Sydney to the Gong

kakman

holy crap - predicted 37 kph at 9.00am! At least the hills might shield us from the wind

I'm just gonna go real easy and try and be patient - especially on the hills (both up and down) - no desire to end up sprawled over a wet hard road. My wife's driving down and she can take a change of clothes and towel etc. I have a lightweight gore-tex jacket which seems like the choice given the forecast.

Given the poor forecast, numbers might fall off a bit making it a bit less risky from a crowd perspective.

Not the perfect conditions for my first gong ride but good luck everyone - have a safe trip.

// kak

46kgToDate

Normally I bail in the wet

but heck

I've been training for this since Feb this year
so I'm going even if it kills me ....

PS had pasta tonight - nice
haven't had pasta for so long + a beer with it.
I like this carb loading idea.

And tomorrow, if I make it, I'll open a bottle of the good stuff.

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Now 64.1 kg to date. (and its 94.9kg but who's counting)

sogood

That's the spirit!

$50 down the drain, all the bike mods, all the training, all the expectation... Well, I'm on even with this virus I've picked up from my son. Just come and find me if anyone wants a Panadeine or Sudafed. I'll be dosed up on it.

BTW, I'll be on my Bianchi in full celeste colour with black Mavic wheels. I'll wear my red jersey or the yellow rain gear. Give me a yell and give me some draft.

Ride safe everyone!

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

Technik

got home about 2 hrs ago, took me freaking 5 hrs to finish! the bloody wind , I found the hardest part of the last leg, my bike wasn't going anywhere, felt like going backward.

Overall, had an enjoyable day despite the windy weather.

LeojVS

tell you what, i felt stufed at the 70 kaymark.
took me 3 hrs 35 mins, and tell you what, a hot bath has never been so great!
Wasnt the wind shocking!! I didnt rate the 13km/h crawl for the first 5 kays or more. Same at Heathcote. Took me forever to get my avg up. end o the day it was...
avg; 24.1
time; 3.35:32
max; 63
skids down controlled desents, with back end trying to lead the way; 2

Now, a wine will be with dinner, followed by a cigar. Only dilemma, which one??

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Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy

rohc

Yeh ditto

I woke up at 0430 for a 0600 kick. Not to be. Had a look out the window and looked very nasty. Got on the phone and all my colleagues cycle buddies said "NO WAY" go back to bed, lets see how it looks at 0700.
Anyways I get my self to St Peters from Cremorne and arrive to hear "you have 3 minutes left to start".

Could not believe the head wind. Right from St peters you could tell it was going to be a tough ride. It was relentless. The only time i got some shelter was when we were down in the National park. As soon as we climbed out at Otford..... Whammo!!!!! and continued all the way to the gong. Thought I was going to get blown over the side of Sea cliff bridge.
But all in all what a great day,great ride, great cause.

Would do it all again tomorrow... in fact I have the day off and just might do that.

kakman

tough day - the wind was a total bitch - relentless once you hit the coast. I'm sooo glad I decided to opt for the 56 rather than the 90 for my first try. Did it tough on the hills for the last 2 km out of Nat park and the steep climb just after the sea bridge. First gear got a fair work out I was so glad to see the crest of Bald Hill thinking the pain was going to ease when wham, cop the full brunt of the wind - somewhat demoralising.

Heathcote to Waterfall was slow going and crowded. The downhill runs were OK as long as care was taken but there were a few diehards trying to overtake everyone. The last 10 km the wind was particularly nasty. After finishing I took the wife and kids down to a park for some lunch and to watch everyone riding past - there were some people doing it _really_ tough. My wife was laughing hysterically at how people could be pedalling so fast and going so slow - I beat her around the head and explained the error of her ways.

On the way home saw a number of sorry looking masochists riding up Mt Ousley. I got to give it to these guys, by the time I was finished all I wanted to do was take a nap.

Only downer for the day, a guy at the 56km start had a heart attack and looked in a pretty bad way - I really hope he's OK.

Overall, I figure the conditions can't get _much_ worse so I'll back up again next year - probably for the 90.

// kak

PS. As I was typing this there was a brief clip on the 9 news.

46kgToDate

Well I had a great day. 4 hours 20 min could have done it under 4 hours if not for wind, slow people, thousands of others and the wind.

Sad isn't it. How can anyone enjoy a day like that?

