Toowoomba's biggest day

It is September, and the spring flowers are at their best. This is the season that puts the local gardens trees and flowers on the front page, and attracts a few thousand visitors to the city.
It has been a rough week weather wise, with consistent rain for days, but this morning, the day of the big parade at the peak of the "Flower Festival" it dawned clear and blue. The local Botanical Gardens were crowded.

A 4 year effort

Back in 2012, my old racing bike got close to its "use-by" date. The wheels, brakes, and gear system were in serious need of a major overhaul or replacement, and this meant the expense of a few hundred dollars.
I debated at the time whether I would get the use out of a new bike, but eventually convinced myself that I was perhaps worth it, and I managed to find a good deal on a new racer. It was a Chinese imitation of the popular brands, with a neat modern aluminium alloy frame with carbon fibre forks, and quite reasonable quality wheels and running gear, and it cost just $490.

This week is the 4th anniversary of that purchase, and I enjoyed my 268th training ride, and in that time, my trusty cyclometer has clocked up a total of 9040km.

Balloons

First there were 8 balloons, now 4 of them have crashed, including my own.
Who will be the last to fall?

Morning Blast Off

An early morning today to watch the SpaceX Falcon-8 rocket blast off from Cape Canaveral. It was actually late afternoon in Florida and the weather was near perfect. This was a critical launch because the previous attempt resulted in a monumental explosion soon after take-off.  But today was perfect and the cameras followed the rocket as it climbed through clear skies, with its 3.5 tonne payload bound for a rendezvous with the International Space Station in 2 days time.

The Big Rigs

Last year I took Ripley to the highway to watch the big trucks grinding their way down the Toowoomba range for the 4 kilos to the flat lands below.
Today it was Sammy's turn to have a look and check out the biggest of them. We were lucky because we saw a couple of 42 wheelers carrying big heavy loads down the hill in low gear.

Lunch at a Country Town

Every now and again we head outside or city, and venture to a nearby small town to test their midday menu. This time it was to Cambooya to the famous Bull and Barley hotel which is now well over 100 years old.  The menu was ordinary but the peaceful sunny day made up for it.

The town is not famous for much, but it is in the middle of some productive farm land, and the large grain silos stand as testimony to that.

The Clifton Fly-in

We spent a very pleasant morning at the Clifton Fly-in. They had in excess of 60 light aircraft of all shapes and sizes. Craig parked his Jabiru alongside of other aircraft from the local Lone Eagle Flying Club, plus the dozens of craft that had flown in for the day.