Tweed Coast Treadly

Mark, Rob, Adrian and me. Up early, 6:00am, to Mebbin 2010 Mud Marathon in Marks work van. Road to get to Cutter Camp was wet and slippery, with newly laid roadbase and slimy mud.  That was nothing, I say again nothing, like what was to be experienced later. The others had pre-booked entry I was left to make a late entry, and stand in a queue for 30 mins while they parked the van. I chose the 25km loop, lucky me. The other distances were all reduced, the 75 to 55 and the 45 to 35 due to the really wet and now boggy conditions.

The start was delayed and staggered with a loop of 3km covered by all riders the 25k’ers last to ride the loop. Mark and Rod started on the 45k loop and the 25k’ers had to wait 25mins for them all to get back (3k!) before we could start out, some turned the wrong way Adrian and Rob amongst them. Many riders decided that the mud on that very first stage was enough and pulled the pin (organisers suggested if you couldnt do the loop in 15 minutes you should maybe consider stopping). After a couple of hundred riders had traversed the same stretch of gravel track twice the surface was at least 50 mill thick layer of soft sticky mud, and we would all have to ride part of this section again to ride to the finish. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to look forward to. (but more on that later when the home stretch ride was comparatively easy!)

The ride continued back through Cutters Camp and then the ride falsly seemed to improve, ha! that was all to change by the time the first descent off a maintained gravel road was complete. Everyone rode many of the same tracks with minor variations. At the 6km’s point of the 25km loop it became apparent that there was to be a lot of push bike walking in amongst the pushbike riding. The uphills were really, really greasy in some locations you could barely make any headway even when you locked both brakes and stepped forward and tried to pull the 35 kilogram mud cacked bike after you. After the first downhill and a couple of crashes, one where the front wheel slid into a position at right angles to the direction of travel stopping dead with me flying into the mud, lucky I’ve been practicing a bit lately. Lost the computer on that flip and wouldn’t know how far it was to go until I again made it to the start loop.

Some stretches were a greasy sticky orange mud, others grey and sticky and yet the worst(??) was the red sticky clay. It continually built up in thick multiple layers onto the surface of the tyre. Any excess found a way of squeezing and clinging to the sidewalls of the wheels. The worst effected bikes seemed to be the rear suspension models with the extra parts making ideal places to encrust more mud. All along the route riders from both sexes were, at the start using sticks to trying to remove the build-up especially when the wheels started to lockup. Later it was fingers and hands!  Many tried to ride the less steep hills and were mildly successful, although often they would spin to a halt and tumble only to be overtaken by a walker who they had passed on the way up while they cleaned the build-up from the frame.

The rest of the ride was much the same as the first half. Except the single track section was probable the most enjoyable, the number of riders pulling out or something else meant the track was not as chewed up but still as slippery and as it was downhill you, meaning I, could actually ride (??) the bike over it. It was fairly exciting even where I managed to hit a drop or log and slide into a shrub off the track, numerous times. I even managed to only crash and fall into the mud once on the way down.

This ride was not a speed record unless you could say that 4 hours (I think, but will see when the finishers get posted) is the record for slowest time ever for completing 25 kilometres. An experience none the less.

Later I heard Rob blew a sidewall and dnf, Mark was worried about the time and Rob’s wife waiting for him at the finish and so took the short way home therefore dnf. Adrian also dnf he had to get to work and ran out of time to complete, on his brand new Avanti shop provided loaner. Also heard that 7 rear derailleur’s broke from the mud and debris build-up. Also chains snapped and others got punctures that on the course could not be repaired successfully.

An experience where I could hear a lot of frustrated anger, swearing  at machinery and fellow riders. The riding through Mooball along Wabba Rd in some way prepared us for the conditions where to stay upright I needed to ride the grass debris verges, where there were any, and avoid being sucked into the sloppy wheel ruts of previous riders and hope the derailleur’s handled the debris.

I washed the bike in the creek near the van after finishing, getting some of the masses of mud off, then I lay in water cloths and all and managed to get the surface layer off me as well. I was not alone numerous riders did the same, boys, girls, women and men.

Lucky I brought a towel.

EDIT: Results….50-59 male

Mark, Rob and myself decided to sweat it out… no that’s not how it started.

OK

So we decided to go through the Mooball forest today, the usual root for me and as Rob was coming over Clothiers Hill Mark and he met at the bottom of the quarry hill to ride over to Reserve creek etc to Cudgera Creek. The start of the 1000 plus meters of ascending today over ~50kms through to Cooridilla Road(?). On the Wabba Road section another victim was claimed, Rob managed to get snake eye flats front and rear, changed the rear and tried to use a slow leaker on the front. This gaves us another 3 or 4 breaks until he finally used my spare, the freebie one from Minyon Falls ride. And in the shaded forest every thing was cool, literally. As usual I managed to find a way to do a sumasault, no damage.  Mark wasn’t able to escape totally unscathed he developed a slow leak on our way through the cane fields between Reserve Creek Rd and Clothiers. He managed to scrape home with just a few stops for air.

