Gossie to Woy Woy

Friday morning bike ride

Oh what fun
Thought bunny Dollikins
As she jumped out of bed with glee

The weather man said ‘possibly some showers’
But not enough to dampen the spirits of the Friday bike rider

So in her car she jumped, with Black Beauty safely in the boot
Off to Gossie to meet rider Netti Poletti

Mmmmm the clouds look grey
But hey
Haven’t ridden in a while
And don’t want to be a party pooper

So out comes Black Beauty and the red riding jacket
And off I ride
To meet Netti Poletti
Otherwise known as The Terminator

Ting Ting Ting Ting goes my bell
Ting Ting Ting Ting
As I try to cycle past two pedestrians
Deaf to the sound of the tolling bell

Then out in the distance
I saw someone just like me
In fact if I had two ponytails
It could have indeed been me

Sporting matching attire
We laughed and laughed
As we both realized
We were biking twins

Both in red jackets
Black pants and long black tops
We cycled along laughing at our display

Of matching wardrobe 'oh what a faux pas'

'Coffee break' shouts Netti
As we pull up at the Bay
'Yummy' shouts Dolly
As she wishes the clouds away

Then it came from nowhere
The drip drip drip
Of the eternal rain drop
Wetting our bikes and dampening our hearts

Laughter follows
As Netti grunts a reply
Oh I Know……..

If only you were there

The rain decided to continue
So we jumped on our bikes
And drenched and cold
We reached our destination

Silly biker bunnies
That is no way
To get over
The flu and an ear infection

Best get a cuppa tea
Or another coffee
Into ya
As they say in OZ

Amanda the rain Gnome

      

Red Jacket two

Amanda :)


and... just a quick note from the other soaked bike rider...
Our Riding Stats...

Distance cycled ~ 28.2 km
Maximum Speed - 55.3 km/h (that would be down Kariong Hill ;) )
Average Speed - 18 km/h
Time Cycling - 1 hour 34 min
Total Adventure Time - 2 hours 30 min
Calories burnt - 932
Heart Rate - 118 average 174 max
Weather - very wet second half

Wouldn't it be great if sunnies came with little windscreen wipers? Auto-sensory things that wiped your vision clear from splashing raindrops and blurring vision. Uhming and ahring about which was better (sunnies off = eyes full of water and can't see a thing... sunnies on = no water in eyes, but still can't see much), I opted for a bit of both and somehow found my way home. Despite the rain it was a lovely ride - we laughed a lot and Amanda got to use her bell twice as much as she decided mine (not really working) sounded like it was drunk.

Here's an exciting link for anyone up for a challenge: Ride 500km before the end of the year and you can win stuff and get a certificate! Simply register and record your rides :)

Bicycle NSW Commuter Challenge 
Register here


Happy riding all and stay safe
Annette :)

My First Annette Free Blog Post - EVER!

Annette is tied up in the office whilst I take over the computer and her well organised office and I reorganise the world as created by the biker bunnies (not according to Garp) ..... I am very excited about my new adventure into a world created whilst my feet are firmly on the ground (Annettes are in the air flaying around trying to escape the coils of my well tied Granny knots) ...sipping coffee and eating chocolate cake ..... I hope you will support me in my mutiny................xxxxx (evil laugh ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

Friday stroll to Woy Woy

The Ride
Gosford to WoyWoy return - 26th April 2010


Bunnies on board: Amanda and Annette
Meeting place: Gosford pool
Distance cycled: Amanda: 24km Annette 33km
Speed: 16 km/h average 45 km/h max
Time riding: 2 hours 20 min
Time it took us all up: 3 hours 30 min
Calories burnt: 1213
Heart rate: 115 average 173 max

With bunny-Amanda still in recovery mode with her ligament-outed back, we met up on this fine Friday morning to ride to Woy Woy and back... We had arranged to meet by the pool at Gosford and I was happily on my way to our meeting place when suddenly out of the blue, I was YELLED at: A guy waiting at the lights on the other side of the road decided to vent his morning anger at me as I road past in the opposite direction... He threw in a few F***-ing for good measure (where one was referring to some idiot and the other was referring to some road...)... Although it wasn't nice to be yelled at, I can see the similarity with the kid in the sandpit yelling "GET OUT OF MY WAY" to the cat up a tree 50m away... There are a few (not many - truly most people on the road are ever so nice) so called motorists who need to take a good look at how they behave on the roads... a tonne of metal is a strange thing to hide in, while directing your anger at people you've never met... Yes... driving can be frustrating - there's roadworks, delays and the general stress of getting to places on time. But if you think about the real risk involved in doing something stupid - and not getting there at all: Is it really worth it??

