Saturday, May 9, 2015

Postscript: Home Again

There was way more rain in coastal Queensland than I'd seen in the previous 3 months.  There was some severe flooding, though Peter and I mostly avoided it.

Peter and I spent one rainy day in Brisbane, just taking a walk in a park near his house between showers.  The next day, also rainy, we drove 3 hours north to visit Dave, a Hervey Bay cyclist I met years ago via an internet cycling list. In spite of the weather, we had a great visit with Dave and his family.  Dave took us on a tour by car along the coast, but the rain washed out the planned barbecue.  The sun was back for our drive back to Brisbane, so we stopped for a hike through dense forest to Kondalilla Falls. Later we stopped at the touristy town of Montville.

There was 200 mm (8 inches) of water in Peter's rain gauge when we got back to Brisbane.  Fortunately, he lives on a hill.

With dry, sunny weather, Peter led me on a couple short bike rides through the hills of Brisbane. On one of them, we rode past the Queensland Tennis Centre, which flooded a few years ago the day after the end of the Brisbane International tournament.

Peter suggested making a "dry run" by car to the airport, so we wouldn't get lost the next day, which gave me a chance to pick up a bike box.  The next day, with the sun in our eyes, we got lost anyway, but made it in plenty of time.  22 hours later, I was back in Madison.



The Final Tally (kilometers, 2,676 miles)


It was a great trip, with lots of great people along the way.  A special thanks to the folks who fed and/or put me up along the way: Ernie and Jan, Ian and Ruth, Steve and Alicja, Alf and Sharon, Kate and John, Dave and Coral, and, of course, Peter.