Back to Mooball

Last Saturday I had an inclination to ride on some dirt. A quick consultation with my regular ride partner Martin decided that Mooball National Park, in the Burringbar Range in Northern NSW was the place to go. It was also going to be the first dirt I had ridden since having the teeth removed, and a month without riding on dirt is never good for anyone's health. As is obligatory these days, we set off through Urliup on our quest south toward Murwillumbah, passing through the town before heading for the climb of Reserve Creek Road.



We kept a high pace during the early part of the ride, and I was certainly feeling it. Yet the views from the climb near Round Mountain are always worth the effort. A slightly surprising thing was just how little rain had fallen in the area south of Murwillumbah -- I had come prepared to deal with leeches and now they weren't going to be a problem. We continued south before starting the beautiful climb of Cudgera Creek, with it's dirt switchbacks through the rainforest. At the top of the climb we turned onto Wabba Road, following the "hidden road" cut into the side of the ridge (don't worry Dave, we stayed out of sight of the house on top of the hill), taking in the sweeping views from the top of the range.



What follows is the prettiest section of the ride. Evidently the grass covering Wabba Road had been cut since my last visit a few months back. The going was much firmer under wheel this time around. This ride also passes through some very attractive forest, with the occasional gap in the trees to take in a sweeping view in whatever direction the road happens to be facing at that moment.



Once the climb had finally been conquered, the general trend back to Murwillumbah was going to be downhill. At one point I was forced into producing what may be the save of the year after going into a corner way too fast, losing the back wheel, jumping over two parallel corrugations, leaving the road, yet still remaining composed enough to keep the bike upright and continue without even slowing down. Just don't ask me to do it again. Martin, for his part, was on high alert for snakes after some interesting experiences with them in Mudgee of all places. He spotted one curled up by the side of the road that I missed badly enough to almost ride over it.



Eventually we cleared the national park, descended on the deeply rutted final stretch on Smarts Road (around about the same time a heap of trail bikes decided to head the other way - great.), and returned. This time we detoured around Murwillumbah on the infamous Cane Road, somehow avoiding the traditional Cane Road headwind, and returning home over the final climb of Tomewin. This time it was Martin's turn to destroy the mountain -- taking a full three minutes out of the time he'd expected on the climb. I settled for merely riding to expectations. At the top of Tomewin the rain arrived, and stayed with us for most of the ride home. A great way to refresh after a memorable ride.