Anyways, with that little debacle way behind me, I found myself at the pool with time to spare, and waited for bunny Amanda by the fence... Low and behold my surprise when I spot an orange flouro vest zipping around the pathway at the back of the pool! Quick! jump on bike and catch up - silly me, I was waiting in the wrong spot :) I caught up with my fellow rider just by the boat ramp and got to admire her new and very exciting bike! Black Beauty is very flash indeed and oh so suits our fashionista bunny! We set off on our merry way, chattering all the way to the bridge - and beyond... for with her new bike bunny Amanda can come out of the closet and happily embrace her secret love of hills!

We kept up a nice pace along the pathway, there were a few people out walking which we said hi to, my bell had stopped working so I did the loud HI, Hello and SORRY, while Amanda rang her bell double time... The sun was out and it was a fabulous morning to be riding. So fabulous that we were both overcome (as you too would be...) by a compulsion to YODEL & YOHOO riding through the railway tunnel at Point Clare. Meeting Mr Serious biker halfway into the tunnel was such a contrast that we ended up in stitches laughing our heads off... we honestly don't strive for this half-mad image, it just happens... ;)

Once we'd passed Point Claire we zipped out into the bike lane on Brisbane Water road, where we stretched our legs and picked up the pace sitting on about 24km/h all the way into Woy Woy. Ahh the wind in our hair and the water views - just lovely!

Getting to our half-way coffee stop at the Gnostic café had us bumping into a gang of 'senior' bike riders, all out on a Friday adventure. Amanda had properly dismounted to cross the road, whilst I was sort of straddling and trying to walk half-dismounted (bit indecisive there...) and at the same time attempting to smile, wave and say hello to the above-mentioned gang of riders.... It's a wonder I didn't lose my balance completely and fall over! We had our coffee (which was divine) sitting outside with a fabulous view... across the street, where Amanda had spotted this dress she simply just HAD to try on....(the short story to that adventure is that yes the colours were fabulous, but the cut was a disaster... and it all ended with this little voice calling for help from the change cubicle and both of us making a quick exit, leaving the shop girl to fold a pile of bedspreads which I'd been looking at... oh dear!)

Waiting for coffee... 

 

Mad...? oh no not me!

We started on our home-run with all going smoothly. A quick water stop on the side of Brisbane Water road provided a photo opportunity, where I managed to capture that elusive bunny...

 

Catch me if you can!

Water..... ahhh :)

One happy biker bunny

Everything was going ever so smoothly until my phone rang... I'm never good at finding things in my bag (even when off my bike), so to try and get the stupid phone out of the bag before it stopped ringing had me swearing at the phone while emptying my bag on the side of the road... Naturally I didn't find the phone in time and proceeded to tell Amanda what a stupid phone it is, that despite me extending the time it rings for - it still makes sure it stays hidden for those extra couple of rings... However the person who had to listen to my little sermon about phones wasn't Amanda at all, but some innocent bike rider who in the corner of my eye was posing as Amanda... I laughed and said sorry and hopped back on my bike to find Amanda laughing her head off down the road, with her camera ready... 

Phone safely put away and smile back on...

Somehow we managed one last incident just as we were parting ways (I continued up Kariong hill, while Amanda rode down past Adcock park and back to the pool)... Excitedly I was telling Amanda about my very first karate lesson and hopped off my bike to show her one of the moves, I think I asked her to hold her arms up and then I flailed my own arms in something supposed to resemble a 'block'. Who should ride past just as I'm performing the most vicious karate chop on the most innocent bike rider ever...??? The 'senior' gang of bike riders chose the perfect moment to appear out of nowhere! So... with our mad image intact we said our goodbyes and continued on our laughing merry ways.

