Ellsworth Id

I haven't ridden this bike for almost a year, something that I plan to change in future. It's a beautiful thing to ride with full suspension, hydraulic disc brakes and a frame that is quite unusual, the cranks are set much higher than normal MTB frames, that gives good clearance for rocks and logs but raises the centre of gravity.

The bike was built from scratch, parts came from various suppliers in the USA and it was assembled in a friends garage in Austin TX. He did 70 % of the work, I did the rest and learned a lot. Worked out costing thousands of dollars less than the then retail price in Sydney.

It has had an interesting life, with rides in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado including the 12000 ft. Monarch Crest Trail way above the tree line and the classic 401 Trail near Crested Butte. 

The ride pictured is an easy out and back fire trail near Sydney.

Photos were taken with an iPhone 5 and a Blackberry Bold 9780.

More photos of the US. rides here.

Noosa National Park

Some of the best coastal scenery on the east coast of Australia, this small pocket of paradise has somehow managed to escape the damage done to the rest of the Sunshine Coast by sand mining in the 1960's and more recently uncontrolled residential development. 

This hike started at Sunrise Beach and finished before we got to the chaos of Hastings Street in Noosa. 10kms. one way and a good test for the heart, lungs and legs but worth it.

We found this tiny turtle struggling across the beach, very late in the day to attempt it but it had managed to evade the gulls, the waves kept pushing it back so we gave it a helping hand and took it out behind the shore break. Probably totally unbalanced the universe with our action.