Dog Trap road in the rain

With all sorts of funny weather forecasts (patchy rain, gael force wind warning & storms, showers, sunny spells and temperatures up to 29 degrees), we set off on our Saturday morning ride PREPARED :) With raincoats, sunscreen, water bottles and the compulsory puncture-kit on board, we felt brave enough to embark on a new adventure.

The Ride
29th August 2009

Bunnies on board: Janine and Annette
Meeting place: Kariong Shell servo
Meeting time: 8:00am

Skies were a mixture of greys and drizzle as we cruised down the highway towards Kangoo road. Suited up in our raincoats, our main concern was the slippery road surface... Wet shiny roads made for some precarious riding, especially going down-hill :) By the time we got to the bumpy F3 underpass on Gindurra road, we were well and truly awake; dodging potholes, puddles, rocks and passing cars - using equal measures of skill, fear and swearing!

We climbed quite a few hills & sailed past the RSPCA turn-off (no little kittens coming home today). The rain was holding off, and being out in the country we had lots of greenery to look at (all shapes and sizes, though no Lilliputians to report...). Along Wisemans Ferry road we stopped for a photo-shoot next to these huge red flowers, now known as Guinea Lillies. Thanks Janine for planting one in my head :)

All went to map plan until we hit Dog Trap road... somehow I had forgotten that this road takes you on a distinct downward slope (supposedly the 'all-bark-and-no-trousers-dogs' from the time Lou & I rode here, managed to erase any 'terrain observations' I might have had), so as we're cruising down the slopes Janine is getting distinctly worried about the return hike back up the hill... The further down the road we got, the more elaborate bunny-Janine's alternate plans became; Kariong hill was mentioned, calling a Taxi was high on the list... then she came across a chain lying by the side of the road & devised a brilliant plan involving the chain, my bike and a great ride to the top of the hill ;)

All of a sudden our minds moved away from the sloping road & up in the trees, as Janine spotted 2 black cockatoos flying out of a tree! We stopped and got off our bikes to look. There were a whole 'group' (or do you call them a flock?) of them hooting and flying about & it was all very exciting. I'd never seen a black cockatoo before, so it felt quite special :). Some say the black ones only come out when there's a storm brewing. Managed to take some photos of the majestic looking birds and they even followed us for a while as we continued on down the road.

We reached our 'half-way-point'; the bridge over the F3 freeway, where we stopped for some water and a few silly happy photos. Deciding that the climb back up Dog Trap road would be a warm one, we took off our rain coats (it wasn't raining), and set off.

On cue, the rain started coming down, not super-heavy, but we did get wet as pedaled on towards the top :) It actually didn't feel all that bad at all, there seemed to be quite a bit of undulation (not a constant gruelling climb) and all Janine's alternate plans and worries about the return up Dog Trap road turned out to be pure 'fluff' - She conquered it in style :)

The rest of the way went smoothly with the rain holding off and the air warming up. We made it back to Kariong servo clocking in at 3 hours and 10 minutes with happy faces and well-worked legs :)

Thanks for a lovely country ride and plenty of laughs!

The Photos



The Stats

Distance covered: 36km
Riding time: 3 hours 10 minutes (less about 30 min for stops)
Heart rate: 113 (average) 169 (max)
Calories burnt: 1042

The Map