Escapade to Woy Woy

What a glorious sunny winter day we had for our ride today! As we didn't have quite enough time to spare for a long ride, we settled for a trusted escapade to Woy Woy and back, which indeed is a very nice ride. After meeting Amanda not far from the local RSL, we pushed off on the lovely dovely pathway singing out increasingly funny (to us) greetings of 'Hello G'day, Gidday, Morning, Morn, Hooroo, Hooray... & even Good mooorning' to the many riders we passed along the way...

With the sun warming our backs we hit Woy Woy road and stomped on our pedals to see if we could beat our PB time... While pumping along the main road (not far to go), wind blaring in our faces (or mainly in Amanda's face as she was riding on the front) - there's this dreaded CLICKETY SNAP sound above my head... A Swooping MAGPIE! In July! Seriously, the world must be upside down... they aren't supposed to turn into overprotective agro parents before spring! Oh well, time to dress up like an alien (spikes on helmet) again. :). We entered the township of Woy Woy in what could be described as a 'bunch sprint' huffing and puffing right to the line where poor Amanda almost toppled in the water because she was going so fast!

Before our coffee stop, there was a slight detour to the local bike shop in Woy Woy... where we borrowed the fancy bike pump to put more air in my back tyre. Actually, it was Amanda who did most of the pumping (upper body workout), while I delegated and kept a check on the nicely inflating tyre :)

Coffee was lovely - and we even managed to find a nice spot in the sun where we giggled away half an hour before jumping back on our bikes for the return ride.

On our way back there was a lady walking her dog... Amanda informed me that the little fluffy thing was on a lead, so there was no need to panic and zip off into the terrain... But then, just as I was about to pass the lady and her fluffy dog, she bent down and picked it up... I had this hilarious flash of what I thought she was going to do... I almost fell of my bike laughing my head off - so I had to draw it when I got home:

Dog overboard!

My heart rate monitor was playing up a bit today (blatantly lying more like it) & decided that 178bpm was the favourite number of the day (even during coffee!). So I have adjusted the stats slightly to be more realistic:

Distance Cycled: 27.5km
Time Cycling: 1 hour 41 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes (including coffee and tyre pumping)
Calories burnt: 1500
Heart rate: Max = 170 Average = 129

Happy riding all!

Annette :)

End 2010 Ride Wrap-up

Here's a little wrap-up of our latest adventures in 2010... Hope you enjoy the slightly belated photos, and hope to see you on lots of exciting escapades in 2011!

The Gossie - Wossie rides...

Amanda & I went on a few of these leisurely adventures in the last few months of the year. Armed with a good dose of humour, lots of silly laughs and a few hysterics; we cruised along the beautiful waterfront spanning the distance between Gosford and Woy Woy. In Woy Woy we stop for that delicious coffee before returning back the same way.

The stretch of road from just past Truscott & almost all the way to the Woy Woy bridge (not sure if that's the name... but it is a bridge and you can see Woy Woy 'towering' just after it :) ) offers a fabulous sprinting tempter to the ride. We mostly forget to record the exact time we leave Gosford, but always marvel at the 35+km/hour clocked along this stretch, believing we MUST have done it in record time...

Our last ride had an extra treat thrown in at the end: Amanda came up with the great idea that we should finish off with a swim in Gosford pool! Oh that blue, blue water and the sun shining from the blue sky! It was blissful and although I still had the ride up the hill before I could call it a day, it was a fabulous way to 'end' a ride. We could almost call ourselves tri-athletes (a bit of running around in the parking area would have sealed the deal for sure...) after our mixed workout.

     Posing at Gosford pool...

     It's hotting up... time to get out the sun-screen!

    Which way to Woy Woy??

