STUCK IN THE MUD AND OTHER DISCOMFORTS

For some reason I was really sad the morning that I rolled out of Byron Bay.I can't really pinpoint the exact reasons but I'm guessing it was something to do with having such a great time hanging with Paul and a couple of the other Aussie hostellers.They all had lives and friends to do stuff and share experiences with and here I was riding off on my own again into the solitude of the road.I didn't like it at all and it wasn't until I rode through the absolutely beautiful Lennox Head and stopped at the lookout high above the surf that my mood improved,for a moment.

I got my camera out to take a bunch of scenic happy snaps for my blog when I realised that it wasn't working.I could take pics but they were all fuzzy and out of focus.Bloody hell!!!I figured that the danm thing was full of moisture and maybe if I aired it out a bit it would work again.With that plan in motion and the camera perched on the top of my handlebar bag I rode off along the amazing coastal drive to the town of Ballina around 35k south of Byron Bay.

It was well and truly breakfast time when I rolled past the MacDonalds on the other side of town and I really wanted coffee.To cheer me up I had a big smarties cookie and an orange and poppyseed muffin as well.I got the camera out to document my version of a "happy meal" but alas the bloody thing was still buggered.F&#k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Misery took over again and stayed with me for a few hours until I got into my groove and started passing towns with familiar names like Evans Head,Iluka and Yamba.These were all popular seaside holiday towns and with the next big town on the road being Grafton I really felt like I was making great progress down the coast(even if I spent way too much time in Noosa,Surfers and Byron).I knew I wouldn't make Grafton that day but as my speedo hit 120k I felt pretty happy and pulled into a rest area cafe outside of the town of Maclean on the banks of the Clarence River.I was getting really tired and wanted to sit and check out the lovely views from the coffee shops large deck.It was really pretty there and I was sad that my camera could not capture the stunning views of the river and the lush green farmland on the far bank.I even saw a turtle swimming under the deck.It was getting late so I needed to refill my waterbottles for my nights supply and head off in search of a campsite.
About 10k down the road,just as I had found a decent spot off the highway and near a large canefield I realised that I hadn't filled up my bottle at the cafe in Maclean.Shit!Across the hwy was the Clarence River but as the highway had followed the river for the last 10k I had noiced that there was a large drop from the bank to the river level.It wasn't going to be easy to get to it and fetch water.This whole area is subjected to huge floods from time to time and there is thick mud banks dried up on the side of the highway as a reminder to that fact.I quicky set up my tent and put everything I might need for the night in my tent as the sun was rdpidly setting and I wanted to be organised before nightfall.To collect the water I would need all four of my bottles and as an afterthough I grabbed my coil of thin rope just in case I might need to tie the bottles up and cast them into the river.
I scrambled down from the highway to a flat area covered in dense bush which was just a mass of cracked mud about a foot think but it carried my weight so I wasn't too concerned.From there I peered over the side and found that there was a drop of about five feet to the actual river bank and the water level.I checked out the situation and tied my rope to a big tree branch that hung over the river all the while wondering if I should take my bike shoes off before I lowered myself to the mud bank below.The reason I kept them on was,I was afraid that submerged branch might pierce my foot and really screw me up but I didn't need a branch to scew me up,I did that all by myself.
I grabbed hold of the rope and leapt onto the bank by the river only I didn't stop when I hit the mud,my feet just kept going right through first to my knees and then before I knew it I was crotch deep in cold mud.I tried to move but just felt myself sinking even further and so I just lay down on the surface to distribute my weight a bit better.I reached for my waterbottles and threw them up the bank so I wouldn't lose them and went about ever so slowy dragging myself out of the muddy predicament that I was in.I had to do it slowly so as not to lose my shoes to the mud bank as it tried to suck me under.As I finally broke free of the mudbank it dawned on me that just how serious the situation could have become had I not though to bring that rope.I would have been stuck fast in the mud bank with the sun settng fast and nobody around to help.What a stupid move on my part!!
After pulling myself up to the high bank I realised that I still needed some water and set about tying a noose around one bottle and throwing it into the river below.As the bottle filled with water I dragged it in and poured the best of the dirty fluid into the other bottles.Once the three other bottles were full I used to fourth one to collect water for me to wash the mud off with.My shoes were covered and full of the stuff,my bike jersey was filthy as was the outer of the two pairs of bike pants I was wearing.What a mess!!I took off the outer layer of clothing an realised I would be able to put my spare set over the top of this stuff as the mud hadn't seeped through, just the water.
I did the best I could of cleaning in the ever darkening evening and crawled up the bank to the highway and back to camp.All my really muddy stuff went straight into a plastic bag and now with the help of a torch I used one of my t-shirts to clean the mud off my legs,arm and out of my hair.The t-shirt also went straight into the plastic bag as well.I was stillf really dirty and the only way I could see myself getting into my newly washed sleeping bag was to put on the clean clothes that I was to cycle in the next day.Over my white(now grey-brown) surf rashie I put on a dry bike jersey and arm warmers.My filthy outer bike pants would have to be worn the next day so they were relegated to sitting on my bike for the night in the dew.I had on the other bike pants I brought and put on leg warmers to cover up the mud still on my legs.New socks and a woolen beenie for my dirty hair finished of the head to toe covering and I must say,even though I felt like crap,I was warm.
The one and only bright spot for the evening(apart from having a belly full of food)was the fact that the local cane grower decided that I deserved a light-show and he lit his cane field for me(I'm sure it was for me)It was awesome to watch the huge cane fire burning madly so close by.I loved it and tried to take some pics.I still don't know if they turned out.
That night I slept well but there was a really thick fog and heavy dew overnight which, combined with the evaporation from my soggy clothes made the inside of my tent very damp.Everything was wet and I was not a happy camper by the time I had packed up the campsite,pulled on my wet muddy shorts and stuck my dry feet into a pair of wet stinky bike shoes.Why was I even out here?!?!?