up it is just phenomenal!!

if i get many more mountainous miles under my belt, do you think i could make it up there on a 12-25 with a triple (54-42-30) on the front? perhaps being a total woos and slapping a 12-27 on as well as the triple will ensure i can granny mode it all the way to the top.
im hoping to attempt mt glorious this sunday (most likely at the same speed as a drunk slug!) but if im low on time im just going to do the same ashgrove-samford loop i did last sunday, with that b*stard of a hill.

keep me posted about the camping trip adam, if im not working and there isnt a festival on that weekend, then i might come along 🙂