April 27, 2024
Day 9: Yarrabilba to Brisbane
. . .after a milestone parkrun
Who'd have thought that the prospect of riding alongside motorways today would bring a smile to our faces? Especially given our experiences on the roads thus far in Queensland.
But let's go back to this morning's very early start: a 6.30am departure to ride 15 minutes to Yarrabilba parkrun. We checked this ride out last night, while foraging for dinner. The ride is delightful - and, in our experience, definitely the best cycle journey to a parkrun ever. The Yarrabilba rail trail takes us through neatly-managed wilderness on concrete paths the 4-odd km to the starting point. And then, after ticking off my parkrun alphabet and enjoying coffee and breakfast, we bike back to our Air BnB and give ourselves a couple of hours of rest, writing and relaxation before loading the bikes ready to ride to Brisbane.
This is the last day of touring on this trip. We'll have a couple of days in the city, and hopefully will feel like a bike ride on the Brisbane River cycle paths at some stage before packing the bikes up.
Today though, we farewell the BnB family and embark on the unknown. Bruce, the Navman, has pored over his chosen route, using Google Earth to check for cycle lanes on the busy roads we'll encounter - but he can't be sure what will turn up.
What I am sure will not turn up are photo opportunities. I've had enough of recording busy traffic scenes; you will have seen it all before. So no more for the moment.
As it happens, the first half of the ride is not too bad. There are lanes at times, there's the emergency grass verge and some off-road paths. It takes us a couple of attempts but around the 25km mark, we locate the start of a bike path alongside the Pacific Motorway. And not just any bike path but a smooth concrete, double-laned path. The motorway takes vehicles all the way into Brisbane city. Dare we hope that this inviting path will do the same for us?
It does. And it brings a smile to our faces. You've got to look for joy sometimes . . and today we find it riding beside a motorway.
Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 431 km (268 miles)
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