Happy safe riding all and hope ride soon again!
Annette :)


And...... bunny Amanda has a few lines to add:


Annette has the ride well and truly summed up except I may add that when we sat down for coffee two notable things occurred:

• A vintage stationwagon pulled up next to us and out of the car climbed five old people all in their 70s and 80s having a quick coffee before they went on the ferry to Palm Beach. They were a chatty lot and even told us we had had long enough for our coffee and should jump on our bikes and keep riding – they were all jolly cute
  
• The dress looked absolutely stunning on the model (as always) and I in my delusion state thought it would look just as good on me, so after coffee we mosey on over and I get the dress of the manikin and run into the changing room all excited about such a find. However after trying for a couple of minutes I realized there was no zip so yanked it over my head and squeezed into it – silly really because I had to then try and get it off. Now I was in my trainers and I did have my bike pants on underneath but I looked absolutely hideous, more so than at the Hunter Valley, and that is saying something. I really did look like a homeless person this time. SO after laughing hysterically at myself I had to get Annette to come in and help me get it off because try as I might I really couldn’t get it over my head. After a bit of yanking and fear that I may rip the bloody thing, Annette showed me the trophy dress in her hand all safe and sound. Then the shop assistant showed me a similar patterned dress kinda A line with a biker back top half which looked even worse on me…… so we left the shop dejected but ready for our ride home.

And I also have to add, that when Annette was karate chopping me we weren’t just laughing – we were hysterical to the point that Annette nearly fell off her bike…. All in all another mad adventure with The Terminator!

Amanda :)

Amanda and Black Beauty

It was with much joy I received Amanda's email about her virgin ride on her new bike... News that her back is on the mend and she's getting back in the saddle is fabulous - read and enjoy and hope to ride with ALL you happy bunnies soon again! :)

The Ride
Mingara to The Entrance and back

Riding distance ~ 18km
Bunny on board  - Amanda
Bike on road - Black Beauty

Well Black Beauty has been most patient waiting for her injured owner to feel confident enough (and get the go ahead from the physio) to go for a ride!

Today was the day and I must say I was jolly well looking forward to it. I bought Black Beauty about 3 weeks ago and pretty much injured my back the day before I picked her up. Listening to the words of my physio ‘ok you can go on a ride but only a flat one’ I decided to park at Mingara and ride to the bike track and then to The Entrance and back. It was a glorious morning, the sun was shining and there was a crisp breeze to keep me cool. I rode safely there and back and Black Beauty did me proud for her first ride – she socializes very well, doesn’t rear up at other riders and even picks up speed on the flat – something Gertrude didn’t do very well.

Black Beauty in her resplendent glory

Posing seductively...

So girls although I cannot ride long distances and up hills yet I am back on track for anyone who wants short flat rides!

Amanda

Gear Up Girl

The Gear Up Girl ride from Cronulla to Homebush, runs on the weekend closest to the International Womens' Day (8th March) and supports the Children's Oncology Foundation. The ride itself is 55km long and was held for the third time this year, with lots of happy bike riders weaving their way up through the back streets and park lands of Sydney. 3 of our biker-bunnies made it down to the ride, sadly a number of our friends were injured and had to sit at home with drooping bunny ears, although we definitely had you all in our thoughts along the way! Hopefully we'll all make it down next year - it truly is a magnificent ride!

The Ride stats
Bunnies on board - Tor, Vickie and Annette
Rise and shine - Hideously early - 4:45am from Vickie's house!
Ride start time - ~ 7:45-8:00 am Cronulla
Distance cycled - 55km + 7km back into Homebush after the ride
Speed - 17 km/h (average) 42 km/h (max)
Time cycling - 3 hours 20 minutes
Total time (start to finish) - 3 hours 40 minutes
Add-on ride time - 35 minutes
Total Calories burnt - 1829
Heart rate - 129 (average) 176 (max)
Stops along the way - 3
Weather - Brilliant! no rain, just lovely weather!
Attire - Bunny ears (Tor & Annette)

The trip down to Cronulla turned into a luxury ride thanks to Vickie and her husband Gerard, who drove us all the way down (THANK YOU :)). Our bikes travelled on the the back of the car (sitting on the most snazzy looking bike rack!) and we arrived in Cronulla with time for a coffee before the start, what more could you wish for?

Once we had unloaded the bikes and put Vickie's wheel back on her bike, we lined up: first in the toilet queue, then in the start queue... The sun was rising and the clouds looked as though they weren't planning to dump bucket-loads on our heads, so with a dose of caffeine running though our veins we were ready to go! Bunny-ears firmly strapped to 2 helmets (Tor's and mine... Vickie decided she would steer clear of the bunny ears for today, so she'd be able to talk us out of any trouble we may find ourselves in...), the ride had begun...!

 Vickie and the very cool bike rack

 Bright and cheery Tor

 

 The Cronulla start

We cycled through the back streets and along some absolutely beautiful bike paths, which took us through parklands and along the waterfront at Botany Bay. I saw parts of Sydney I've never seen before, and discovering these hidden pockets from the saddle, was a lovely experience!

