Pulled it off

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.

[caption id="attachment_370" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="start finish line"][/caption]

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.

[caption id="attachment_367" align="aligncenter" width="262" caption="The easyclimb of North Chowan Road"][/caption]

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

[caption id="attachment_363" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking North from the lookout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_364" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking West from the lookout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_369" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking southwest from the lookout"][/caption]

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

[caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Looking Up at the begining of impossibles"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="aligncenter" width="209" caption="Looking Down from the middle of impossibles"][/caption]

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????).

[caption id="attachment_368" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cooling Off at the valley on South Chowan Road"][/caption]

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

[caption id="attachment_371" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="chowan actual ride route"][/caption]

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