The Century Challenge 2011

Hello all :)

A beautiful sunny Sunday provided a perfect day for the Century Challenge 2011 (compared to last year's rainy conditions), and I did feel quite excited in my half-awake state as I signed the registration papers at Mount Penang to enter the 110km challenge. Sadly neither Tor or Amanda could make it, but I'm hoping that more bunnies will be enticed to brave these mad and gruelling hills next year.

This is by far the hardest long ride I've done - with NO flat section along the way; undulation while lovely and inspiring in the beginning - turns to sheer pain towards the end: your legs scream in protest and you have to pretend you can't hear them in order to get to the finish line. I believe a trance-like state of denial helps too... ;) "that's not a hill, it's just the earth turning slowly and I'm actually riding on a flat surface".

To give some idea of the 'undulating' ride - here's the topography & map of the route:

This is a fantastic ride though; the scenery is amazing and the Erina Rotary club (who organise the ride and raise money for Coast Shelter) do a great job in putting on the event - the best for any charity ride I've done: You cycle along remote country roads and arrive at rest stops with friendly marshals providing home-made chocolate cake, fruit, water and.... snakes :) If this doesn't get your spirits up to continue, I don't know what would... :)

You could probably count the mountain bike riders (in the 110k challenge) on one, or maybe two hands. The big bulk of the riders were all jazzed up on their road bikes and zoomed off into the morning sun (not to be seen again, I might add ;)) - which allowed us slower paced riders to enjoy the scenery without any hustling & bustling... It can get lonely out there on the remote roads though, and so it was very exciting to find a like-minded friend at the first rest stop (while digging into the newly arrived chocolate cake). Maddy (solo champion rider) and I - braved the second half of the ride together, with jelly-beans for fuel and sheer determination to get us to the finish line where we were greeted by our very own cheer squad of patiently waiting partners...

Stage 1
The start of the ride takes you up Wisemans Ferry Rd (undulating up-hill) to the Peats Ridge Rd turn-off. Morning sun and still quite chilly in the air (cold feet...). Luckily I'd put on quite a few layers, thinking I could take some off as it got warmer in the day - as it turned out, the chill in the air stayed with us and I was glad to be rugged up for the whole ride. Wisemans Ferry Rd has quite a few potholes and chomped up edges, so you need to keep an eye on where you're going... Once you get onto Peats Ridge road, the surface is more reliable, and there is even a shoulder safe enough to cruise along...

Stage 2
Ride down Peats Ridge road to the Calga U-turn bay, where you cross the road and cycle back up to the first rest stop near the Peats Ridge road & George Downs drive intersection. The return trip from the U-turn bay is definitely more up than down, which made that lovely chocolate cake all the more welcome! This rest stop provided us with 2 route choices: 1) Be sensible and take the 65km shortcut - or... 2) Keep going on the century challenge route... Being die-hard (or foolish), we prevailed and soldiered on towards stage 3...

Stage 3
Probably the hardest stage of the ride - the road narrows quite a bit, to a winding and quite hilly country road - which you're sharing with a surprising amount of non-cycling traffic: there were countless motorbikes blaring past us and 4-wheel drives - where some found it hard to gauge how much room (if any) they should leave between their car and the cyclists! Not too well-read-up on the map situation, I was blissfully unaware of the turnaround point and called out YAY!!! 20km too early (this was just before the hideously steep 10km ride DOWN to Mangrove dam followed by the 10km back up again)! Without the support of the marshals at the rest stop at the bottom of the hill, there is no way my champion fellow rider and I would have made that leg of the ride.

Stage 4
From the top at Kulnura we were told it was 40 km to the finish line - and so we set our determination dial to maximum, and put our heads down for the home run. A jelly-bean boost stop at the 16km to go mark gave us the much needed energy to complete the challenge. Getting to that finish line practically had me in tears: exhausted & exhilarated with a certificate and lucky rider prize to top it all off! Am I mad enough to do it again? - Definitely :)


Ride stats:
Distance cycled - 106.6km
Speed - 56.1 km/h (max) 18.1km/h (average)
Time cycling - 5 hours 47 minutes
Total time - 7 hours 14 minutes
Calories - 3946 (!)
Heart rate - 172 (max) 137 (average)

    Friendly marshal showing us the way... 

    ... and posing with champion rider

    16km to go

    Jelly-beans DO work!

    A very happy bunny at the finish line

    We did it!

Happy riding to all of you - and definitely book this one in for next year!

Annette :)

Mt Penang Cycling Muster

Sunday 19th September Mt Penang Cycling Muster
What a fabulous day we had at the Mt Penang Cycling muster - offered for free to us by the same group who organised the bicycle confidence workshop last October: Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service.

A few quick stats

Attending Bunnies: Amanda, Diane & Annette
Total attendees: 30+
Meeting Place: Mt Penang Parklands
Muster workshop duration: 9am - 12 noon
Cycling distance: 8km (approx - including to & from event)
Calories burnt: 525
Heart rate: 158 max 92 average

The muster congregated opposite the Waterfall café near Mt Penang Gardens - at 9am on this slightly overcast Sunday morning.

