85km Loop the Lake - 2012

Oh what a fabulous challenge this was! Loop the Lake takes you all the way around Lake Macquarie and throws in hills, magnificent undulating road, fantastic scenery... and lots of friendly marshals & volunteers along the way! We have wanted to do this ride for a few years, but this is the first time any of the biker bunny contingency actually made it to the start (and the finish!).

The beautiful view of the lake seen from near Belmont

Token bunny Amanda...
Sadly poor bunny Amanda could not partake - her habit of leaving parties in 'style' has landed her with a bump on her head - meaning that 5 hours with a helmet would have been pure torture... So, we decided to bring token bunny Amanda along for the ride - and boy did she have a blast of a ride!

Getting there
Tor and I met up at Gosford train station (after my ride in the dark down Kariong hill)  in time to catch the 6:15 am train to Teralba. With the ticket office closed and ticket machine not accepting notes, it was lucky Tor had brought her card or we would have had to travel sans tickets :) The train ride gave us an hour to repack and check our things -  Tor's camel pack started the day with an annoying drip-drop that persisted throughout the day and eventually had her fling the tube over her back. All else was good though, and we arrived in Teralba deciding to follow the other cyclists hoping they knew where the start was - luckily they did. Once at Spears Point Park, we got our rider numbers and were off in a matter of minutes (after taking the compulsory pre-ride photos)...

Tor with token Amanda on the train

Annette trying to look as fresh as Amanda...

Whoo-hoo we're about to set off!

Helmet: check -  Sunnies: check - Amanda: check

The Hilly Start...
We coasted out of Spears Point Park and down past Teralba along the cycleway on Five Islands Rd. Soon the hills began and the road persisted with lots of up and downs for the next 20km. What a great way to wake up! There were lots of riders on the road and most were very friendly and happy to wave or say hello.

At this early part of the ride however, we did see a number of the so called 'serious riders' who ride 3 or 4 abreast and are unable to respond to calls of good-morning or even a simple hello... Later on in the ride we merely saw evidence of these riders by way of their discarded drink bottles and energy food wrappings - shame on them! Apart from these guys everyone else along the way were truly fabulous!

Setting out on our 85km ride

Annette, Tor (and Amanda) at Myuna Bay

Muffins and the undulating road...
Our first rest stop; in a little park just behind Morisset, marked a fabulous end to the the (more) hilly section of our ride. The muffin and tea ladies were all smiles and provided such a welcome energy boost: Tor raved about her cup of tea and decided that the chocolate muffin (delicious) turned her day around - and I couldn't agree more! We signed a petition for a cycleway, socialised with the volunteers and other riders (our biker bunny t-shirts were noticed :)) and Tor did some good yoga stretches on the ground before we mounted up for the next leg of the ride...

We left Morisset all refreshed and made our way along Wyee road, which eventually brought us onto the slightly more hazardous Rutleys road, where we were advised to ride single file (definitely a good point as the shoulder is practically non existent along here). The marshals were very helpful and we even saw a motorcycle police book a driver for playing silly-buggers with cyclists (passengers yelling out the window and driver doing some very risky overtaking on double unbroken lines)! Finally we reached Doyalson (the Doylo') and cruised out on to the undulating Pacific Hwy, which I have to say would be my favourite stretch of the ride: Long slopes and rises along a wide shouldered road - absolutely perfect! :)

Ahh! What a lovely cup of tea!

This one looks fresh as a daisy...

Tor with the lovely muffin lady...

After chocolate muffin boost!

Tor all smiles along Wyee road

Annette with her passenger...

The long road ahead...

Some beautiful trees along the way

Ahh that undulating road! - near Catherine Hill Bay

Nearing the end...
Our next rest stop was outside the Big Prawn on the Pacific Hwy, where we re-filled our water bottles and chatted with the water man and some friendly riders. Amanda true to form, chatted up one of the guys and even had her photo taken with him... :) We shared jellybeans and snakes with our new found friends (the water man was something of an expert, he admitted to being a jellybean freak and had no problem identifying these as 'natural' jellybeans), and took some more photos before embarking on the next leg towards Belmont.

My left and right confusion threw in a hairy moment when I was passing a guy, and called out Passing on Left (when I should have said Right!!!) - luckily he didn't veer and there was no collision! Not wanting to startle people or appear rude, I have resorted to all sorts of phrases when passing other cyclists: Good Morning, Hello-Hello-Hello, and Sorry-Coming through-Coming through! - I think it's good advice to be brief and just call Passing... ;)

The rest stop at Belmont had me out of my shoes with a toe cramp - painful but thankfully a hop around without shoes made it go away. The lovely volunteers provided a selection of fruits for energy waning cyclists - they had delicious oranges cut in quarters and we must have had at least 6 each! Tor also brought out her yummy yoghurt covered fruity snacks to get us pumped for the last 16km!

Near Little Pelican and further up past Swansea, we got some amazing water views, which we captured as proof of circumnavigating the lake.

Water re-filling and all smiles...

(3) riders at the Big Prawn rest stop

Here comes the freshest rider of the day...

Bunny Amanda chatting up the guys...

Rearing to continue the ride...

Foot cramp at Belmont... ouch!

Little Pelican - just after the bridge

Tor showing us the view...

Now that is one silly smile...

The Finish...
The last section of the ride threw in a few hills, not too bad but enough to feel it - we were told there was a hill taking us past the hospital, only there appeared to be 2 hospitals (both with hills)! The last hill gave us a lovely decent down into Warners Bay, from where we could feel the finish line getting closer and we soldiered on bravely to cross the finish line with HUGE smiles!

The signs throughout the ride were great (despite the spelling)!

Not far to go now...

Happy Tor at the Finish line after 85km cycling!

Yes! We did it!

And here she comes - fresh as a daisy after 85km!

We had 10 minutes to make the 1:50 pm train from Teralba station and (madly) decided to make a run for it. So once our finish photos were taken, we hopped back on our bikes and ignored screaming leg muscles as we cycled towards the station as fast as we could... Problem: train station is on the 'other' side of Five Islands Rd, and we ended up having to lift our bikes over the barricade and then cross the busy road with 1 minute to go! Drama, muscle pain and suspense increased with every second as we pedalled down towards the station... The train was pulling into the station as we were carrying our (now super heavy) bikes up the (million) steps above the platform - Tor gritted her teeth and decided that either you miss the train by heaps or you DON'T miss it! She hoppetty hopped down to the platform and made sure that we got on that train, with yours truly lumbering down the stairs in a not so elegant fashion (I did have an extra passenger mind you)! Finally on the train, we could relax and enjoy our return journey with apples and snake lollies - feeling the achievement of the day seeping through all the sweat and grime - Well Done Bunnies! :)

Ride stats:
Loop the Lake Distance: 85 km
Total Distance Cycled: 93.7km (Tor) 105.9km (Annette)
Speed: 18.8km/h (average) 59.6 (max)
Calories Burnt: 3062
Time Cycled: 4 hours 56 minutes
Total Time (Loop the lake + station rides): 6 hours 36 minutes

The Map:

Happy riding all bunnies, and hope you can make the next one - this is truly a fabulous ride!

Annette :)