Thirsty Koalas

13/2/2009
Forwarded by E-Mail...

Heard a rumour about Adelaide cyclists reporting that Koalas have been
beside the road begging for water from passing cyclists in the
Adelaide hills.
I thought it was BS too - but here it is.
These photos were taken on Tuesday night (3/2) on the old Freeway climb.

Bellingen or Bust...or Coffs Harbour BUG does Bello

25/01/2009

Twas the day before Australia Day 2009 and the day after the hottest day of the summer so far. We had been looking forward to, or if the weather was like the day before, fearing the 77km journey to Bellingen via the rough and hilly North Bank Road. Fortunately the day dawned cloudy and with the odd drizzle of rain to shelter us from the fierce summer sun.

It was to be an early start of 7am at the Coffs City Square. Nine riders gathered at the meeting point, with three of those on one bike!!! The colour coordinated family on the triple tandem made a wonderful sight with Dad and younger and youngest kids completing the crew. Mum was there too riding solo this time. What an excellent way to involve the whole family.

Henry was to lead the ride and as is his way, as we set off, he gave an impromptu demonstration on the dangers of being stationary while leaving one’s feet clipped into the pedals. Luckily we were all watching at the time so he wasn’t required to repeat the performance. (I would've left this bit out but Henry's cheque didn't arrive in time.) A little skin off the knee, and an assortment of bruises, but not enough to stop a tough and determined BUG rider.

We travelled along a variety of back roads and cycle paths on our way to the next pick up point at Boambee East. Awaiting us there were another ten intrepid souls or possibly masochists. After a short series of hellos and introductions we were off and pedalling south once again. A short cycleway section brought us to the old highway, now known as Pine Creek Way. This has become a favourite route for local cyclists with its wide and good surface, little traffic and interesting and rural scenery. Along this stretch we greeted a number of other groups of riders enjoying the agreeable cycling weather.

The rises and falls of Pine Creek Way lead us to Perry’s Hill were the last four riders were waiting. We now had quite a large contingent all resplendent in a variety of dazzling lycra and other riding attire, making the grey day much brighter.

A couple of riders had urgent appointments with coffee and cake at Garden Mania and headed back to leave us to our adventure. I won’t mention their names because we really like Cheryl and Deb. (Their cheques didn't arrive either.)





Heading off, the group enjoyed the gravity assisted trip down the southern side of Perry’s Hill that we had earned by climbing the northern side. A couple of kilometres of riverside cruising with sensational lush green paddocks as one might see on a TV travel show, took us to the intersection of North Bank Road. Here the road became narrow and much rougher than had been expected. At least it was fairly flat, but that was only a short ruse to deceive us for what was to follow. The sign warning of a number of kilometres of steep and winding road was not being misleading.

Here the triple tandem and a few solo riders can be seen at the base of the first steep climb...




We had a rest stop at the summit of this hill and allowed time for the riders to regroup, catch their breath and discuss the type of French pastry they were planning to consume when we reached Bellingen. The good thing about riding uphill is that once achieved, you get a downhill to enjoy for your effort. And enjoy it we did as we careered down the other side. The rough road surface insisted that a tight grip was maintained on the bars, and the legs were used as shock absorbers to soak up the vibrations. But downhills can only last so far, and before long we were once again in a lower gear with a tight chain urging the rear wheel to rotate one more time, and one more time after that…

Most of us had not ridden this road before and weren't sure how many more ups and downs awaited us. So it was with relief that Bellingen came into sight, as we coasted downhill into the picturesque and interesting township. Lavenders Bridge over the beautiful Bellinger River was our signal to relax our muscles and take a well earned breather.






A short wait saw the tail enders arrive and join us at the park where we discovered with disappointment that the French patisserie was shut. With the anticipated taste of sweet delights now evaporating in our mouths, the decision was made to head to the Old Butter Factory to satisfy our well earned appetites.

On arrival at TOBF, we quickly filled all the spare tables and made the staff earn their wages with orders of eggs, ham, damper and every type of coffee and smoothie. There was much chatter of the ride experience so far, as the food and beverage was consumed with gusto.

With us all rested, fed, bulging and as far from home as we were going to get, it was time to turn our wheels back along the track. Those hills that had been of the fun downwards variety on the way there were now of the unfriendly and challenging uphill variety, and us now with a few extra kilograms of self to be dragged up and over. Although none of hills were many kilometres long, they were indeed quite steep and are what we like to describe as character building!!!