Diane and Annette & cycled to the event (just across the road from home...), and Amanda drove up the hill to meet us with a bag full of laughs and slight dose of disorganisation: She'd arrived without her wallet and registration papers... but then absent-minds seemed to flourish; as I fell out of bed with less than 30 minutes to get ready; sent a "what are you wearing" text to Amanda before dashing out to my bike with my son holding my half-eaten banana and unlocking my bike for me... Diane left one of her registration forms at home as well, but was too excited to worry about it as she'd just cycled across the Central Coast highway to get to the event... We were all most eager to get started! During our check-in we were welcomed, ticked off the list and also got a brand new bright yellow hi-vis vest with reflector tape and the slogan "Get Back on Your Bike" on the back! Feeling spoilt and highly visible we waited for the introduction talk on the grass...

Introduction time...

Stage 1
The muster attendees were split into 3 groups (advanced, intermediate and beginners), somehow we landed ourselves in the advanced group and started our 'gears, hills & hand-signals run' by almost falling off our bikes (all excitement, no focus...). Our instructor had us weave between orange cones, cycle in single-file and give clear "this is what I intend to do signals" to our fellow riders, which prompted much laughing from a few silly bunnies in the group. After failing to react to the "Passing" signal (last weekend during the Newcastle to Dungog ride), I did my best to over-compensate, while Diane braved signalling right-hand turns & Amanda cycled along in pro-style (being clipped in et all).

After a few safe laps around the duck pond it was time to go further a-field and take on the big hill. By this time Amanda was getting worried "Is it like Kariong hill....?" she asked... I'd cycled through the grounds on a number of occasions but couldn't for the life of me remember what the hill was like, so I hesitated... which instantly confirmed the hill as very long and very steep. Little did it help that, Diane, who was riding her "Amsterdam special" bicycle, was told she wouldn't make it up the hill without gears and so had to wait at the top while the rest of the group careered down the hill in a spaced out fashion. Turns out the hill was neither very long nor very steep, but it was still a fun part of the exercise (and in hind-sight we figured that "Amsterdam special" would have made it as well). With 45minutes gone it was time to make our way back to the muster area for stage two...

Bunnies in new hi-vis vests...

Stage 2

Stage two was all about technical riding skills. Our instructor took us to the roundabout and showed us how to take fast corners (approach the roundabout at high speed, lean on the outside leg as you veer around the bend without losing balance or hitting anyone within a 50m radius...). This was a new skill for many of us and it was very exciting to feel that (although there's still room to perfect the technique) it actually makes a huge difference! Both Amanda and I agreed that we'd been leaning on the wrong leg before today, so this was a welcome addition to things we need to practice.

After our 'cornering practice' it was time to move on to group riding skills... We lined up in single-file and set off with our instructor at the front. We practised changing leader, pointing out debris on the road, signalling where to go and when to stop. There were quite a few laughs along the way as we 'lost' part of the group and then became a bit over-enthusiastic in 'pointing out' things along the way. After single-file riding it was time for a trial run of two-abreast "bunch riding". Our instructor, who was very informative and helpful, talked about the speeds you can reach when riding in a group like this and how professional riders will protect their 'sprinters' in the middle of the group so they are 'fresh' for the run to the finish line. With no lack of imagination - we felt highly peletonish as we zoomed yet another lap around the duck pond before meeting up at the muster area for stage three of our workshop morning.

Note the Amsterdam special vintage bike

Stage 3
Stage three was all about bicycle maintenance... Our instructor showed us how to fit our seat height, how to use a plomb to see if your seat is too far forward or too far back (or just right...). He then talked us through a list of maintenance checks:

• Keeping the chain nicely oiled (but not too greasy)
• Adjusting the breaks
• Adjusting the gears
• Checking the tyre pressure (and using the pump to put more air in)
• Helmet adjustment

As the other two groups came back, one lady performed a stunt trick: Her back tyre exploded with a monumental BANG!! We all jumped and some of us screamed... then the instructors assessed the situation thinking this may be a perfect opportunity to demonstrate fixing a flat... alas the whole tyre was split to bits, so fixing the inner-tube was put on hold - so instead we were told that this incident demonstrated only too clearly how hazardous it can be to use Petrol Station Pumps - a definite no-no as the pressure cannot be trusted...

The workshop concluded with a photo shoot near the Mt Penang Gardens and most of us stayed for a cup of coffee and a chat in the Waterfall café. On top of our fashionable hi-vis vests we also received a water bottle, a hand-towel and a entry pass to the gardens. As this workshop was a lot more practical compared to the first one we attended, we walked away feeling that we'd learnt new things, had a great time and been given lots of great hints (and treats) to try out in the near future - our instructors were friendly, positive & professional and provided us with a really good experience. 

Couldn't resist the mirror photo...

Bicycle muster group shot at the end...


Happy riding all and thanks for a great day!
Annette, Amanda & Diane :)

Century Challenge

A sole bunny ventures out on a 100k ride....