By the time we were out of the forest and well down Smarts Rd the temperature had climbed to 38  °C and stayed that way all the way to over Clothiers hill past Duranbah Rd and onto Mark’s. Mark and I both finished  3 litres of water as we got to his place and were still dehydrated. Rob only took 2 bottles and was well wasted, lucky he finished before the return over the hill. By this time my knees were a worry and I elected to get the lift offered by mark in his work van.

So a good ride but hell hot! We only manage 12.5k/hr avg speed.

Mark and I organised a rough local ride last Friday for today.  But we had to put it off till late this afternoon so we would need to cut the ride a bit short, although this didn’t detract from the experience. I shovelled and sieved 20 barrows of Terranora soil and drank a litre of soda water before I left.

A cloud rising from Mt Warning (cloud Catcher) that didn't do much but it would be nice to break the dry

I rode to meet up with Mark on Watty Bishop Road for the climb to One Tree, it’s only 100 meters high but it climbs over a rough cattle turd strewn badly rutted track of about a 1000 meters. In many places you needed to avoid the track as the rut sides would catch the pedals and cranks etc It seems to be a good training climb for fitness as well as having a great outlook to the south, west and north.

I struggled to the summit pushing the last 30 meters and we then rode off along the ridge to the east toward Towners Road. Here the track undulated steeply and the surface varied between loose dusty gravel and leaf and stick strewn single track. I was riding up the second to last climb behind Mark along side of a fairly dry creek bed when I started to hear the pounding of hoofs getting closer and faster. Committed to the climb I couldn’t even turn to see if I was about to be run down by a cattle stampede. It turned out to be a small herd of poddy calves playfully spooked by our presence, no harm done!

Next we turned off into the descent to Towners Road via Jim’s place, An in places slow, rough, steep ride. Once we hit the main gravel track we were able to commit to some more speed until we reached the climb over to Round Mountain Road. Here we parted ways Mark to a family BBQ at Hastings me to a roast at home.

Might need to try this a few more times to get used to some rough climbing, although during wetter time grass growth might cause some drama with the derailleur. 13 kms total distance.

Lots of short rides this last week, a few rides up to the water tower in cabba on the youcan, waddle up to Cabba Cycles along the back track, a few dawdles down the track taking the dogs for a run. A trip to do some fishing down the creek, and one loop on the cypress etc

But today didn’t involve riding. I took the family, including grubs boyfriend, to Chowan waterhole for a bit of a swim but there was someone there meditating, camping by the look of it, (who didn’t even bother doing anything other than turning their head slightly to acknowledge our presence, quite creepy and eerie) so we went off to Hell Holes. The walk down along Middle Ridge Road was pleasant and the return walk took only 3/4 of an hour!

We made it the end without too much difficulty. There we had our lunch and a swim even though there was only a trickle in the creek. The shrubs along the banks are showing a lot of drought stress, if they don’t get a few downpours soon they will mostly be dead! Hope a fire doesn’t get started there! At 3:30 we began the walk back to the car.

We returned via the old Uncle Toms Pies servo on a now freeway bypassed section of the Pacific Highway consuming a milkshake and quite a lousy pie, wont be doing that again.

A pleasant day all up.

Public Holiday Trip to Minyon Falls with Mark in preparation for the Freedom Ride. A bush ride on the Youcan.

We got underway about 10:45am with mark picking me up in his work van (without me leaving anything behind this time) a journey through Brunswick, Mullumbimby, etc through to the Nightcap Nat. Park. We parked at Rummery Park Camping area and rode west onto Nightcap Range Road to the sign posted Telephone Road, on the maps it is Wirupa Break, but we made our planed turn too late to the left off Wirupa onto Telephone Road instead of the Minyon Fire Break. Dohh!

This led us on to Baldwins Road and a Southern exit to the park (although the proceeding ride was a nice descent along well maintained gravel road with heaps of small jumps, created from the cross road drains and a multitude of 50mm diameter strewn branches). We would need to retrace our tracks and try to get back to Minyon Falls.
So back up the short distance to the turn off (right) to Quirks Fire Track to the Quandong Fire Track and passing through Quandong Falls. Here we rested eating our lunch to the sound of small waterfalls and cool view in total quite (except for the forest sounds) and a great view then it was onto the Minyon Loop.

Clambering over fallen trees and as often as possible riding in granny gear along a rough walking track all the way to the intersection with the Miniyon Falls–Minyon Grass walking track. Here we started to see people again. We continued along pushing and riding where possible to the Minyon Falls Parking area until we were once again on course to ride along the single track to Rummery Park and Peates Mountain Road (freedom ride course)

We then, well me anyway, grovelled up to 615 meters elevation continuing past Perlite Road, past Watts Folly Road and turned around just before Tugan Road. Then the descent down Peates Mountain Road for a breezy 5 and a half minutes back to Marks van.

Peats Road about to descend

No Photos, but here is a 5 minute video of the Descent of Peates Mountain Road from my new $120 – ALDI Oregon handlebar video camera (Warning: 7mb downloaded)…

Only 20 kilometres but a fun trip even getting lost was good!

nightcap route