Introduction

Cycle Queensland is an annual event that was only in it's second year this year. It started in 2002 with a ride between Bundaberg and Brisbane. It is basically the Queensland Event of the NSW Big Ride and Bicycle Victoria Event.

This years ride was between Warwick (South West of Brisbane) to Gympie (North of Brisbane) via Caloundra (on the Sunshine Coast) for a rest day. The rest day was on Thursday so the bulk of the riding was over by this time.

I decided to do this ride after I enjoyed doing the NSW Big Ride in March 2003, however, unlike my attempt on the NSW Big Ride by Unicycle, I decided that it would be more enjoyable to do this on two.

The Route

Day/Date	Start	Finish	Distance
Day 1 - August 30th 2003	Warwick	Clifton	46.83 km
Day 2 - August 31st 2003	Clifton	Toowoomba	70.44 km
Day 3 - September 1st 2003	Toowoomba	Esk	81.81 km
Day 4 - September 2nd 2003	Esk	Woodford	83.52 km
Day 5 - September 3rd 2003	Woodford	Caloundra	68.33 km
Day 6 - September 4th 2003	Rest Day		0.00 km
Day 7 - September 5th 2003	Caloundra	Kenilworth	89.24 km
Day 8 - September 6th 2003	Kenilworth	Kin Kin	79.67 km
Day 9 - September 7th 2003	Kin Kin	Gympie	32.84 km

Photo Gallery

Conclusion

Considering that this is Bicycle Queensland's second attempt at a ride like this I think that they did a good job. The NSW Ride has 13 years experience behind it and you can see the difference that it makes. Cycle Queensland didn't have as many volunteers but those that were there were fantastic. Many of the towns that we passed through weren't aware of the cash injection that a ride like this can mean to the town, they didn't put as much of as an effort as some of the NSW Towns have. This will change in years to come once Cycle Queensland gets a good reputation.

When I looked at doing this ride, I was planning on doing it as a one off, but after such an enjoyable time and meeting a lot of great people I am considering doing next years as well. It is 12 months away so I am not sure what will happen over the next 12 months.

From this ride I would like to thank.

1. My Aunt and Uncle - They gave me a place to stay for a few days before and after the ride and were also kind enough to give me a lift to the Start and a pickup from the Finish.
2. Cycle Queensland - For a well organised fantastic ride.
3. The Volunteers - Without the Volunteers this ride would not be possible to do for the current price, these guys are great, they give up a week of their time so we can have a great week.