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 :)

A Free Bicycle Workshop

The Event

Bunnies on board - Lou, Amanda, Diane & Annette

Meeting place - Ourimbah, CARES facility

Time - 9:30 am - 12:30pm

Weather - Overcast with some drizzle

Distance cycled ~ 1km...

Today's event was the much anticipated workshop provided by Central Coast & North Sydney Area Health. We rocked up with our bikes to find an amazingly "cute" facility: traffic lights, a roundabout, intersections & road signs galore – all backing onto the bush with bellbirds singing at the top of their voices :) (They also run a great program for school kids here!).

There were quite a few exclamations of WOW! as we parked our bikes outside the main building, where we had the introduction and theory component of the workshop... The co-ordinator Nigel, introduced himself and talked a little about the reasons for setting up these 'cycling confidence workshops', before handing over to our workshop instructor – Allan.

Allan talked about state and council goals for improving cycling safety and participation around the country. He also talked about his previous work within Gosford council and gave us general advice on helmets, what to wear and different types of bikes.

Lou ticked almost every box as the prepared and road-ready cyclist, and was asked to stand up and demonstrate not only her outfit (great for cycling) but also her fancy basket, with both water-bottle and sunscreen onboard! :) Amanda got to stand up and demonstrate her helmet (she even performed a most graceful bend forward, to show that her helmet remained on her head :) ), and as she is our fashionista bunny, she also got to show off her very flash reversable cycling jacket :)

So 2 of our biker bunnies (sporting slightly redder faces) were now offially introduced to the entire group. A group which consisted of mostly women and a few happy guys of varying age and cycling confidence. Although we didn't really have time to get to know each other in the short time, it was great to see the level of enthusiasm in the group: everyone seemed keen about cycling and finding ways to gain more on-road confidence.

A 'mature' couple had brought their fancy 'fold-up-bikes' to the workshop, and the man demonstrated how quickly he could fold the bike into a small package: Janine, you'll love this: Not only does the bike itself fold up to almost "carry-on" luggage size, BUT the PEDALS fold up as well, meaning

that this bike is perfect if you want to push it along and not get jabbed by protruding pedals each and every step you take ;)

With all these demonstrations, Diane (my mum), quickly removed the disintegrating foam pads in her purple helmet just in time to show off her 'older-style' helmet, naturally a perfect colour match to her vintage purple bike, which also received quite a bit of attention on the day :)

By the time our instructor picked up my heavily modified blue bag, attempting to introduce it as 'the latest in bag technology' oh ok, maybe not quite... ;) I had to stop him, fearing that he'd discover all the chopped off straps half-way through the sales-pitch, with inevitable occy-strap tangle to follow...

We had a quick coffee break and by now we were getting excited about trying out the outdoor facility, wriggling slightly in our seats and looking at those clouds outside moving closer and closer...

Then... Lou pipes up: "Ehhhmmmmmnm – are we going to learn how to fix a puncture???" Who could deny such a request? Our instructor dived into descriptions of the latest puncture fixing gadgets (slime, air canisters, inner-tubes pre-lined with slime, other types of inner-tubes and valves, patches, allen-keys, levers, wrenches and more) while a guy in our group went off to get his handy-dandy floor pump, which enabled the demonstration to finish with a fully pumped tyre at the end :)

Finally we appeared to have covered all the theory aspects of the workshop and we moved outside to try out the bicycle riding facility! Rain was just starting to spit, but thankfully it moved away pretty quickly :) We practiced riding in an anti-clockwise pattern around the COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area :D ) and Diane, who will happily signal right-hand turns, was thrown in at the deep-end with only left-hand turns on the menu! She managed gallantly though, and we all seemed to pass the first practical test.

Then we got to extend our riding practice by riding past Nigel, who was sitting in a car unable to decide if he was coming or going, & kept swinging his door open into our path! Admittedly we giggled quite a lot, though we're very aware of the 'door-zone' danger in the 'real' world and did our best to not get caught by Nigel's door :)

After the door-zone hazard, we moved onto the actual traffic area of the facility and got to practice riding through the roundabout (Lou can now navigate a roundabout with her eyes closed), stop and start at traffic lights and navigate the speed humps and other cyclists along the way.

One of the ladies in our group had an unfortunate, but elegant topple-stack in the middle of the roundabout! (I almost called out "Bunny DOWN!! Bunny DOWN!!!" But managed to contain myself as Allan ran to her rescue; luckily she was fine, and only needed to pop her chain back on before she was ride-ready again :)

Diane on her 'vintage' bike stopped at a red light

Amanda on good behaviour with our instructor

Waving at the traffic lights ;)

bunny-Diane cruising around the course

Summing up:)

This was a great workshop, especially as council and area health have provided these workshops free as an incentive to get people out cycling more for fun and fitness. Gear Up Girl also run an annual workshop (I think it's once a year, around July-August), a more hands-on workshop covering bike maintenance and practical skills. Maybe this would be fun to do at some stage??? :)

• Information - We received lots of valuable and interesting information, including cycle maps, clubs, websites and events on the coast.
• Technical Know-how - We covered "fix a flat", "bike-locking", clothing, and necessary onboard tools
• Practical - Personally I would have liked to have spent more time outside, but we still got to practice the "power position" for that cruisy start, "left, right and stop hand-signals" and avoiding the "door-zone".
• Goodies - We also received a cool backpack with lots of great information, a fabulous cookbook and a way-cool cycling computer which will help us clock up those kms! Talk about a great incentive! :)

All up: A fun morning, which no-doubt will lead to more exciting adventures on our bikes :)