We did have a laugh at the (small) number of guys who forced their way into this all GIRL ride... only so that they could go "PLING PLING" and overtake as many girls as possible, elbowing their way past with an air of  importance and arrogance. There weren't many of these creatures, and in fairness I came across one or two guys who'd sort of been 'pulled' into the group on their morning ride, so pretty much had no choice but to ride with us for a while, ...but the ones who obviously sought out the ride just to do an elbow display; left us with raised eyebrows and a small laugh :D Imagine if us girls had gate-crashed an all boys ride..!

As we rode along the waterfront at Botany Bay we watched several jumbo jets take-off and land, the landing strip was just across the water, in full view - it's amazing we managed to stay on our bikes with all the Ohhhs and Ahhhs!

 3 bunnies cruising down near Botany

 

And this champion was worried about finishing...!?

 

Happy bunny :)

There were bicycles in all shapes and sizes along the way: retro bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes and custom bikes. It was fun to ride along in a group, especially once we got out of the initial bottle-neck and the pace picked up a bit - everyone was very friendly!

At rest stop number 2; the two bunny-ears took friendly to a new level by delving into the lion's den and posing with two police bikers. These guys rode the whole way on their very cool police mountain-bikes. We didn't see them make any arrests (nor did we see them attending to any unfortunate stacks, which some of us witnessed in the Spring Cycle, when 2 Policemen rushed to Collette's assistance when she flew over the handlebars), but we did see them riding along smiling and waving, so we grovelled for a fan photo and here it is:

 Cops and Bunnies...

We met up at each rest stop and Vickie made sure that the facilities were tested and rated accordingly. They all pretty much lived up to her expectations, apart from the last one, which was wanting slightly due to having run out of paper...

Nearing the end of the ride we rode through the wetlands surrounding Homebush bay, this is where the lucky frog resides (the one who saved the wetlands when they were building the Olympic stadium), I didn't see him, but I'm sure he's very happy as it is a lovely area!

 On the home run 

 

Here comes Bunny Tor!

 Vickie nearing the finish line!

We got to the Homebush Bay finish, and received a bag of goodies - and an oh so refreshing cup of Cranberry Juice! Then we hung around for a short while listening to the over-enthusiastic Jazzband from Sydney Uni..., before we hopped back on our bikes and rode into Homebush where Vickie's car was waiting for us.

 

We did it! :)

Thanks for an amazing ride girls, it was a hoot and I hope we can all do it again next year!
Happy riding!

Annette :)

Extreme cyclists!

Us Aussies really can't complain about the weather conditions... no matter how bad, wet, windy or anything they get... As I'm sitting here on the eve of going down to Cronulla for the Gear Up Girl ride tomorrow (with weather forecast predicting rain, thunder storms and windy conditions), I thought I'd share these photos with you...

Sweden is a small country way up north.... they get a lot of snow there - yet they still ride bikes; all year! One of our happy blog followers lives there and rides her bike every day: after seeing these photos, Greta is officially an HONORARY Biker Bunny! And we've run out of excuses for bad weather :)

 

   First you have to FIND your bike...

 
Then you may need to brush some snow off


Built for speed...


   Here comes Greta, swishing through the snow...


...and a basket full of snow


   Workplace bike racks... they all ride!


   And here's the bike path!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do, having ridden in snow and ice I know it's not the easiest conditions to stay upright in (although you can be lucky with soft landings...). Thumbs up to our northern bunny and keep enjoying your cycling wherever you are!

Annette :)

Adcock Park to Terrigal

A few weeks ago bunny Amanda and I went on a ride down Terrigal drive and back... Unfortunately there's been a slight lapse in posting time, but I thought I would remedy this on the eve of the gear up girl cycle (I know... I should be in bed :D ).... so here it is:

The Ride Stats
Adcock park to Terrigal and back - 17th Feb 2010

Bunnies on board: Amanda and Annette
Meeting place: Adcock Park
Distance cycled: Amanda: 30km Annette 40km
Speed: 16.9 average 58.7 (wow!) max
Time riding: 2 hours 20 min
Time it took us all up: 4 hours 15 min
Calories burnt: 1557
Heart rate: 118 average 175 max


We met up on this slightly overcast but lovely morning and set sail for... not the safe bike path, nor the toilets (which bunny Amanda initially voted for), but... straight across the hwy to the nearest bike shop! The look of Amanda's new groovy bike gloves had such an effect on me that I simply just had to have a pair - there and then!) Somehow safely across the road and in the shop - I soon found myself the owner of a pair of very comfy groovy gloves (which I incindentally tried on 'up-side-down' before the helpful guy in the shop brought it to my attention that the comfy grip part should be on the under side (doh!)). So... with these new very comfortable and great gripping gloves, we set off again.

