Riding towards the rainbow

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Tour de Dave’s Group 1, headed towards Mt Lindsay on day 2. In perfect formation, natch.

Just back from the Tour De Dave. My second one, I think Dave has run this ride maybe five times.

This edition went:

  • Graceville to Beaudesert (via Kalbar)
  • Beaudesert to Casino (including the lovely lovely ride over the Mt Lindsay highway).
  • Casino to Murwillumbah
  • Murwillumbah to Graceville (by various means, by including the Border Range, via Natural Arch)

About 25 participants, led by Dave Clarke himself, and the irrepressible Les ‘Legs’ Hewett. We were divided into three groups, and I was fortunate enough to go in Group 1. The good thing about that was I knew that the first group were all about doing the ride together, and aside from big climbs, the group would work well together.

So that when I looked around Group 1 and saw that just about everyone was stronger than me, I wasn’t too alarmed. A rising tide lifts all boats (good cliche, that one), so I would get the benefit of being in the fastest group, and my ride wouldn’t probably be as hard as if I was having to take a lead role in a slower group.

And it turned out pretty much like that. Our ride was almost incident-free, and yet entirely memorable. Group 1 was a well-oiled machine just about straight away, taking turns and keeping a rock-steady rhythm for the whole four days. We were like the Oscar Peterson trio with ‘Relentless’ Ray Brown on bass. Drivin’ it on all day, and yet relaxed and comfortable and in the groove.

So that was the most fun. Just to feel my legs getting better and better as the days wore on. Just to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, and the cool mornings, and the crisp Northern Rivers air. Just enjoying the mateship (I know that’s a blokey word and our group did have a female member, and camaraderie fits almost as well, but pffffft, Sally feels like a mate to me) of the peloton.

At the end of a long first day on the road, our bunch kicked over the last hills on the Boonah-Beaudesert Road. Ahead of us lay our destination, obscured by a light grey rain cloud.

And a perfect semi-circle rainbow, so clear, so distinct that you could count every colour.

Les and I were on the front of the bunch, and it seemed to us that what would happen next was that we were so close that we would ride under the rainbow, and possibly then into some mystically altered universe in which Beaudesert was transformed into a wonderland of peace, tranquillity and unicorns. And puppies.

We didn’t. It wasn’t.

But the rainbow was still pretty damn special.

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