Coolomon

SATURDAY, JUNE 7, NSW: For once I failed to bring a camera along on Saturday's ride, so you'll have to make do without the pictures unless you click here, and have a look at some pictures from a previous ride in this area. I was feeling a little underdone for this weekend's 400k, so we opted for a 200km ride in Northern NSW, taking in the Coolomon Scenic Drive behind Mullumbimby.

Once the 30km of suburbia has been cleared, the ride really begins on the Tweed Coast. We were heading south against the wind, but making good time. The overcast conditions kept the temperatures down to a reasonable level, but at the southern we were both glad to get out of the wind and look to the hills. Things went along pretty uneventfully through Mullumbimby, save for a headwind blast for the first few km after leaving the town, prior to the climb toward the Crystal Castle.

The top of this ridge almost enters a different world, with sweeping views up and down the coast and patches of rainforest to ride through, all in all a very pretty area. We continued over the rolling hills at the top of the ridge, before the long descent back into the Brunswick Valley, and the detour through the town of Brunswick Heads. Things got interesting after lunch at the Humble Pie Shop at Billinudgel.

I bought one of those "active water" drinks without reading the label. It turns out this "drink" was nothing more than caffeine and guarana, a bad combination at the best of times. For the next 20km, over the Burringbar Range and surrounding hills leading to Murwillumbah, I was in devastating form, destroying anything that even considered getting in my way. Unfortunately, there was a terrible low after this, which it just as I was climbing Urliup. I actually felt like going to sleep at that point, but reverted to concentrating on technique and eating muesli bars.

The muesli bars, combined with the rainforest of Urliup inspired the recovery. Martin and I coasted over the rolling hills together, before pushing over the last climb at Bilambil, and back into suburbia. The only other exciting thing to note for the day was the search for detours to take the daily distance over 200km. All in all, however, it was another extremely rewarding ride, with hopefully more to come during the remainder of the year.