Back in business

Sunday's ride was memorable for several reasons. The flood conditions, the stunning scenery, the downpour that cooled me as I was riding over the last climb of the day, the fact that it was the first 200km day I've managed since October (a statistic I wasn't proud of), but most of all, it was just good to be back on the bike riding long distances again. I've missed it, the physical challenge, the psychological battle of both planning the ride and staying motivated to complete it, and the treat to the senses that comes from the changes in scenery over the course of 207km.

I stared by heading south along the now customary route via Urliup to Murwillumbah. That dirt road is one of the great survivors at a time when every other road in the vicinity has been sealed, yet it was almost washed away by the previous day's downpour, although the flood waters had receded considerably since the rain ceased -- this time the road was only submerged in two places. South of Murwillumbah I headed over the relentless hills toward Burringbar, where the wisdom of my route choice became apparent.

I was headed for Mullumbimby to ride a loop of the Coolomon Scenic Drive, terrain I hadn't covered in almost nine months. I passed more floodwaters along the way, before the long climb out of Mullum, which was greeted with sweeping views over Cape Byron and surrounds. There was a sadder aspect of the ride. True Wheel Cycles, the iconic little bike shop in Mullumbimby appears to have closed it's doors and cleared it's shelves. It was here that last year I found a touring bike that I wanted to buy, it was also here that I obtained some valuable information about rides in the Byron Hinterland. I'd like to think they've merely relocated, but I'm not sure.


I really started to hit the wall at the top of the Coolomon ridge, probably a result of going too fast early in the ride. Either way, I had to seriously ease back the pace for the return to Mullumbimby and the ride home, including the climb over Mt Jerusalem National Park on dirt roads. I actually started to recover a little, but the main obstacle here was the fact that the road between Mullumbimby and Uki was flooded in EIGHT places.

I negotiated the flooding, and continued on my way. Actually, the climb into the National Park once I hit the dirt wasn't terribly cut up. However, the ride across the ridge and the descent on the other side more than made up for that. I was actually here a couple of weeks ago for a weekend "tour" in the rain, but this downpour appears to have absolutely overpowered what happened that weekend. On the other hand, the fact that the sun was actually shining on this day gave it a much different perspective.


After Uki it was a simple 55km ride home -- simple if I could negotiate the final climb of Tomewin. It was actually made slightly more complicated in another respect. The wind, which had been from the South all day, decided to blow from the North for the next 20km, meaning I would be against it for the balance of the ride home. This could have been a problem, but on this occasion, it had a reason. Just as I started to climb the 11% section of Tomewin, the heavens opened up and provided a stunning downpour. All of a sudden my concerns about the heat were washed away as clouds and rainbows came out to play.

One particular rainbow came out on the mountain and stayed with me all the way back to the suburb of Palm Beach in the urban area. By the time I was back in suburbia, the wind was blowing from the South again, so I managed to mop up the last few kilometres relatively quickly. This had been a long day by the time I got home, but it was worth it. After the last couple of weeks, it was a fitting day to return to form, and the downpour at the end capped off a remarkable day. The hardest part now is going to be trying to pick from the many places I have to ride.