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Tuggerah - Long Jetty - Entrance Adventure

At the end of November bunnies Tor, Amanda & Annette went for a slightly longer bike ride. It was a nice warm day (plenty of water needed) - just perfect for a ride with friends :)

Amazingly we all managed to meet up without anyone getting seriously lost... I caught the train to Tuggerah station planning to meet the girls at the start of the cycleway - but Tor & Amanda (who started from Tor's house in Forries) got to the end before my train got in & so they cruised down into seedy swampland for a hair-raising detour into the desolate forgotten side of Tuggerah. Quick back-track pedalling had them swing out onto Wyong road just behind me... unfortunately though, traffic drowned their excited yelling and obviously I didn't see them... so we all caught up at the Chittaway pub (& had a few beers before continuing in our dreams...).

The ride was lovely - weaving along the waterway on the cycle path to Long Jetty & then all the way up to the Entrance where we stopped for coffee. Fuelled on coffee we rode back the same way & continued on to Tor's house in Forresters beach where we all drank lots of water, after which, Amanda picked up her car & I waved bye to the lovely bunnies and rode on home.

    Someone at the back really wants to be in the photo...

    Tor & Amanda near Long Jetty

    This coffee bunny's got attitude :)

    I am So allowed another coffee - my iPhone says I can!

    It wasn't me...

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Mini Bunny Rides...

The kids and I have been on a few little rides close to home, checking out the horses and ducks across the road & riding to the local library. Ben is definitely due for a bigger bike: at the moment he's riding with his knees up near his ears poor kid, funny how they grow so quickly!

We went on one sunny adventure which involved a mix of road, pathway, roadworks and even some lovely scenery thrown in for good measure. Crossing the Pacific Hwy was precarious to say the least, with roadworks and a new crossing to contend with and lots of traffic. Once we got to the other side things quietened down and even the ducks came out to say hello...

    Crossing the Hwy...

    Cruising down the bike path :)

Apart from a bunch of solo rides this concludes our rides for 2010.

Happy riding to all of you in 2011!

Annette :)

35km bunny adventure

Today finally proved beyond doubt, that when bunny-Amanda and I go bike-riding - hysterics will follow in our trail as certain as the sun shining on our padded bums... Flouro-vests and incessant laughing make us an easy duo to spot along the Central Coast roads (give THOSE ones a WIDE berth!!). :)

The Ride
27th August 2009

Bunnies on Bikes: Amanda and Annette
Meeting point: Radjhani's restaurant on Ocean View Rd
Set-off time: ~9:30am
Accessories: padded bike-pants, map, camera, phones & flouro-vests

First up - Amanda's delightful riding account:

Sadly there were no little people binding me up and carrying me into the woods today or wild boars chasing me through the forest with men in tights trying to save this fair maiden. But there were cement trucks trying to cement Annette into the road and ute drivers being pains in the derriere)!!! AND HILLS!!!!!!! And once again lots of them. I am learning to embrace my new love of hills and try my hardest to reach the top because if I don’t I will always be at the bottom!

Today was not like every other day – I was actually looking forward to the challenge and it was an early challenge followed by a cruisey straight flat ride home.

Funnily enough both Annette and I (and I blame it on the fact that it came up so quickly) had to walk up our first hill, which was at the end of Ocean View Drive, obviously Annette walked up less than I did but nonetheless that is the first time I have seen it happen.

We cruised along the shared footpath along the Entrance Rd until we crossed onto Tumbi Rd where I think all in all there are about 5 hills and guess what; I cycled up every single one of them! I did nearly vomit on the first one but soldiered on and managed to keep going for another 2.5 hours. The road is not too bad, there is a cycle path along some of the road and one has to be careful of stopping on posh people's driveways (yes even I think they are posh Noelle), especially when they are trying to get out. We discovered that Prado drivers cannot turn on a square but need a perfect arch into which they can maneouvre themselves onto the rd as one lady asked us to move further down the road – we were on HER turning circle – years of worn out bitumen and she simply couldn't veer of her traditional approach to coming out of her drive.

Water stop at Mingara petrol station where Annette lost the plot pretty early and bought herself not one but two waters, and she was already carrying a spare – what had I let myself into – was she going to kidnap me and is this why she had purchased unnecessarily large amounts of water – NO she had just had a brain freeze!

