Gong Ride

"John Col" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Cheers,

J.C.

Rain cleared at about 730 am so suited late starters. Great ride if you like
being hemmed in one lane most of way to Loftus. Love the ride but why cant
the PTB give cyclists the whole road for an hour or two, like City 2 Surf?
Or 2 lanes out of 3 - not much traffic around. And bloody well fix the
bumps and cracks along the Princes Highway from the start to Capn Cooks
Bridge. Anyway, the ride after Sutherland makes up for it. Road thru RNP
has been resurfaced and is now smooth as. Saw 3 medical vehicles at foot of
hill down from Waterfall, but unsure if there was an accident or they just
wanted to park somewhere stupid waiting for one to happen. Cyclists
collides with ambulance...

fb

"John Col" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Cheers,

J.C.

Rain cleared at about 730 am so suited late starters. Great ride if you like
being hemmed in one lane most of way to Loftus. Love the ride but why cant
the PTB give cyclists the whole road for an hour or two, like City 2 Surf?
Or 2 lanes out of 3 - not much traffic around. And bloody well fix the
bumps and cracks along the Princes Highway from the start to Capn Cooks
Bridge. Anyway, the ride after Sutherland makes up for it. Road thru RNP
has been resurfaced and is now smooth as. Saw 3 medical vehicles at foot of
hill down from Waterfall, but unsure if there was an accident or they just
wanted to park somewhere stupid waiting for one to happen. Cyclists
collides with ambulance...

fb

John Col said:

Hi,

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Cheers,

J.C.

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill. These
rides are always going to be a bit stop - start with all the numbers,
but I accepted that and had a good time.

John Col said:

Hi,

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Cheers,

J.C.

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill. These
rides are always going to be a bit stop - start with all the numbers,
but I accepted that and had a good time.

On 2007-11-05, paulh (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

John Col said:

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill.

Gah!

Damn you Cohen!

--
TimC
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. -- Linus Torvalds, 1991

On 2007-11-05, paulh (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

John Col said:

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

At least the weather was excellent.

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill.

Gah!

Damn you Cohen!

--
TimC
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. -- Linus Torvalds, 1991

paulh said:

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill. These
rides are always going to be a bit stop - start with all the numbers,
but I accepted that and had a good time.

I went through with a group from work. We left St Peters approx 6:45..
saw at least three stacks going down into the RNP... one guy lost it
on a corner just in front of us and cracked his helmet into about 1/2
doz pieces: looked dazed but ok when a few of us gathered him and his
bits off the road. A couple of other people were in various stages of
stunnedness on the verge (or in the bushes) with other riders
attending.

Not sure what happened, but there seemed to be a car/cyclist incident
just leaving Sutherland (as the road begins to dip down alongside the
very top of the RNP): couple of bikes in the back of a ute, big dent
in back of commodore, police on site.

I (and two other riders) almost T-boned a car in Stanwell Park. He
decided he really couldn't wait any longer and that holding a hand out
the window whilst saying "sorry, I've got to pull out" was enough
warning for a bunch of cyclists travelling at 40-50km/h. Didn't seem
to think that a rider supermanning into his side window would be a
concern (thankfully, we all managed to take evasive action..)

A nice day once the rain cleared.. and we managed to get to the finish
before the wind kicked in.

paulh said:

Got wet at the start but by the time I got to Loftus it had stopped
and great from there on with only a bit of wind near the end. As I
said on another site, I was just thankful I was able to pass the group
of Borats in their mankinis when they weren't climbing a hill. These
rides are always going to be a bit stop - start with all the numbers,
but I accepted that and had a good time.

I went through with a group from work. We left St Peters approx 6:45..
saw at least three stacks going down into the RNP... one guy lost it
on a corner just in front of us and cracked his helmet into about 1/2
doz pieces: looked dazed but ok when a few of us gathered him and his
bits off the road. A couple of other people were in various stages of
stunnedness on the verge (or in the bushes) with other riders
attending.

Not sure what happened, but there seemed to be a car/cyclist incident
just leaving Sutherland (as the road begins to dip down alongside the
very top of the RNP): couple of bikes in the back of a ute, big dent
in back of commodore, police on site.

