BurbleChaz

My tales of marsupial abundance from yesterday tempted the Less Obsessed One to come and play today. We went to the top car park for the first time. There's a tiny bit of tarmac with parking for a few cars, and a huge area of gravel with a firmly locked gate. Winter, you see. No one goes biking in winter.

I had airily promised the presence of kangaroos. After a quick hack down the competition trail without a sight, I was sanguine. After we'd done Red Gum and Middle trails, I was getting anxious. Then, as my promise was disintegrating with every revolution, I got lucky. As we came to the top of Hug trail, The Observer spotted a kangaroo thirty metres away. We stopped to take pictures. After a minute or two, as the bleeding from the eyeballs subsided (it's a long climb) we spotted more. Then some more. Soon, we were surrounded by them. It's amazing what happens when you stand still and quiet in a forest.

To cute to eat. Almost.

After we'd taken a few shots, we finished the climb back to the car. While others grabbed the long lens, I was let off the leash.

First, a quick warm-up, then a fast lap of the competition trail. 20'21". Ahem. Personal best. Smugness. Ignore the bit where I was thrown off the pedals and nearly stacked it at speed. No crash, no foul.

Then, after no break at all, a slow, easy recovery circuit. Gently up the hills. Sensibly down. Barely any bleeding from the eyeballs. At the end, I was ready to do it again, faster. 23'47". There's a lesson there. Not an inspiring one.

So I did another ten miles of singletrack at nosebleed pace. For the fun that's in it. And I promise no more kangaroo shots for a bit.