Following Tor's advice we went down Tumbi Creek Rd to try and find the lake track and I nearly ran into a grumpy old bag pushing a pram across the road – strange people in this world – she seemed pissed off that she had to wait to cross the road for a bicycle and decided to try and go it alone – but I was too fast for her and she got stuck on the kerb! :D

Then at the end of what we thought was the bike track we turned into the village idiots as we ate our sesame snaps and laughed incessantly at how out of place we looked in suburbia.

No further accidents or incidents to report until Annette with her divine love of taking photographs at every single stop said "Can you take one of me with the water in the background" and proceeded to hand me the camera forgetting that she had her bike in the other hand CRASH BANG OH MY GOD HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER STOP LOOKING AT US SERGEANT MAJOR – you get the picture. Lucky I had my bike pants on to soak up the... Only joking!

As we drove past Tor's house Annette waved and I wished the girls luck on their walk. Nearing the end of our road I got beeped by a P plater who had no idea that the road was not hers alone. Coffee break at the iBar where Annette made me pose in my workman's vest beside a road digger – do you think I look the part?

Oh home and happy!

Amanda :)


& here's my (Annette's) view from the saddle:

This 35km bike-ride started by taking on Ocean View Rd (pushing bikes, huffing and puffing up to the roundabout), & then meandering down the shared path to the Tumbi Rd roundabout (in a most elegant fashion needless to say). Sun was out and the day was indeed a beautiful one for a ride... What could possibly cause these biker-bunnies to go off the rails...?

We struck the hills of Tumbi road, but with happy undulation we got plenty of free rides too :) Our encounter with the 'posh' Prado driving lady at our first 'water stop' is probably in hindsight, what set us up for further laughs and hysterics along the way...
You have to picture this; You have just wrenched your lungs inside out to get to the top of a hill on a bicycle, adrenaline is pumping and your breathing is still that of an asthmatic horse. You wheel your bike to a stop, well off the road, plenty of room, metres and metres to the road and the driveway behind you... Then down the driveway, loud and vivacious (non-diva I might add), comes the PRADO lady. You look up and smile (as you do...), then you see her performing strange hand-signals from the driver seat... Waving? No not waving.... Drowning? hmmm nope shouldn't be... OH!! Wants me to mooooovve! Right! 20 metres isn't quite enough to steer this beast out onto Tumbi Rd, sure I get it :) Hobble Hobble (that's you moving your bike with water bottle in one hand), followed by the roar of the Prado finally making the near impossible turn onto the main road... Witness this and you're bound to lose the plot!

After the Mingara water stop, the ride took us along the bike path up towards Tuggerah with alcoholic drink inspired street names... we pedaled (drank) our way up to Kalua, before heading back down the bike path towards Long Jetty & the Entrance Rd *wave to Tor as we pass her street* completing the ride back down to the end of Ocean View Rd in Terrigal.

It is fair to say that we went from bad to worse - but we had an absolute ball :)

• At the water-buying stop, I lost my brain arriving out of the shop with 3 bottles of water (one for Amanda) not having thought where to store them... subliminal kidnap plans no doubt.
• Then the kerb-crashing grump threw us into fits of laughter, the look on this lady's face was pretty priceless as she steered her child occupied stroller BANG into the kerb with a look of complete indignation aimed at Amanda.
• The village-idiot-convention became reality as I decided to take a photo of both of us 'poised' on a log; instead the camera captured me side-swiping Amanda's sesame snap into the grass looking as though I'm either walloping her or trying to push her off the log...
• As we left the 'convention' we cycled past a suspicious man kneeling in his front lawn... in front of a very rectangular coffin-shaped hole! We instantly thought 'six feet under' and All is NOT what it seems in the 'burbs! With a few nervous giggles we quickened our pace, throwing a few looks over our shoulder ...
  
• I dare say it was a good thing that I wasn't on my bike when I haphazardly threw it on the ground (again - caused by a photo opportunity), but the crashing noises and hysterics we brought to the peaceful setting had us scrambling back on our bikes and leaving for the next debacle in less than 5 seconds!