I (and two other riders) almost T-boned a car in Stanwell Park. He
decided he really couldn't wait any longer and that holding a hand out
the window whilst saying "sorry, I've got to pull out" was enough
warning for a bunch of cyclists travelling at 40-50km/h. Didn't seem
to think that a rider supermanning into his side window would be a
concern (thankfully, we all managed to take evasive action..)

A nice day once the rain cleared.. and we managed to get to the finish
before the wind kicked in.

ps: I heard about the Borat's...

thank christ we passed Engadine before they started.

ps: I heard about the Borat's...

thank christ we passed Engadine before they started.

John Col said:

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

Here's one I prepared earlier for a bunch of fat tyre enthusiasts

Got up this morning at 530am and the sky looked clear and I was
feeling OK so I decided to do the ride.

5 minutes into my commute to St Peters and it started raining. Bugger.
A rain jacket is one of the cycling clothing items I do not have. Oh
well, might as well go for the ride since I was already drenched. I
was getting worried about the descents after the Royal National Park
and Stanwell Park because I have zero experience riding on the road in
the rain (yeah, call me a big blouse). The wet brakes were already
being felt.

Anyway, got to St Peters and started on my allocated time of 715am. It
was a log jam for the first km or so as everyone was more or less
pushing their bikes.

Did the ride at a relaxed pace as I was on a bout of self-enforced
"tapering" since Thursday (i.e. I was ill). First stop was at Loftus
Oval for morning tea. Note to self: road cleats gunk up pretty quickly
when walking in a muddy field. The sun had come up by then and there
was good weather all the way to the end from there.

Rode on the the Royal National Park. There was a nice climb out of
there (I noticed that in the ride profile but I tried to blank it out
while on the ride). This ended up at Otard (I think) with a great view
of the sea. Then it was on to Stanwell Park and across the sea bridge.
The descent to Stanwell Park was hard on the wrists. Too many cyclists
about so I had to use the brakes a lot. I think I hit 70+ km/h the
last time I was there.

The route after that was mostly flat with a few short uphill pinches.
I was taking it really easy by this point as I was really feeling the
effects of the last 2 days now. We then got off the main road and took
suburban streets and cycleways to the finishing point, Stuart Park. A
dog ran across one of the cyclepaths into a horde of oncoming cyclists
(I think the doggie was trying to emulate its comrades from the Tour
de France). Luckily but no one got hurt.

Got to the finish, picked up my pre-ordered lunch and lazed about in
the sun for a bit. I think my only disappointment of the day was the
lunch at the end. I really didn't feel like a salad roll at the end of
the ride (though I was told well in advance what it was). I should
have got a bacon and egg roll. Or even a kebab from one of the stalls
at the park. Mmmmm .... meat ...

All in all, a good day, I'm glad I got up and made the ride. Great
views. The climb out of the Royal National Park is worth doing again.
And I can now say I have ridden on the road in the rain.

Honourable mentions
- The White Horse Hotel near Tempe on the Princes Highway. I noticed a
sign saying "Chinese-Russian Takeway". Borscht with won tons? Won tons
with caviar?
- The Borat team. A team of cyclists wearing fluoro mankinis.
- The cyclist next to me with a condom wrapped around his cycle
computer. I can picture the conversation now. "No dear, that condom
you found in my jersey pocket was for keeping my bike computer dry.
Honest. I don't get randy on the road/single track"
- Team CSC. It took me a while to work out why there were so many
cyclists decked out in full CSC team kit (jersey, knicks and socks).
Yes, it is one of the perks of working for a company that sponsors a
professional cycling team.
- The volunteers. Big thanks.

John Col said:

Anyone here went to the Gong Ride yesterday? How was it?

Here's one I prepared earlier for a bunch of fat tyre enthusiasts

Got up this morning at 530am and the sky looked clear and I was
feeling OK so I decided to do the ride.

