Beware tours with the two letters Mt. in the title. The planet web site description of the Mt. Gravatt & Hibiscus tour may say ‘mostly flat with the occasional gentle rise and fall’ but Mt. sets little alarm bells ringing. A new found knowledge of train station platform elevations reveals that the tracks at Southbank station (just behind the starting point for the tour) are 14 meters above sea level. A quick search on the electric internet shows that the summit of Mt. Gravatt is 195 meters above sea level. Okay, as mountains go, it is hardly Everest; in fact it’s more of a hill with attitude, but as I have said before, strap eight little wheels to your feet and your whole perspective on a wide range of subjects changes dramatically. Whether it is the force of the wind, the distance you have travelled, or in this case, the steepness of the hills you are climbing, skating gives you a new insight into your surroundings. Would the description ‘mostly flat’ ring true by the end of the day? Only one way to find out …..

At 1pm on the south side of the Goodwill Bridge, Lyndal sat alone looking at her watch and wondering if anyone else was going to turn up. The massed throng of people milling about was the giveaway to the absence of other skaters. A football match had sucked up all the available parking spaces for miles around and meant that a one o’clock start was looking extremely optimistic. Lyndal, feeling slightly under the weather, was going to be the designated driver for the tour and wasn’t actually going to be taking part in the skating element. A major feature of the days skate involved an hour at the Hibiscus Gardens skate park. For people wanting to make use of this facility Lyndal had, rather bravely, agreed to transport their aggressive skates and extra padding in her car. While this does not sound like a particularly brave act, a quick whiff of the assembled pile of skates and pads revealed an upholstery rotting aroma that would instantly knock thousands of dollars off the resale value of any car. The misery of a bunged up nose suddenly had great appeal as Lyndal watched the pile of kit build up on her back seat.

By ten past one there was still no sign of Bruce and as he was going to be leading the tour, this was a bit of a worry. A phone call revealed that he too could find no where to park and was currently over at West End and in the process of skating back to Southbank. He duly arrived with Dave and everyone was assembled, almost. Jo, who was on her way, was having a minor problem with the locks on her car but this was duly solved and she too arrived, dumped her skates on the now sagging back seat of Lyndal’s car and we were all ready for the off.

A strong feeling of deja-vu swept over the group as we headed out towards the Western Freeway bike path. After only a few minutes, we came to the drainage ditch that had provided much entertainment on the Black and Blue tour. Bruce immediately halted proceedings and challenged Dave to a jumpathon. Dave readily agreed and soon the two of them were leaping the gap in a single mighty bound (like Superman with wheels). Russell looked on with a contemplative expression. It was only a six foot gap, concrete on both sides, a good run up, how hard could it be? He definitely looked like he was on the verge of giving it a go when Bruce declared that he had had enough, Dave made one last scrabbling run back and we were on our way.

It wasn’t long before we encountered the big hill alongside the Western Freeway. On the way out, the up portion seems less gruelling than on the way back. Maybe this is because you have expended more of your energy reserves on the way back or maybe because the hill is short but steep on the way out whereas the climb is gentler but longer on the way back. Either way, the climb to the top wasn’t too bad and the run down the other side was fast and fun.

After a quick stop at a service station to top up our sugar levels we were soon arriving at the Hibiscus Gardens Sports Complex ready to make full use of the excellent Skate Park facility. I must admit, not having done this tour before and reading the tour description, I had assumed Hibiscus Gardens was going to be a large grassy park with children’s play areas, people enjoying the sunshine and eating barbeque. It is actually a large council run sports complex and home of the Queensland Firebirds state netball team. Oh well, you live and learn.

Those people wanting to use the skate park facility purchased tickets and the nice lady behind the counter wavered the $2.35 fee for anyone else wanting to spectate. Participants included Bruce, Dave, Jo and Russell. They got kitted up, and began performing a whole host of tricks, jumps and turns all of which have technical names and none of which I am overly familiar with. It was all very impressive and made for a good show. The hour soon passed and it was time to turn round and head for home.

The skate back passed without incident as we reversed our route. The climb up the hill along the Western Freeway did indeed seem steeper and the run down the other side shorter. Before long, we were back at the drainage ditch and once more Bruce could not resist ‘having a go’. Joined by Dave the two of them began leaping back and forth clearing the gap easily. A concerned passer-by did ask if we had a mobile phone and thinking she was in some kind of trouble, everyone instantly produced their phone. ‘That’s good’, she replied, ‘because if you fall down there you are going to need one’. Bruce, being the responsible one in the group, replied ‘It’s okay, we’re professionals’!

Russell finally decided he could stand by and watch no longer. He had to try the jump for himself. After removing his i-pod he skated over to a point that would give him the maximum possible run up. Everyone looked on with a collective holding of breath. Fully protected (well he did have wrist gauds on) he made a furious run towards the ditch. Inches from the edge he propelled himself upwards in a mighty lunge and cleared the gap with miles to spare. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief before wondering if he would make it back so easily. As it turned out, Bruce advised him that crossing the bridge back would be a better option than trying a jump. Russell agreed and trudged up the bank to the bridge before picking his way back round.

We skated the short distance back to Lower River Terrace and prepared to make our separate ways home. Bruce boldly declared he would skate back to his car but an offer of a lift from Dave, although initially refused for about a millisecond, was gratefully accepted. We all said our goodbyes and left after an enjoyable afternoons jumping and sk8ing.