As I sit here in South Grafton waiting for the weather to change for the better yet again, I can't help thinking what an amzing trip this has been thus far. As I write, there it goes again, more rain. It has been like this for pretty much the whole trip, with the exception of a few days from Brisbane to Woodenbong, and it seems to be setting. But you get that!
The ride out of Woodenbong was nothing short of spectcular. The undulating hills and vibrant green pastures made the perfect backdrop to this awesome pedalfest.
Of course as you leave the small township of Woodenbong the only direction iss up. I had planned to stay at Tooloom Falls, but as described in the last blog I suffered a bad case of hamburgeritis and called it quits where I was. It was a good thing though beause after talking to one of the travelling greys (grey nomad) at the caravan park, Tooloom Falls had a decent amount of water across the causeway. It would have been difficult to get in, and especially out the other side. It is a shame though, I did want to see the falls and apparently they were in full flow.
After a little bit of road works I was well on my way for an area I had never been through. There is always something great about seeing an area for the first time, and being on a bike is just the icing on the cake.
After about an hour I started the climb. The climb is what I call the ride up into Yabbra State Forest. Now talk about spectacular, wow. The ride up was awesome, even though steep in parts it was more than rideable on the loaded bike. But once at the top, it was breathtaking. Tall gums reached high into the sky and blocked the sun's light completely from reaching the ground. I felt like an ant as I pedalled among the bases of these giants of time. I was so taken in by their impressiveness that I almost ran off the road...a couple of times.
I stopped for about half an hour at a rest stop just to take it in. One tree had been struck by lightening and no longer had a crown of branches at it's top. Instead a termite mound or other insect nest had taken shape. It resembled a street lamp out of the 1960's show Land Of The Giants.
After the rest stop it was pretty much down hill with only the odd exception. I am so glad I was heading south. Long downhill runs made for a day just cruising, spending more time brakng rather than pedalling. Rough patches on the road were soaked up by the Kona's sturdiness and surefootedness.
The road was also lonely, with hardly a sole travelling on it. Those that did were friendly and courteous and ackowledged me with toot, a wave and a smile. Maybe the smile was more a case of, "Look at this crazy bugger".
The geography continued on a downhill slope until I eventually reached the Bruxner Hwy. The Bruxner is a stretch of highway that runs between Lismore on the NSW Northern Rivers coast to the cental northern NSW town of Goondiwindi, then divides into The Bardon and Cunninghams Hwys.
I only had a short distance to travel on the Bruxner, and with no shoulder I was glad. I was able to stop and top up on water at a rest area on the intersection.
Back onto the Clarence Way it was now dirt...and rough. Even though earlier segmants had been rough, the now dirt section I was on made the Paris to Roubaix look like a walk in the park. Sections of it reminded me of my earlier trek down the Cololoola Way. Some sections had been freshly graded as I travelled downward, but they were still rough in the middle and soft on the edges. I found myself tacking across the surface looking for a decent surface like a sailboat across the water looking for a good breeze.
By now the land had levelled out. By levelled out I mean it was no longer a reasonably consistant downhill run. It was undulating and the downhills equalled the uphills. Actually, I think the uphills were winning.
I wanted to knock out one hundred kilometers for the day. Because I had stopped at Woodenbong instead of Tooloom Falls I was sixteen kilometers behind the eight-ball. But I knew I had well over one hundred to pedal out the following day as well. So my plan was simply, do more today equals doing less tomorrow.
It was now around 4:30 pm DST and I had planned to just keep riding until almost dark and camp off the side of the road. But the sky grew dark and the breeze that was, gave way to a very eery stillness. Even the birds had quietned. I saw the clouds building up to the west of me and thought to myself, "This doesn't look good", although hopeful that it would bypass me somehow. There was nothing I could do now. There were no shelters to run and hide in, I just had to keep riding and hope for the best.
Not much longer and a distant deep rumbling began, yes, thunder. I've said before that thunder doesn't worry me, and it doesn't. But what can come with it does! Not only was the sky very dark, it was 'green' dark and this can mean hail. I was also hitting some open plateaus and where there is thunder there is often lightning.
The wind started to build and the rain began, lightly at first, the odd big drop or two on the head. It gradually built up in intensity and it wasn't long before I was soaked through. Well and truly wet there was nothing I could do now.
Continuing on and the dark clouds giving the appearence of near night fall I began looking for a camp site. There were no designated free camps along here so stealth camping was on the cards. I was looking for a patch that was unfenced as I don't like camping on private property.
Around 6:30 pm I found a patch of grass that was off the road and reasonably out of sight, although hardly a car was seen. It was near a creek, scenic and up on a flattened mound that would keep me out of any run off. The storm had broken by now so it was peerfect timing.
I pulled over and got the tent set up. I leaned the bike up against a gate and covered it with a small tarpolin that I carry. After setting up, I got changed into some dry clothes, got my chair out and put the billy on to sit back and relax before dinner as the sun finally set. I no longer sat down, put the teabag in the cup and lit the stove and a few drops started again. "It'll pass", I thought and stayed put. BUT, it began to get heavier and it wasn't long before I was huddled in the tent with the stove just outside the tent boiling the billy.
I made my cuppa and sat in my little home away from home and waited for the rain to stop. Well, I waited and I waited and I waited. Nope...no reprieve tonight by the looks of it. I sat there with my little cooler bag full of salad stuff, nibbling on tomatoes, cucumber and carrots sipping my cuppa. That was dinner and with the rain set in it was time to enjoy the calming sound of it on the fly and settle in for the night. I laid back and thought I'd listen to a podcast, and that was as far as I got, thinking about listening to a.....
Cheers guys, and as always, ride safe.
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