Wind that was easy 60knots at Wollongong. Sand blasted for that last 15 k or so on the bike path what a load of crap that was!! Next year I'm leaving at 6am and getting to the Gong before thay send you on the bike path it was so demoralising. Flying up that hill at Thirroul only to be shoved onto that goat track - impossible to pass!

Stopped briefly at Loftus for a leak, stopped at Red Cedar flats for an adjustment to my brakes which locked on after the descent at Waterfall (I thought those false flats were a bit tough). Pause at Stanwell tops to catch up with my brother it was all great despite the weather til that stupid bike path! I felt really strong climbing out of the National Park then wind on the sea cliff bridge nearly sent me backwards.

There was a hell of a lot of people!

No risk anyone attempting a record on the descent with all the people being treated for injury and heck - there must have been some very poorly prepared bikes - the number of people waiting for assistance on the side of the road!

Does anyone know what happended to the poor bugger off the end of Captain Cook Bridge? Was he OK?

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Now 64.1 kg to date. (and its 94.9kg but who's counting)

glennles

Hope everyone had a good ride!

It was my first time and I was aiming for under 4 hours and I just scraped in with 3:54 by my watch

I wasn't really bothered by the wind, just had to accept it and I wasn't pulling out for anything , but I didn't really like all the crowds. I agree with 46kgtodate, I'll definitely be leaving early next time.

piero

it's definitely a good time there.

but I will go for a early start next year. it's a pain to ride at the back when people not sure what they are doing, don't understand why does it mean by stay left. can't managed to look backward before overtake.

some people just make the ride dangerous

Technik

Agreed - I got held up in the bike track for the last 10kms, wasted so much enegry starting and stopping. Esp going uphill, some ppl almost riding stand still!

sogood

Gosh, meant to get on here for the debrief after getting home, but have only just woke up after 6 hours in bed.

Well, looks like that the early start was a good idea. Got to St Peters at 6:10am and they have already started to let people through. It was just a steady stream with no congestion. I looked around a bit before officially starting at around 6:25.

Yep, it was the wind that killed for the day, especially on that Sea Cliff Br. Really had to tuck behind others (more powerful riders). Even then, it was still hard going. The rain wasn't too bad as it was just a light drizzle at worst but the road grime made many people's backside looked like a Picasso. The two downhill sections were most pleasant with most people traveling single file. Could have gone down much faster but given it's the first time on that road, took the cautious approach. The new brakes and pads were worth their weight in gold. As for the Wollongong bike path, with weakened legs by that stage, my bottom felt every bit of those concrete corrugation. Really didn't enjoy it nor did my pudendal nerves (I think they are shot).

The other big killer for me were those rolling hills after Otford. They killed didn't they? I am proud to say that I didn't have to walk any of the hills but wouldn't have been able to do it without my triple. I saw plenty who just took a walk on those ones. As for the climb out of RNP, I actually enjoyed it. Nicely sheltered quiet road with lovely scenaries, with flash back of those Lance Armstrong attacking Alpe D'Huez videos, it was highly motivational for some out of the seat actions...

Thanks bike Gods that I didn't have any flats and all mechanicals functioned perfectly. I heard from a friend at the finish that some bloke had two flats within the first k, he went home after acknowledging the message from ABOVE. Final count,

Time: 3hr 55min
Av speed: 22.5km/h

BTW, did anyone notice that the total distance was only 87.5km rather than the advertised 95km? Unless my cycle computer was way out of calibration.

Below is the S-Gong elevation profile that was recorded by my GPS unit. I feel the pain of those who rode back to Sydney...

Rest well everyone and well done! And finally a big thank you to MS, the volunteers, Police and Ambo boys and gals. You did a great job along the way!

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

sogood

I didn't know that they changed the route half way into the event. Are you sure about this?

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

ozelise

Sogood, thanks for posting your GPS profile of the ride. It is very similar to the official profile. However the fact that the vertical and horizontal axis are not to scale makes it deceiving. I thought that both "major" climbs were in fact mild and in fact the the short climbs after Otford were indeed mor challenging. The climb out of RNP was gradual so that at times it wasn't obvious you were going uphills.

I've attached a modified version of your profile with the axes to scale.

The wind was expected, and the going on the congested pathway prevented any rhythm. However I found most cyclists were courteous and well behaved. I was surprised about the large no. of mechanical breakdowns and flat tyres though. Seems like there was an upturn bike or a new tube being pulled out every few hundred metres.