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