Tweed Coast Treadly

I’ve had the shogun commuter returned via Jeff on his way home today. I’ve had to work back until after 1800 the last 3 nights and wanted to get at least one commute in this week. So tomorrows the day. Meant to be mild easterly in the morning and a hot tail wind for the ride home.

Each arvo this week the family including the dogs have been getting a short 4km Skateboard, ride and run to the end of the road. The only one of us to take it easy was little legged Jessie sitting in the front basket after a distance of 500 meters not bad for a 13.5 year old tubby little dog. The temps have been a pleasant 28°C and slightly cloudy to match with a weak southerly.  

The excessive heat finally starting to show signs of releasing it’s grip has shown in the number of cyclists appearing on the Tweed coast cycleways. shame that most of who see fit to disregard the mandatory NSW helmet law. The police if they cared to would have a field day. I have not heard of anyone being prosecuted once, twice etc

Started out this morning as Mark arrived at 7:00am to pick me up first, but the other rider had pulled out… So off we go, then the mobile rings, my helmet and gloves are on the table at home! So we do a U’ey and pick it up, thanks Joy.

start finish line

We passed through Cudgera and Stokers on the way to the top of Smiths Road. Park. Pull out the bikes from the van and kit up. From here it was away and up up up.

We rode through to what seemed the end of North Chowan Road. A wide cleared,  short grassed, vehicle turning area. Mark had arrived ahead of me, as usual, and had parked his bike and taken off on foot on a narrow track up toward the summit. I didn’t know which way he had gone but If I was going to take the upper track I was not going to come back for the bike just in case it went to where we wanted to go ie South Chowan Road.

The easyclimb of North Chowan Road

By jingoes what a climb I had managed to get  about 100 meters before Mark met me on his return. He said it continued but got a lot worse before it got to the top… decision go on we had been in a similar position at the top of Burringbah Hill. So carry, shove and slip our way to the summit at times it felt as though we were climbing a cliff face. At one point there was a  rocky outcrop that served as a lookout to the West and North. images here

Looking North from the lookout

Looking West from the lookout

Looking southwest from the lookout

At another point closer to the summit we looked to the East through the trees and saw a few Norfolk Island pines at the coast and a great expanse of ocean further into the distance, we assumed they might be near Wooyung (with the cleared rural land away from the coast behind them) at this point we were at an elevation of 500m and just about at the top. There was a 100 meters of relative flat at the summit and it was here that we started to hear the sounds of two stoke motors breaking our shared silence. It turned out to be a miss-a-turn-off trail-bike rider. He passed by giving a nod, with us lifting our bikes off to the side of the track. On his return I stopped him and asked if we were on the right track to South Chowan Road. Yes and we had just climbed “Impossibles“. Where few, if any, trail-bike riders can climb or descend the track due to the number of rock ledges crossing the track. So perseverance paid off.

impossibles image here

Looking Up at the begining of impossibles

Looking Down from the middle of impossibles

The decent was not as difficult to negotiate as the Northern ascent but still involved two wheel semi-controlled skidding in the trail-bike churned gravel, ruts and rocks. In places you couldn’t even do this and stepping off the bike we were sliding in a nearly controlled way. After all this we reached South Chowan Road Yeah! Here a new decision was made to NOT return the way we had come as we had planed (too much time already used up and my knee!) ,  we were now going to return via UKI and Smiths Road hill which would require a final 15.5% climb to the van. More later on that…

Now for the South Chowan Road descent through the forest and then onto the vehicular section. At the base of the valley where a couple of creeks? merge there we found a well known swimming hole and waterfall completely deserted (A sunny Spring Sunday and everywhere sitting at 32 ° C????).

Cooling Off at the valley on South Chowan Road

We cooled of with a bit of face and head splashing and returned to the climb to Manns Road. After reaching the dusty gravel road we were to ride to Hell’s Hole but I piked thinking my knee would not hold out for the return to the van, what a woose! So we road to the exit of the Mount Jerusalem National Park and then along the freshly re-sealed Rowlands Creek Road. Reaching UKI we had a look through the now packing up market and pooled our money to get a sandwich for Mark and a sweet iced coffee for me at the now for-sale Cafes. During the stop I noticed how swollen my left knee was and also how painful it was becoming.

Anyway we jumped back onto the bikes noting the sore arse syndrome from the sit.

Then it was only a matter of the 7 kilometres to the van to go. Including that hill. Which to my utter surprise I was able to slowly grind up. Pat on my back!

Better images are viewable at ChrisL’s site.

Oh yeah nearly forgot:- 30.5kms total distance, 824 meters climbing and descent taking a total with stops of 6 hours. Nice way to spend a warm Spring Sunday,

thanks Mark

chowan actual ride route

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I’ve been following  OzCableGuy’s progress for quite a while now.

I am not one to have planned exercise in any organised way at any time during my life, no training, no workouts, no sessions etc. Not that I did no exercise to the contrary I saw SURFING and WORK as exercise, move this here, carry this, dig this etc. Growing older has seen a slow down and change in work patterns, brain rather than brawn. Now sees me at a stage of life where I am neither fit nor healthy as a result! and never will be young again so it is unlikely that I will be able to change these things quickly nor practically. It took time to get to where I am now and it will take more time to get where I would like to (should?) be, not just effort.

