... And the ride went...

Yesterday was the day of the Gold Coast 200 ride that I'd been waiting for. I nearly didn't make it at all, firstly leaving my place later that I'd intended, then having a drunk ask me for directions on the way to the start (he was labouring under the delusion that Coffs Harbour was part of the Gold Coast, and I really didn't have time to correct him). Once the ride itself got under way, a split formed in the group from the point of the first hill, which basically stayed for the whole day. I showed off over the initial climb of Bilambil, then I remembered I was supposed to be taking pictures for this thing, so I did just that in the John Hogan Rainforest.



The ride settled down after that point, I descended Hogan's road, with the front two now out of sight, and continued west on the Pilgrim's road to the first checkpoint (and sunscreen stop) at Chillingham. Actually, the two "groups" weren't all that far apart, but I somehow spent most of the day between them. Now it was west to Tyalgum, this route I've ridden millions of times, but it's still spectacular.



From here, there are really only a couple of options back to Murwillumbah, and certainly only one on the sealed roads. This ride does, however, have it's charms. This was the only point in the first 120km or so that there was a tailwind -- a southwesterly (it became a south easterly a few km out of Tyalgum, making it a headwind again).





Then it was south to Uki. I don't know what it is, but for some reason riding south on this route seems to tire me out pretty quickly. I'd forgotten to get muesli bars at the supermarket the night before, and now this was a problem. Eventually, between Uki and Stokers Siding, I had to pull over and eat some of those bread rolls I was carrying with me. That seemed to work, I managed to make it to Stokers Siding, then South over the Burringbar Range, and onto Mooball. This was the second checkpoint, but the service at the Moo Moo Cafe here seems to be slower than a set of Queensland traffic lights. After this it was a largely coastal ride north, with sporadic ocean views.





Still, this was definitely a better option than the boring freeway, which we eventually had to take on because the ride apparently needed a few more km. However, we didn't spend long there, it was a double back almost to Murwillumbah, to ride the infamous Cane Road. After this came the climb of Tomewin. This was the real sting in the tail -- there is a 2km section with a brutal gradient on the southern approach, and it came right at the end of the 200km day. Of course, it might have been easier had I actually used the lowest gears at my disposal, but when was I ever accused of intelligence? This part of the ride, was, however, beautiful. After this it was a gentle ride back to Currumbin, if only my legs wanted to work again.



Overall impressions: a nice enough ride. Perhaps I'd make one change however. In the interests of adding some more climbing and reducing the need to "double back" later in the ride, I'd think about adding a passage over Springbrook, down into Numinbah Valley, and heading to Chillingham that way. That might add enough km to facilitate a direct return to Murwillumbah over Clothiers Creek road, for the final climb of Tomewin (although we could always include Cane Road if they were determined about it). In fact, I might do that one myself in a few weeks or so.

Still, as these pictures show, there isn't really any need to complain here.