Amanda frequently takes calls from her various family members on each ride - generally these calls appear to follow the line of either "Where are you mum?" or "How far have you ridden now? - aha... that's possible to do in half that time...!" This naturally adds to the excitement (especially when yours truly embarks on a no-brain conversation with Amanda's poor unsuspecting husband, where I was unable to string a sentence together, yet still intent on portraying us as true hell-bunnies, the end-result most definitely confirming that this village-idiot is still on the road :D ). To make matters even more hilarious, Amanda makes a quick call to Tor letting her know that we were now at (not, as would have been just as accurate in terms of location - at the Tumbi Umbi roundabout)... Wamberal Cemetary!

Finally, we cruised on back down Ocean View Rd to a well-deserved coffee, a digger waiting by the side for a last pressing photo opportunity :)

Thanks for all the laughs!

Photos


The Stats

Distance covered: 35km
Riding time: 3 hours 11 minutes (less if you ignore water stops)
Heart rate: 111 (average) 168 (max)
Calories burnt: 1017

The Map

The map doesn't show the bike-path, but generally it's pretty close :)

Big well wishes go to the Toad pole champions Lou and Tor (and Pete & Adrian) doing their 100km Oxfam trailwalk this weekend!
GOOD LUCK!!

Somerby falls on Saturday

The Ride
9th August 2009
Bunnies on bikes - Janine & Annette
Meeting place - Kariong servo
Meeting time - 8:00 am (!)

Bright and early on this sunny, chilly Saturday morning, Janine and I met up at the service station ready for an adventure. One bunny very awake and the other bunny practically asleep... Just before set-off we delved into some serious tyre pushing, discovering that Janine's tyres were soft and cuddly - perhaps not the ideal state for a ride, but still quite cute. So we wheeled bikes over to the air pump and managed to reform her tyres to super-duper hard tyres (close to 60psi), creating a whole new riding experience!

We rode down the main road and turned into Kangoo road, passing the new industrial area and some bushland. The sun was up, but it was still quite cold, so I had gloves and Janine wore a scarf to keep the chill out.

There's a seriously bumpy part of the road that runs off Debenham road, where you go under the F3 dodging a myriad of potholes on a downhill stretch, bit like a washboard with the sunlight playing visual tricks for good measure :) Apart from the bumps, most of the back roads through Somersby are lovely to ride, a few hills here and there - but you get the down hills as well so there's plenty of variation.

By the time we'd climbed a few hills (one biggish one) Janine took off her jumper, which I strapped to my bike... This is where we have a silent minute for the stripey green & black jumper, that went off on its own adventure..., sadly not to be found again. Hopefully it found excitement along the way, and I have made a note to myself to strap adventurous jumpers more securely in the future...

Our ride took us across to Somersby falls, where we had a short break in the sun. By now we'd warmed up properly and Janine excelled in some serious 'standing' hill climbing on the way back up from the falls. We rode back the same way we'd come, thinking we might spot the adventurous jumper & so we had our eyes peeled on the opposite side of the road.

When we got to Kangoo road we sent a car of unlikely brides on a wild-goose-chase looking for "Bridal Collections". Giving directions seems to come with the territory of donning bright yellow flouro-vests. Enthusiastically we did our best even though neither of us had a clue where the brides should be heading :)

We took a detour through Mt Penang gardens, and discovered a very changed place. The grates to keep cows and horses in (or out) were gone, and several new roads had appeared zig-zagging their way across what used to be a grazing area for the animals. It took us some time to find the way out, and a slight hesitation to find that the way out was blocked by a large pad-locked gate. Janine rode up and found a way around the gate, which had big signs (on the other side) warning trespassers to keep out and alerting everyone about guard dogs on the constuction site!! Oh well, as the more level-headed bunny pointed out; if we could wheel our bikes out, the dogs could get out as well, so there wouldn't have been any left :)

The last bit of our happy Saturday tour, took us back up to the service station, completing a nice sunny bike ride :)

Look forward to the next ride and hope you're all well and happy!




The Stats
Distance - 24km
Riding time - 2 hours 20min
Heart rate - 110 (average) 163 (max)
Calories burnt - 738

The Map