Jeff S has come through again and put together a cracking video from Brian P’s Summer Slam 2008. Check it out.

Brian was a freestyle BMXer back in the day and never raced. From the sounds of it he is having a great time jumping on an old school BMX and lining up on the start gate as part of the old school BMX race series held in New Jersey, USA. He finished fourth overall for the series which is a great result considering he had only raced one before (last year) in his life and also missed one of the race meetings. Well done mate.

Although it was only one of the shorter drives of the trip at about four hours, the boredom was starting to set in. I always try to have a point and shoot camera handy so while I was driving from Maleny to Bargara I took a couple of shots from behind the wheel. The first one was supposed to show the length of the straight I’d just driven but the exposure didn’t quite work out as planned with the darkness of the inside of the car. Anyway, you can see how much space my Campillo takes up. Second one is showing just how flat it is up this way. The photo doesn’t do it justice as I couldn’t get any wider with the shot. Full of sugar cane for miles and miles.

Day one of riding was a huge one for me. Normally it’s only a couple of parks in a day, however, with only one day in Sydney we tried to fit in as much as possible. I was staying with Bruce and his family and after the kids were packed up and sent off to school we headed out for breakfast for a bit of carbo loading and hit up a few parks. First up was a nice mellow one at Cherrybrook where we also caught up with Rohan. Once we had warmed up it was off to Thornleigh where I pulled out the camera for a few shots.

Next up was Five Dock and after looping out of a jump I decided to take it a bit easier on the first day of the trip. As I’m travelling solo I need to be able to drive and having driven before with a broken collarbone, I know things like that are not fun. Bruce was having a bit of fun out of the bowl whilst Rohan was doing toe wheelies and I just sat around.

There was also a guy about our age with plenty of style on an old school skateboard. I ran out of fingers trying to add up the combined ages of the people riding and skating there. It was my first time there and I now have an even greater appreciation for Coasty’s Five Dock photo. That old bowl is insane.

Next up was Monster Skatepark at Homebush. Also my first visit to the Sydney 2000 Olympics site. Bruce and I had the ramps to ourselves which was sweet. The camera stayed in the car. A few slams here and there but we both walked away having pulled off a few things on the list. A bruised ankle and elbow was a small price to pay although our old bodies were starting to feel it by the end.

A quick stop at Bruce’s to pick up his two boys and it was off to Castle Hill BMX track for a midweek gates session. By this time I wasn’t moving that well and with major works in progress at the track and the final surface to to be laid down it was pretty rough. I spent more time sitting and watching some of the guys on their dirt jump mountain bikes that were more suited to the track. Should be a great one once it is finished.

Last year whilst spending a couple of weeks in Hawaii I made the decision to escape Melbourne during winter 2008. Some work projects came to an end and I no longer had the excuse of needing to stay in Melbourne. A house sitting gig was organised for early August. It was then delayed until early September so whilst I technically left for this trip on the second day of spring, knowing I was getting out made the winter a bit more bearable.

Like so many of the holidays I have been on, I’ve left Melbourne in really crappy weather. Guess it’s only fitting as when I moved to Melbourne in 1992 I arrived to really crappy weather. Sitting in the car in the driveway and looking through the rain at the morning peak hour traffic definitely put a smile on my face. Just thinking of all the poor people heading into the office jobs to battle clients all day made the thought of the nine hour drive seem like a dream.

After a quick stopover in Sydney, photos to come shortly, I arrived in Coolangatta on Thursday night. What was the weather like? Pissing down so much that part of the drive was at 40 kilometres an hour because visibility was so poor. The next day looking at Kirra beach wasn’t much better but at least I was out of the jeans and long sleeves. Rain and warm is much better than rain and cold.

I then settled into the house I’ll be staying at for the next couple of weeks. It is in Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of Queensland. Can’t see another person and all I can hear is the birds and other wildlife. Bit worried about the big-arse lizards in the yard but as long as they keep to themselves I’ll be fine. The local wildlife also held a welcoming party on the roof of my bedroom on the first night. Fortunately they didn’t front up for a double header the next night. The final photo is my main office for the next couple of weeks. Other offices will be at the local skateparks, beaches and anywhere else I feel like going. Yes, life is good.