Gran Foodo - She Spoke Style. By Kachina Cullen Always keen to keep the wheels turning after starting my riding journey earlier this year, and mostly because I have been bitten by the cycling bug, I eagerly signed up for a fun weekend with the She Spoke Cairns girls as part of the Atherton Bikefest. A weekend of fun celebrating cycling for the whole community to participate, enjoy and just have fun. The Atherton Bikefest coincides with Tastes of the Tablelands and is a great weekend away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. There is so many events to choose from for the whole family it’s hard to decide. One of the many highlights over the weekend is the Gran Foodo. You have the option of riding 50km or 100km, eating and repeating. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day of riding, eating and repeating whilst soaking up the beautiful countryside of the Atherton Tablelands with a great group of friends! I didn’t really know what the ride entailed, but I knew it involved riding and food over 50km or 100km options. I was sold. Counting down the days, like a little kid waiting for their birthday or Christmas, I kept updated on the event as it drew closer and I was super keen to know where we would be riding. The moment the map of our route was uploaded I cried. (Not literally). Hills, hills and more hills. Hills are a weakness of mine that I am still trying to own, and I hoped I had the mental strength to conquer & own them. I could not get away from work quick enough Friday afternoon as my whole weekend involved riding. The ride began from Rainforest Bounty just out of Malanda. Rainforest Bounty is a culinary school utilising locally grown native fruits in traditional recipes. This place is situated in a stunning part of the Tablelands. I was not aware this place existed. Driving out there early that morning it was going to be a cracker of a day & those hills I love so much greeted me with delight. Oh crap, I have to ride this. During the riding brief, as with all riding briefs, all the significant details were highlighted and the importance of safety on the roads especially any main roads. When it came to the map and where we would be going, they had kindly made sure the distance would read 100km and not 97.1km. That explains some of the squiggly bits on the map. The km’s matter. I was also in the middle of doing the Great Cycle Challenge for the month of October, riding to raise money for kids with Cancer, so every kilometre I pedalled counted. The road leading into Rainforest Bounty was very gravelly, and as the majority of the riders had road bikes, we had to backtrack to the bitumen. Cars lined the side of the roads, taking every available space we could to unload and begin our journey. With tickets for our food stops, trusty map so we didn’t get lost, and end up down yonder, and the list for the Instagram treasure hunt, we were ready. She Spoke was ready to own the day. Our first route took us back up Glen Allyn Road and down along Hillcrest Road which is quite scenic. There was no warming up before you hit the first lot hills. You just saddle up and start pedalling because you know once you get moving, it was going to be a great ride and the weather was perfect. Hills come at me. And to top off the day ahead of us, I was blessed with riding a sweet as roadie on loan and an awesome group of chicks. What more could a girl ask for?! Rolling up and down along the quiet back roads just out of Malanda that were filled mostly with farms, you soak up the solitude and picturesque scene that surrounds you. It was nice to hear only our wheels on the road, the girly chatter amongst us and the sounds of life on the farm. No sirens or peak hour traffic. Just us and the road. Rolling into Malanda we lined up for our first food break at the Malanda bakery. Here you could see all the riders out there taking pics for the Instagram challenge trying to get the best pic for the prize. As I had not really made the effort to have a good breakfast since I knew my tummy was being taken care of today, the Anzac biscuits & quiches went down just nicely. Load it up. Leaving Malanda, heading out for the second phase of our ride, we thought we knew where we were going, following our trusty map, until it was realised we missed the turn off back a few km’s. Once back on track we pedalled our way up and down the back roads of Malanda which led us to the back of Peeramon. If you know Peeramon you know this area can be hill central. This could be interesting. I was determined to ride every kilometre for today but I will be straight up honest and admit it didn’t take me long to opt out at the mammoth hill that awaited us. As described to us, by other riders who had just faced it, it was a hill that was straight up. Nope. I reckon I could easily bypass that one. Some eager members of our group gladly took on this section of the ride. They took one for the team. Rolling into Peeramon at the famous pub for our second food stop, the weather was quite warm so nothing hit the spot better than an icy cold drink followed by a bacon & egg Focaccia. That went down way too well. Fuelled and refreshed it was time to move on. Our next stop was the Gillies roadhouse, a short distance away. Working together as a team on a main stretch of road, we rolled into our next stop at the Gillies Roadhouse soon enough. Still full from Peeramon, I hydrated up, signed off and away we went. After leaving the Gillies Roadhouse I was quite excited to ride through the rainforest leading into Lake Eacham. Being surrounded by the sounds of the rainforest I find quite calming. And as we scooted past Lake Eacham the water was enticing. Not today. Our next food stop was at Butcher’s Creek. This leg of the journey was where I knew the hills would challenge me. You know that point where your quads are literally on fire begging for mercy but you have to ignore the tantrums and just keep pedalling no matter how fast or slow you go. The beauty of riding on the Tablelands is that the hills are not a constant grunt that seems like an eternity like Alexander Range at Cape Tribulation. They are short and can be sharp at times, there is just lots of them so you do get a short spell to catch your breath ready for the next one. The best thing to remember is that what goes up must come down. Oh boy are those down hills an awesome thrill. I have to say the support within our group is absolutely amazing. These awesome chicks are our pack leaders for She Spoke and these girls are always encouraging and supportive. If any of us struggled at all they were there to assist along the way no matter the pace. I couldn’t have asked for a better pack to ride with today. As we pedalled our way through farming sections along Russell Road & Topaz road, towards our next food stop at Butchers creek, we would meet other riders doing the 50km. Some of these riders were kids with their parents out there giving it a go. What troopers. As you ride past them they would have big smiles on their faces as you gave them words of praise and encouragement as they slug it out up the hill. Meanwhile you’re dying on the inside because your legs are screaming at you. Pulling up at our second last food stop for the day at Butcher’s creek community hall, the food we were given hit all the right places. Fresh fruit salad with yoghurt from Mungalli. Yummo! The last stretch back to base followed back down Glen Allyn road towards our final destination. This was the home stretch. Not having a clue where I was exactly, I just followed the leader hoping they knew where they were going. As we were nearing the last stop I looked up and saw some bloody stinky hill that I didn’t really want to ride but knew I had to and would ride. I was just starting to get to that cranky phase of the ride. Mentally preparing myself for what lay ahead, we rode up over the last crest and were met by our vehicles. Thank god. Funny thing is though, we rode up that bloody stinky hill that very morning. Fifth food stop Rainforest Bounty where lunch was served sitting near the fresh running creek that runs through the property. It was so good to be back and to take my shoes off. Running creek at Rainforest Bounty Today was a big accomplishment for some as they had never ridden a distance like this let alone all those hills. I admire how they kept going and achieved all the way. Me, I have ridden some big km’s but it was the distance of constant hills that was an accomplishment for me.