I still, through stupidity, smoke cigarettes. Stress and weakness come to mind as feeble excuses? But I have found one way to drop a few kilos and increase my fitness over the last few years… although it might not be possible to follow this path for very much longer…

Riding too much with an “old” unfit body gave me a forced opportunity to stop, I got lumbered with an allergic reaction to the Sun ( I’ve never really liked the intensive itching of hives), whilst riding, cruising really, around 250-300kms per week ( Although I still think it was triggered from a massive day of using “Round-Up” a couple of Springs ago). During all that time of intense? exercise I couldn’t see any weight loss just a continual bouncing up and down on the scales although I could notice physical changes. When I was then forced to get out of the sun for three months and only ride at night, and occasional very short trips during the day, It was revelled to me that after a long period of exercise  pulling around a heavy(fat) body built up big muscle, then doing no exercise and still watching what I eat saw the weight drop dramatically! I must of being eating my excess muscle! Anyway this sun trouble passed over winter and let me begin excessive riding again… To my astonishment I saw that even though I was now getting fitter, (If one can whilst still smoking cigarettes), my weight was now lower and stable.

Another forced break has seen the same transition. My knee problems saw me slow my riding to a crawl and this had seen my weight again drop. But slowly as the duration of the hiatus lengthens the old ways are coming back…. the weight is still off but I have not got to my goal weight still 8 kilograms to GOOooo….

The long and short of it for ME is “it seems that continuous intensive exercise is not a good way for me to lose weight”.

An extended cyclic period of excessive exercise and then complete breaks from exercise has seen me lose the most weight. Yet, too long of a period of no exercise will leave the door open to an insidious albeit slow weight gain.

Not a good vision for my future . One where periods of intense exercise must in all inevitability become much more difficult to implement as the body wears slowly? as it gets older! How morose!

Anyway I am thinking of joining a MTB rainbow ride through Minion Falls but may only be able to finish the 20 kilometre route as there is a 22% climb for approximately one kilometre in the middle from the bottom of Minion Falls. The knees might just hate me after that climb!

Just noticed that “I” has been written 16 times in this post.

Organised with Mark during the week to try (sic) to climb to the top of Cudgera Creek Road. Just to test the knee, as all I have managed to put together are flat, intermittent, rides with varying degrees of success. But I had to bite the bullet and attempt a hill whatever the consequences or think about seeing an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Well I set of about 8:15am thinking I would catch Mark near Wattie Bishop Road before heading off toward Cudgera Creek. The arrangements were for Mark to get to my place at 8:30am but I set off anyway… As it turned out I needed to ride the 7km’s to Mark’s and wait for him to finish getting ready, (late night as a designated driver).

We pushed off at the planned SLOWWWW pace south toward Cudgera along the gravel of Round Mountain Road. Of note the surface was noticeably good clear of major potholes and braking corrugations, a very different condition to what we would find on Cudgera Creek Road.

No problems spinning up the King’s hill or past Quinns or James’. So on to Cudgera Creek Road. By now it was warming up out of the light Southerly breeze under the clear sunny winter sky. On the first flat corner I decided to stop and remove my jacket. Unclipped both peddles and put my foot straight into a dip in the road at the same time accidentally re-clipping my other foot. What transpired was a very slow fall to the surface of the roadway, clipped in! No damage just a few profanities….

Now a decision push on or turn for home. The knees had not suffered from the fall so onward and upward… We continued to spin upwards. At one point coming upon a couple of very young BMX kids trying to develop their skills at jumps against the side of the road embankments. As we approached we watched as one of them didn’t quite lift the front wheel enough to take the jump . Causing he and the bike to come to an abrupt halt. No damage or tears so we continued on.

Just chatting away we reached the turn off to Wabba Road. Here we encountered the owner of the property we sometimes use to access the Mooball Forrest. Gave our thanks for past access and we were told about a group of not so considerate riders passing through her property, to her aggravation, close by her house… not a happy camper!

Well everything was to turn out good. So we re-mounted for the downhill travel. The surface of the road has actually been washed clear of road base in many many places and all that is left is the bull dozed bed rock. Very rough on the bike but also local cars and trucks.

At the top of Kanes Road we parted ways and I made it home at 11:15am.

The only thing I might need to remember to take on the next outing is sunscreen!

Thanks for the good company Mark.

Iv’e been able to ride spits and spurts over the last weeks… culminating in the 30km circuit  against a decent headwind yesterday. Only problem is I can’t seem to increase my cadence or peddle pressure without the left knee kicking up a stink!

It did prove to me that it is possible to ride my commuter distance, but still leaves a niggling doubt of bringing on some long term damage. Something I really want to avoid. I have another 22 days straight teaching relief work ahead of me so I will not be able to get in to see a Doctor until about the end of March. Ho hum!  But as two weeks will be only 10km round trip I hope to give the shorter commute a nudge! We will see.