Amanda was sporting Matt's (yellow) bike for the day - and the thrill of riding a different (faster) bike made her all inspired to BUY a new bike! She pondered this idea longingly for a while, comparing bikes left right and centre as we coasted up the back of York street in East Gosford (this was just after the delayed toilet stop by the sailing club), when suddenly I realized that my bell had come unstuck and was no longer working... Oh what luck to find ourselves just outside the bike shop at the top of York street! As Amanda longingly eyed the bikes; the friendly guy in the shop ran in and out of the shop with bell parts and screw drivers, and in no time at all had me fitted up with a working bell - absolutely free :) (Amanda says I flashed body-bits to the guy - but honestly, if I had, he would have been too shocked to fix my bell!).

So on we rode - to... (you guessed it) BIKE SHOP number 3! This time it was partly on the pretext that I would find a stand for my bike (which I didn't), but I think Amanda really wanted to look at the bikes, which she did... and got the full run-down on models, colours, suspension, speed.... somewhere along the line though, the guy in the shop veered off track and started talking about STACKS and INJURIES!!!! (maybe a topic to steer away from when selling bikes), despite the horror stories there were definitely some very nice bikes in the shop, so bunny-Amanda came away with dreamy eyes and plans galore.

Having completed our run of bike shops for one day, we rode on to tackle Terrigal drive. It gets a tad squeezy in a few parts - best to check traffic before plunging down the hill, but most of the way it's a great 'undulating' ride. Wind in hair, lots to laugh at, and bike-gloves to infuse handlebar comfort - how much better can it get?

Stopped for a few mad photos along the way - and then when we arrived in Terrigal we had a lovely coffee by the ocean, before returning back the same way.

Amanda being silly at the top of Terrigal Dr

 Behave miss Amanda!

 The view coming into Terrigal!

 The other view...

 Our bikes at the half-way mark

Our ride back took us around to Erina Heights and the back of East Gosford with some lovely scenery and more hills for Amanda to swear at, yet conquer in such style I often think she fibs the bit about 'not liking hills' :)

We parted ways just off Adcock park, where Amanda went up Racecourse rd to pick up her car, and I cycled on back up Kariong hill. Arrived home after yet another inspiring and happy adventure.

Happy cycling bunnies and hope to ride soon with you all!

Annette


.... and 3 weeks after our ride - at last: here's bunny-Amanda's entertaining post - enjoy!


This is rather a late addition to the Biker Bunnies blog and I must admit the ride is a bit hazy! So hazy in fact that I have had to read Annette’s account to even remember the ride!!!!!! I put my car in for a service on Mann’s Road and begged Nissan to not have it all day as I simply couldn’t ride for that long. I cycled past the hospital and waved to Matt before meeting Annette at Adcock Park for a quick game of netball and then we were on our way – or so I thought! Annette seeing my new fandangled gloves decided that she simply needed a pair too, so within two minutes of being on our bikes we had stopped at the bike shop. Annette entirely happy with her purchase then tried to get a bike stand, whilst I checked our new bikes - mmmmmm very interesting indeed! Alas for poor netti there were no bike stands to fit her bike so we set sail again. This time we travelled less than 5 minutes before I decided (I was doing a Lou here) Loo being the operative word that I needed a rest break.

Again, we set sail and within 5 minutes Annette’s bell broke and so we stopped at another bike shop in Gosford and a very nice gentleman indeed fitted one for free!

I have just realized that Annette has written about our bike stops but this really was quite funny because then we stopped at my bike shop hoping for a stand but alas not available. It was here that I fell in love with what is now my Black Beauty (aptly named by Tor) and still sitting under my house waiting for her master to ride her!

We finally set off with coffee in our mind and rode to Terrigal – this is quite a challenging ride but a jolly satisfying one as there are a lot of undulating hills and you can certainly pick up speed (which as Annette said – we were a tad cautious after the discussion in the bike shop).

I got back to discover that my car needed 4 new tyres, new brakes and a new fan belt – all in all a very expensive day for me!

Cant wait to set sail with Black Beauty!!!!!!!!!!!

Amanda :)