This bicycle event (which I found out about from Bunny Tor), is organised by the Rotary club, and starts pretty much right on my doorstep. Sadly none of our other bunnies were able to attend..., but being so close and tempting, I decided to give it a go and see where it landed me:

The Ride Stats:

Meeting place: Mt Penang 7:15 am (cold)
Start time: ~8:10 am
Finish time: ~1:30pm
Active cycling time: 5 hours 42 min (including to and from event)
Total time: 6 hours 13 min
Calories burnt: 3723
Heart rate: 145 average 174 max
Speed: 18km/hour average 53km/hour max

I got to the event registration with time to spare and had my BLUE number pinned to the back of my vest by a very helpful and encouraging volunteer. Everyone mad enough to sign up for the 100k ride wore blue numbers, while the slightly more sane riders sported a red number on their back.... I wandered around for a bit and watched other riders getting organised, there was an air of flurry and excitement - further enhanced because the PA system didn't arrive, and the organisers were forced to convey their instructions multiple times by moving about the crowd with a megaphone :) One happy bloke next to me summed up the barely audible instructions in one line: Basically Don't fall of your bike and you'll be fine!...

Just after 8:00 am the 100k riders were ready to set off (with the 40k riders due to follow at around 8:30); I'd placed myself waaaaay back in the pack, where I was able to take in the view of the more serious riders up front, hustling and bustling for a good starting position. We coasted through the park-lands and turned right into Kangoo road from where the riders spread out as everyone settled into their own pace. I quickly became aware that most of the 100k riders were men - and very, very few were riding anything other than skinny-wheeled road racing bikes... Oh dear I thought, one in a million - here I come :D

Even though my first observations had me slightly worried (sunset would arrive with me still out there pedalling to reach that elusive destination - with every other rider finished, packed up and off to enjoy a relaxing evening...), I soon discovered that although the fast and serious riders would have eaten me for breakfast, there were still lots of friendly riders (who didn't bare their teeth at me) to tag along with; making it a very enjoyable ride all round :)

The Map...

   The yellow stars on the map are my banana - snake stops :)

The flashing red lights...
Some of the riders sported a flashing back light; this is such an amazingly visible gadget! However, few beat the rider I seemed to be following for most of the ride: He had a red helmet light, a red light on the back of his jacket, and.... a red light on the back of his bike - 3 red lights in a vertical line, encouraging me to pedal on... towards the end I was positively hallucinating over these 3 jumping lights, but very happy to have them in view :)

The clonking gears...
With about 65km to go, my gears started playing up - making it near impossible to get into top gear. Although annoying it didn't put a stop to the adventure - at the next drink stop a very helpful "mature" guy brought out his handy dandy multi-tool and loosened one of the derailleur screws: "Just a half-turn should do it". It didn't quite fix the problem, though I was most thankful for his effort, and soon worked out a way of tricking the gears to shift: Juggle, juggle - get into 2 - 6, then: push and hold the left gear lever (trying to get it into 3rd), while at the same time shifting into 7 on the right lever... Bit un-technical, but it worked!

The long and undulating road...
Having ridden most of these roads before (being close to home et all), I knew it was a feast in undulation - the road travels up and down, up and down and back up again, in a steady variation of sorts. The scenery is beautiful (even though it rained for a bit of the ride). The difference on this day was that there were over 500 other cyclists on the road and a bunch of happy volunteers (braving the rain) with big waving hands showing us where to go.

The hills...
My "You can get up this hill" pep-talk started with the usual: "Pass that next road marker... and then pass the next one 50 metres up.... and the next one 50 metres up... and then you've only got 3 more to go...." But nearing the end of 100km it was more like: "Pass that tree (1 metre up) and now the next tree... (half a metre up) and..... the next bloody tree..." My muscles were positively screaming - but then somehow there was this exhilarating reward - once reaching the top of the hill, energy seemed to return and I felt like flying again :)

The volunteer treats...
There were a number of drink and food stops along the way - I stopped at the one at the top of Peats Ridge road and again just passed the Kulnura store. What a delight it was to roll up to a table laden with a big box of bananas, chocolate cake and... SNAKES! One rider told me he'd worked out that he could go 5km on a snake - this is where I asked how far we had to go (38km) and so I stuffed 8 snakes in my back pocket - it worked a treat!! The ever so positive and friendly volunteers also brought a smile to my face and definitely helped as a happy encouragement.

The finish...
The last leg of the ride was a detour down to Somersby falls... I didn't stop to take in the scenery at the falls, but I did stop and chat to the lovely volunteer ladies at the bottom of the hill before braving the last hill of the day. They were kindly warning riders of the slippery road, and told me about the two guys who'd already decked it in the bend going way too fast on their "really skinny wheels"... I psyched myself up with the last snake, grit my teeth, asked the lovely ladies to wish me luck and... worked my way to the top of the hill. After that I felt I was officially on the home run - watching the trip metre on the bike computer click over to 100km actually had me in tears! Seeing Bo and the kids past the finish line - welcoming me back, was very emotional indeed - I'd done it! And although I could barely walk, it was an exhilarating feeling!

Reaching the finish line :)

This is definitely a ride I will repeat and hope to entice you bunnies into coming along! :)
Safe and happy riding to all of you!

Annette :)