Today Wendy put her big girl pants on and tackled the hills of Toowoomba. The first 5 km into town are uphill, and Wendy gained a little more character today. It didn't help that the gear lever for the rear gears was not working so well, so she had to dismount on a couple of the hills and walk. She always said she was never too proud to push.
Anyway, our first stop was at Maccas for a coffee and something to eat to replenish the calories already burned. It was then onto East Creek Park where there were two memorials - Nashos (National Service) and Mothers' (not for mothers but for soldiers from the mothers). We then rode through Queens Park to the Cobb & Co Museum that housed a lot more than old Cobb&Co coaches. There was a science area and a colour area with displays designed by Questacon.
After the museum we went in search of a bike shop that could maybe fix Wendy's gear lever. We found one called iRide and the man was very helpful even though their workshop schedule was full until next week sometime. He took a screw out and sprayed some RP7/WD40 into the workings and a lot of red stuff came out (probably red dust from WA). Greg thought that maybe we could buy a new bike and leave this one with Rob to deliver to us next time he visited Burrum Heads. But stocks were limited; end of that idea. So the next shop was a Giant shop which did have two potential bikes, however, neither were suitable replacements as one was heavier and the other was of equal weight. So, Greg decided that a spot of bike maintenance was the order of the day once we got home.
We tried to find the Laurel Bank Park which is a sensory garden. We became a tad geographically embarrassed so decided to call it a day and head home. And whilst there were a few uphills, it was a predominantly down hill ride with a top speed of 55 km/h!
Lunch was had, then a rest, followed by bicycle maintenance; there was a lot of red dust in both gear levers. A short test ride confirmed that the gears were working better, but still not 100%. Perhaps they will get better with further use.
Wendy made a passion fruit fluffy pudding to take to dinner with her cousin Jen's (and Al) at their place. On arrival at their house, we were met with the mouth watering aromas of a roast lamb, which was delicious with rice, vege, and gravy. Al really loved the fluffy pudding, and we tried a bit of avocado icecream that Jen had made. Whilst you couldn't taste the avo, it did have ginger in it that you could taste. It was really good too. We sat and chatted for a while and caught up on their family story before saying our goodbyes. Thank you Jen and Al, for a wonderful family catch-up and the yummy food.
The wind has really picked up tonight, up to 35 km/h! At one stage, during the writing of this blog, we thought the van was going to do a Mary Poppins and take flight.
The old courthouse that is now a private residence
Old courthouse gardens
The old GPO and clock tower
TWB Technical College
Mothers Memorial park, made for the mothers of the Nashos
"Sorry" statement from PM Kevin Rudd
A really good Aboriginal painting
More dinosaurs here in TWB
Australian mantises and leaf-insects
The same picture viewed from different angles: green-ripe-over ripe
Whirlpool
Greg being re-charged
Cobb & Co carriages
Billy cart
Dog waiting for his treat from the baker
Cobb & Co Museum workshop
Novel bike rack
Just one of the many murals around TWB
Another clock tower
