HopeStreet Ride To The Top - 2007 - Ride Diary

“Farewell to Sydney”

Fourteen very nervous participants gathered in the carpark of Parramatta Baptist Church, as things were looking ominous for the thirteenth Ride To The Top. Both ride manager Phil and support driver Bruce were unavailable, and we were fortunate that a couple of past riders could fill in at short notice. Were they up to the task ? Or would we need to feed ourselves on take-away and carry a week's worth of clothes on our bikes ?

A good-bye kiss, a prayer and a photograph were our last memory of home, as we pedalled our bikes along the streets of Northmead to the Great Western Highway, but both support vehicles were stranded within a kilometre of the start. Ride manager Scott had misplaced his keys in the carpark and Kevin couldn't take the Prado onto the cycleways, when we took a short-cut. Fifteen minutes of frantic key searching, street directory reading and CB radio calls soon had problems 1 and 2 out of the way, and the riders didn't notice a thing (until they read this diary!).

A pleasant trip down the M7 cycleway was made more pleasant at the start of the M5, when we were greeted by 'Joe the Pro', who could only ride the first half day with us. Fruit and cakes at the Camden morning tea fuelled us for the climb over Razorback, and onto lunch at Bargo.

The late night packing was catching up with us as we slowly meandered through Yanderra and Mittagong, completing the 125km journey at Bowral Baptist Church. After the usual swim in the local pool, lasagna dinner and an hour of catching up on news from the past year, some riders were nodding off at the table.

“Not So Hot this Year”

Sunday in Bowral started nervously, as we had memories of the hot dry winds last year and running out of water late in the day. In clear conditions, we sped through the southern highland towns of Moss Vale, Bundanoon and Exeter, but found no sign of our morning tea at Wingello. As the slower riders drifted into Wingello, our morning tea appeared, and we quickly learnt that being a team is more important than being individuals.

We took it easy along the road through Tallong, along the freeway at Marulan, before sweeping down the winding road to Bungonia forest. That fast downhill run was soon a distant memory, as we attacked the seven hills before Goulburn. The headwind slowed us down, but we were thankful that our support crew was waiting at the top of the last hill with softdrink, muesli bars and bananas. (Roger wasn't happy, as his computer had given up the ghost and he now had to rely on good old intuition to get him through the ride.)

Sunday afternoon at Goulburn saw us farewell two legends of RTTT, Ron and Big Dave, who had to return to Sydney for work and cycling commitments. Swim in the pool and afternoon tea at the Paragon, then we got to try Scott's preferred cooking skills ... blackboard dinner and a beer at the local worker's club.

“Start of Working Week”

It's now our third day, but all days are starting to feel the same. Wake up at 6am, pack up all our personal gear, breakfast of cereal and toast, wash up, load up the trailers and get ready to roll out at 8am, except for David, who is again searching for a pump for a slow leaking tyre. As we glide past the sheep paddocks of Goulburn, we start to notice that this is a working day. Children are waiting at the bus stops, reps drive past with coffee in their cup holders and a few more delivery trucks on the road.

To prevent having to wait for morning tea again, we decide to do a team time trial, by taking turns at the front of the group and protecting our teammates from the headwind. We are rewarded with fresh pineapple and melons, to rehydrate and re-energise us. In an informal ceremony, Roger was presented with a Spiderman watch, so he didn't feel like a luddite, without his bike computer and heartrate monitor.

Whilst we were talking, Colin snuck away to get a head start for the Bungendore to Queanbeyan leg of the ride. This worked to everyone's advantage as it spread the riders out along this very busy piece of road. A couple of generous traffic controllers allowed the riders to re-group for the final ride past Fairbairn Airport, Duntroon and across the Kings Avenue bridge to Canberra Baptist Church at Kingston.

Salads and BBQ chickens for dinner were enjoyed by all, with a surprise visit by Jonathon to catch up with his dad, during our brief stop-over in Canberra. Roland was also catching up with his daughter, by taking her to a Rocky movie ! (We think Roland wishes he had a son.)

“Headwinds to Cooma”

Once again the predictions of head-winds from Canberra to Cooma on Tuesday, turned out to be correct. We slowly made our way through Canberra's peak-hour traffic, only to be shocked by the coldness of the wind as we headed up Tuggenong Hill. (Roland tried to be first up, as he was still hyped-up from the Rocky movie.)

At the rest stop, we were starting to thaw out, and we all commented on how much greener the countryside was, compared to past years. We also compared the fastest speed down the big hill 60km out of Cooma, with three riders tied on 82km/hr. And Roger got a 10:53 AM on the Spiderman watch!

