Tumbulgum Rock

Today's original plan had been to link Wooyung with Ocean Shores via a dirt track. Unfortunately, yesterday's rain is likely to have turned that area into a bog, so I opted for something a bit closer to home. Tumbulgum Rock has always fascinated me when viewed from Farrants hill, basically because I had absolutely no idea what it was doing there. I'm still none the wiser on that, but at least I've managed a closer look at it.


Today's ride started in typical fashion with the usual ride down the coast and through Urliup. Today I was wondering just when the forecast rain was going to start, but somehow it just never quite happened. Parts of Urliup Road were quite boggy, which basically vindicated my decision to bail on Ocean Shores. Today I was almost grateful that the Blue Flame was off the road, the sturdier (and wider) tyres on The Blonde Assassin handled the mud a little better. I looped around after steadfastly avoiding Murwillumbah on Cane Road, and climbed Farrants Hill on Clothiers Creek road, for no reason other than I wanted a few more kilometres and this was a pleasant way to get them.

Eviron road descents from the modest heights of the Condong Range to the floor of the valley, where a tailwind pushed me all the way to The Rock. The recent rain has meant that nobody has been able to grow any sugar cane to try to obscure the views, but the two old farm houses at the base of the rock on either side suggested that climbing it was going to be extremely unlikely. This probably doesn't matter a great deal, as it isn't really high enough to generate any spectacular views. I'm planning on making up for that by climbing Bald Rock near Tenterfield later in the month.

All that was left now was the final climb of Tomewin to get home. Well, that wasn't quite all, I think the headwind on the coast slowed me down more than the mountain did. I have a habit of being rained on when I climb Tomewin, but inexplicably, this didn't happen today. It was a strange sort of day on the mountain, as I didn't seem to be climbing particularly well, yet I seemed to reach the summit faster than I thought I might. For all that, this wasn't a bad ride for it's length (a relatively modest 115km), and it might be a useful way to fill gaps in my riding calendar in the future -- assuming time allows me any more gaps in the future.