With a great effort by all, the hilliest section was conquered. Most of us then enjoyed a cruise along the flat section to the North bank Road intersection. Most of us that is, except two riders who obviously had way too much energy remaining. A challenge was issued to see who could arrive at the intersection first, and with much spinning, puffing, panting and effort a winner was decided to the imaginary cheers of the imaginary crowd.

With that out of their system, the remainder of the journey was completed without incident. Well that’s if you don’t count Henry’s wife Jan, within a kilometre of the ride end, deciding to emulate Henry’s clipped in and stationary encounter with the ground. Isn’t it sweet the way they do everything together!!!

The group slowly dissolved as weary riders were farewelled as they took the roads that would deliver them to their homes. Five of us made the journey back to Coffs town centre with a distance of 77km showing on the computer.

Here is the elevation profile of the Bellingen ride…





The ride was a success with good weather, good humour, good company and a great effort by all. Thank you all for your participation. I feel sure there were aches of satisfaction in the legs, and smiles of satisfaction on all the faces that evening.

Emma R.

The ride you have when you are not having a ride...

Sunday 28/12/2008

The ride you have when you are not having a ride...

Sunday morning arrived a wee bit grey and trying very hard to be damp. As there weren't any drips falling just before 7:00am I decided to head down to Howard St to 'give it a go'.

Joe from Stuarts Point was there as was Henry, but only to pass on the message that he ride had been cancelled due to lack of suitable riding weather. Another cyclist (Graeme) visiting from Brisbane also arrived. So there we were, all dressed up with nowhere to go, and as it wasn't raining at that instant, we decided to go for a ride of indeterminate distance/duration. We headed down Hogbin Drive and almost immediately a light shower decided to accompany us. We headed for Bruce King Drive and the rain had stopped by the time we arrived there, with us being only slightly soggy but at least water cooled.

Awaiting us at the Community Centre was Clare (sp), another new arrival to Coffs (welcome Clare). A few minutes later Deb arrived to let any riders know that the ride was off. But we know how determined and tough cyclists are, and soon faces both familiar and new arrived, and we had a group of ten willing to head off into what looked like a bright sky to the south.

The decision was made to follow the path of the original ride with the option of cutting it short should the weather be unkind. We headed along the cycle way to Lyons Road and into Pine Creek Way, with me apparently not adequately avoiding the inevitable post Christmas broken glass on the road. Within a short distance my front tyre had deflated!!!. But being prepared, I had a new tube on hand and with moral and material support from Graeme we had the tyre inflated and the wheel back where it belonged in a few minutes. We had sent the others on ahead and so Graeme and I had a high speed (for me) pursuit on...we topped the Bonville hill at 30kmh, with me having the advantage of drafting the strong and speedy rider in front. Still no sign of the others yet but managed to catch them up at the Pine Creek Rest area. As we all stopped for a breather, another BUG rider joined us who had also suffered issues with tyre deflation.

Now we were eleven and headed on to Perrys Hill were two locals, John and son Zac, joined us for the ride to Urunga. The group had swelled to thirteen and as the weather had now cleared, the consensus was to continue to Urunga. We arrived at the motel/cafe just over the Urunga bridge where we enjoyed a drink and chat while letting the muscles relax and recover for the return journey via Yellow Rock Rd.

John Gray showed us a short cut to Yellow Rock Rd which allowed us to avoid the prospect of riding against the traffic on the highway verge. Yellow Rock Road hadn't become any less bumpy since the last time I was there, but it is a very scenic and pleasantly relaxed section to ride nonetheless. Across the Raleigh bridge with Perrys Hill awaiting us. At this time a speeding recumbent with Chong aboard, flashed by with some very technical (cardboard) aerodynamic body works attached. Perrys Hill was conquered and we farewelled John and Zac as well as two others who needed to be elsewhere.

The weather had now warmed up and the sun was quite strong with us thankful we had had some cloud cover up until this point. We headed onwards along Pine Creek Way and arrived back at Bruce King Drive hot and weary but without incident. Farewells and New Year wishes were given and received, and all with happy faces and satisfied spirits at completing the ride. I had another 9km to ride back to Howard st and with a strong headwind to make sure 'life wasn't meant to be easy'. My total 63km.

Congratulations to all for making it there and back, and thanks to the new faces that turned up. It was a real pleasure to meet you all and enjoy your company. Hopefully we will see you again at one of the upcoming BUG or community rides.

Emma Richardson