5 minutes into my commute to St Peters and it started raining. Bugger.
A rain jacket is one of the cycling clothing items I do not have. Oh
well, might as well go for the ride since I was already drenched. I
was getting worried about the descents after the Royal National Park
and Stanwell Park because I have zero experience riding on the road in
the rain (yeah, call me a big blouse). The wet brakes were already
being felt.

Anyway, got to St Peters and started on my allocated time of 715am. It
was a log jam for the first km or so as everyone was more or less
pushing their bikes.

Did the ride at a relaxed pace as I was on a bout of self-enforced
"tapering" since Thursday (i.e. I was ill). First stop was at Loftus
Oval for morning tea. Note to self: road cleats gunk up pretty quickly
when walking in a muddy field. The sun had come up by then and there
was good weather all the way to the end from there.

Rode on the the Royal National Park. There was a nice climb out of
there (I noticed that in the ride profile but I tried to blank it out
while on the ride). This ended up at Otard (I think) with a great view
of the sea. Then it was on to Stanwell Park and across the sea bridge.
The descent to Stanwell Park was hard on the wrists. Too many cyclists
about so I had to use the brakes a lot. I think I hit 70+ km/h the
last time I was there.

The route after that was mostly flat with a few short uphill pinches.
I was taking it really easy by this point as I was really feeling the
effects of the last 2 days now. We then got off the main road and took
suburban streets and cycleways to the finishing point, Stuart Park. A
dog ran across one of the cyclepaths into a horde of oncoming cyclists
(I think the doggie was trying to emulate its comrades from the Tour
de France). Luckily but no one got hurt.

Got to the finish, picked up my pre-ordered lunch and lazed about in
the sun for a bit. I think my only disappointment of the day was the
lunch at the end. I really didn't feel like a salad roll at the end of
the ride (though I was told well in advance what it was). I should
have got a bacon and egg roll. Or even a kebab from one of the stalls
at the park. Mmmmm .... meat ...

All in all, a good day, I'm glad I got up and made the ride. Great
views. The climb out of the Royal National Park is worth doing again.
And I can now say I have ridden on the road in the rain.

Honourable mentions
- The White Horse Hotel near Tempe on the Princes Highway. I noticed a
sign saying "Chinese-Russian Takeway". Borscht with won tons? Won tons
with caviar?
- The Borat team. A team of cyclists wearing fluoro mankinis.
- The cyclist next to me with a condom wrapped around his cycle
computer. I can picture the conversation now. "No dear, that condom
you found in my jersey pocket was for keeping my bike computer dry.
Honest. I don't get randy on the road/single track"
- Team CSC. It took me a while to work out why there were so many
cyclists decked out in full CSC team kit (jersey, knicks and socks).
Yes, it is one of the perks of working for a company that sponsors a
professional cycling team.
- The volunteers. Big thanks.

Duncan said:

Not sure what happened, but there seemed to be a car/cyclist incident
just leaving Sutherland (as the road begins to dip down alongside the
very top of the RNP): couple of bikes in the back of a ute, big dent
in back of commodore, police on site.

Aha. That explains the log jam along the Princes Highway at this
point. People were pushing their bikes to the top and the cops were
directing / slowing traffic. A cyclist in front of me was walking in
bare feet until we got to the top. I noticed he had a pair of flip
flops stuffed in his jersey pocket!

Quoted message said:

A nice day once the rain cleared.. and we managed to get to the finish
before the wind kicked in.

I think I crossed the line just before noon. The wind had definitely
kicked in by then.

Duncan said:

Not sure what happened, but there seemed to be a car/cyclist incident
just leaving Sutherland (as the road begins to dip down alongside the
very top of the RNP): couple of bikes in the back of a ute, big dent
in back of commodore, police on site.

Aha. That explains the log jam along the Princes Highway at this
point. People were pushing their bikes to the top and the cops were
directing / slowing traffic. A cyclist in front of me was walking in
bare feet until we got to the top. I noticed he had a pair of flip
flops stuffed in his jersey pocket!

Quoted message said:

A nice day once the rain cleared.. and we managed to get to the finish
before the wind kicked in.

I think I crossed the line just before noon. The wind had definitely
kicked in by then.