Up at 5:30 this morn and got to the train station at 6:45am. Get the 6:51 train to Ipswich and then the 7:05 to Rosewood and then back via Haigslea and Fernvale.

A couple of minutes after I arrived, a young guy on the other platform shouted that the trains had stopped due to a power outage. I checked my phone and sure enough he was right. I had fifteen minutes to get into Ipswich Central, which is only two stops on the train, however on the bike I might be in trouble.

When I arrived at the station the guard told me to go to platform 3 and they blew the whistle just as I got to the platform, luckily they held the train for me and I was on my way. My breakfast was not very happy at being jostled around so much and so it was good to just to sit on the train for 30 minutes to recover and let my stomach begin its job.

I never paid my 50c ticket this morning so I sneaked off the train, I was the only passenger anyway and I don’t think anyone was too concerned. It’s not that I didn’t want to pay it’s just that it was all a rush at Ipswich and I forgot.

It was only 24C this morning and it was very pleasant, there was even a bit of cloud cover which kicked in from time to time on the way back. I like Rosewood; it has a nice vibe about it. I took a new route today, first to Mt Morrow and then Haigslea which took me across the Warrego highway and onto Fernvale along some lovely country roads. This route was not as challenging as the Marburg road but the ride is quite a bit longer.

When I arrived at Fernvale I was thinking of coffee and then I thought that my stomach might not appreciate a double shot Latte at this point in time so I looked for a place to refill my water bottle instead. There is a Bike Hub/Information block where filtered water was on offer and free charging for you E-Bike is you have one. I stopped for 10 minutes and then joined the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) The trail started as a concrete path but soon turned to dirt on the outskirts of Fernvale. The path for the most part was fairly well graded although there was a bit of erosion and ruts due to the storms and there were quite a few dead trees fallen by the path which I guess have been tidied up.

The gravel section lasted for around 20 KM I imagine, before we entered civilisation once more and the smooth concrete beckoned. For most of this patch I was escorted by Butterflies, Dragon Flies, and numerous small birds and I got whacked by a Cicada. For most of the trail the cicadas played their symphony drowning out everything but my thoughts.

When I got to Brassall and back on the concrete my legs were beginning to complain and I was dropping into very low gears to keep my cadence high, but I knew I didn’t have far to go to the Jasper Café where I could recharge with Latte and Danish.

The café is less than 5KM from home, however there are two hills to navigate and thankfully my legs held strong and I did not have too much trouble. When I got home I sat out the back and drank the remains of my water and felt remarkably ok.

Just under 60 KM from rosewood today but if you count my ride to the Ipswich station this morning I would have done about 64Km in total.

I ordered a Pizza, got changed and the rest is history. Pizza was delicious, 30 min siesta and after several cups of tea I feel grand. Mind you I will be having a lazy day tomorrow……