Usually Joe rides by himself past our accomodation at Pacific Lodge, and into Cooma itself. This year it was Jervis Bay Dave's turn, to ride straight into town in an effort to find a dentist for his ever-worsening tooth.

Same as last year, we had the use of the log cabin to prepare our evening meal. Spaghetti bolognaise was courtesy of Chris and a couple of different salads were courtesy of anyone who dared to offer an opinion. Those who volunteered to wash-up soon learnt about the secret stash of Mint Slice biscuits kept with the tea-towels !

“Cooma to Jindabyne”

Wednesday morning started very slowly. After the first three nights sleeping on airbeds on the church hall floors, everyone had a great sleep on the beds at Pacific Lodge. Slowly we edged our way through sleepy Cooma, up the daunting climb that greeted us on the southern side of town. Dave's tooth was still in agony, but he still managed to reach the top first.

When we pulled into Berridale, we were told to order our favorite coffee at TwoMoosPlus cafe. The caffeine hit got us up the long hill out of Berridale, but could not save Roland's bike from jamming the chain against the frame. He thought that he would be loading his bike onto the trailer for the day, but Kevin managed to take apart the pedals and release the locked chain.

Rather than riding through Jindabyne, we stopped off at Time2Ride for a chat with Alan's family, and the obligatory photo session. With the pleasantries out of the way, we climbed back on our bikes for the steep climbs of Barry Way and the Dalgety Road, before lunch and accomodation at Carinya Lodge.

Most had a relaxing afternoon around Jindabyne shops, except for Dave, who found a dentist with a cancelled booking ! Rob decided he needed a bike rack, so he could ride back to Sydney on the weekend, rather than driving back with the rest of us. The extremely helpful mechanic even configured a seat bracket out of spare parts, so a mountain bike rack could fit on Rob's road bike.

“Climb to Charlotte Pass”

After last year's terrible Black Thursday, we were happy to awake to fine weather for the final 44km climb up to the hight piece of road in Australia. Riders were seeded on ability, with our fastest two riders starting 45 minutes after the slowest. Scott and Kevin did a great job shuttling bikes, riders, clothing and drinks to the start and along the course.

Colin and Roland were first away, but could they hold off the 'gang of five' starting 30 minutes after them ? And would Roger's Spiderman watch give him enough information to achieve 'King Of The Mountain' for the fourth successive year ?

Chris, Dave and Dwight protected first-timers Alan and Tom around the lake and up through Sawpit Creek. Tom dropped back to get rid of clothes and arm warmers, but Dave dropped back to drag him back into the bunch. Halfway came and the order was unchanged, with no sign of Roger and Rob behind them, or the other three ahead.

At two thirds distance, all the handicaps were negated as all 10 riders were within sight of each other. Despite the headwind, Roger could maintain his faster pace and disappeared up the mountain through Smiggins Holes and Perisher. Rob joined the 'gang of five', and Colin's back problems re-appeared but he chose to grind it out to the finish.

We were pleased to see Tom's dad greet us at the finish line, as he had been camping at Charlotte Pass for a few nights. Morning tea, stories about being blown around by the wind and some quick photos were out last memory of the top of Australia, as we headed our bikes back down mountain. At the bottom, we were greeted with the news that Alan's daughter had a little girl that morning.

“More Riding”

Traditionally, Friday is 'walk to the top' day. This year, the weather looked treacherous and we decided to avoid being caught on Mount Kosciuszko. With three riders choosing to ride their bikes back to Sydney, a few others chose to accompany them to Dalgety and Berridale. (Tom and Dave chose fishing at Thredbo with Tom's dad.)

Drizzle and sunshine alternated their presence along the road to Dalgety, and fortunately it wasn't raining when we descended the long hill halfway to Dalgety. Once again, the countryside looked greener than the past 12 years. Our legs were feeling the effects of yesterday's tough ride, but we made it to Berridale, for some final coffee and desserts, before saying goodbye to Chris, Rob and Dwight, as they braved the Monaro and Hume Highways back to Sydney.

We loaded the remaining bikes on the trailer at Dalgety, to avoid attempting the monster hill, and headed off to Jindabyne for pies, desserts (we earnt them) and some shopping at Time2Ride.

“Going Home”

Three days of wonderful hospitality at Carinya Lodge were provided by Michele, Farley and Holly, but now it was time to drive home. We learnt our lesson from last year, and headed back to Sydney immediately after breakfast.

We passed Dwight, Chris and Rob, who had just left Bredbo, after a night in the pub. (Accommodation, not supporting the bar!) The headwinds on the way down had now swung around and were headwinds on the way back. (Maybe they should have gone to the bar!)

We arrived in Sydney after another week of RTTT, that seemed to pass in a couple of days. Now to the important stuff, and chase up the donations from our supporters.