Muggaccinos Pedlars Sunday Cyclists The Bullsheet

Sunday, 10 Nov, 7:15am from St Ives for "Brunch at Warriewood" - return via Wakehurst Parkway - 97km - ETR 12:35pm

• Ride contact:   Phil Johnston  9312.3319 wk and w'end

• Hardcopy these directions and bring on Sunday

• Cycle 2 abreast on single lane roads at own peril

• Get well off the road at Sag Stops

• Membership of Bicycle NSW provides $20m Public Liability cover if you injure a fellow Mugg or motorist

Snapshot :

Rollout St Ives 7:15am Terrey Hills, Duffy’s Forest, West Head (1^st Nosh Stop) – pack nibbles), Church Point, Warriewood (2^nd Nosh Stop).  Return Wakehurst Parkway and Forest Way - ETR St Ives 12:35pm.

1st Leg: St Ives to West Head, via Duffys Forest - 41.2km - 113 min
Depart St Ives car-park by 7:15am [slower cyclists start from 7:05am] -

• E along Mona Vale Rd for 6.2km;

• L [opposite Forest Way - at Mona Vale Fruit Barn] into Myoora Rd and take a fleeting Sag Stop (3 min);

• 3km along Myoor Larool Rd until 70m before Booralie Rd;

• L into Tepko Rd (75m short of Booralie Rd) for 400m;

• L into Booralie Rd and pedal like "shit out of Shanghai" 6.7km flat/fast stretch past Terrey Hills Golf Course and rifle range to Duffys Forest (amidst real pigs, goats, horses 'n cows);

• "U" turn at the dead-end of Cow Corner – slower cyclists must turn around as soon as they see lead cyclists returning to return via same route and pull up [left of the white road line] 150m past Terrey Hills neighbourhood shopping centre [opposite Terrey Hills Thai Restaurant] for a Sag Stop [3 min];

• Down McCarrs Creek Rd enter Ku’ring’gai Chase National Park for 3km to "V" (dual entrances to the park);

• R at the "V" anti-clockwise and descend to McCarrs Creek;

• L over bridge for 1.8km to "T" juncture (Akuna Bay Marina is 3.5km on LHS);

• Ahead 12km along West Head Rd to the headland.

Pack lots of nibbles, ‘cause we take our 1^st Nosh Stop (15 min) from 9:05am for a snack and a gawk at the majestic, shimmering blue peninsula - Pittwater/Lion Island stuff.

2nd Leg: West Head to Warriewood - 28.8km - 71 min
9:22am -

• Return 12km to "T" juncture with Akuna Bay descent,

• Ahead descending 1.8km to McCarrs Creek bridge at 9:55am [55km] for Sag Stop - get well off the road on LHS [3 min],

• L into McCarrs Creek Rd for 8.8km past Church Point, Bayview Marina and pulling up 50m before Cabbage Tree Rd for Sag Stop - lift bike off the road above gutter [3 min],

• R into Cabbage Tree Rd ( (Bayview Golf Course will be on both L and R) for 1.5km leads into Samuel St and crosses Mona Vale Rd at roundabout,

• R into Warriewood Rd 200m later crossing Pittwater Rd at traffic lights and immediately climbing up Hunter St [dog-leg L, then R] which leads to views of Blue Pacific overlooking majestic Warriewood Beach [around 10:45am - 71 km] for 2nd Nosh Stop (35 min).

A neighbourhood, strip-front shopping centre is immediately on RHS in Narrabeen Park Pde.  Nautilus Café is about 4 shops along.  Sunrise Milk Bar, on the cnr, makes grouse burgers.

Bank Teller's rap-up of Sunday, 3 Nov, Somersby Bellbirds - 125km - Hot as Hell!

Notwithstanding 5 regulars doing the Gong [Whippet, Publican, Rocket Ros, Kiwi Lass, Kiwi Mike] 12 crew attended on a day that was as Hot as Hell, and as dry as a Sahara Sunset.  Malcolm Fraser once captioned, "A week can be a long time in federal politics."  Well, a week evidenced an extraordinary contrast in weather at Mt White, where last week the crew was freezing its buns' off.  And this week the very same buns were cooken'.  Bryony M. was a welcome returnee, having recently recovered from a nasty bingle with a car which evidenced a broken right collar-bone, and a dislocated left one.

Several of the crew sought refuge under the trees at Mt White, where John, the new the new proprietor, has re-established the original nonclamenture, Roadhouse Café, and dropped the label, Village Store.  John has also set-up an express coffee bar on the RHS, and using Segafredo Zanetti caffe, has undertaken to fill coffee orders pronto.

Don't know what Torpedo was smiling about in the above pic when we arrived back at PitS early-arvo, 'cause we were all absolutely "buggered", "knackered" and "all things stuffed".  We had been on-schedule all day, but that got jettisoned at PitS, where no one was in any hurry to roll on.  The pics of Sputnik, spread-eagled above, and dead to the world, together with the below pic of Richard aka Wayfarer, and Bank Teller, similarly prostrate 'n poleaxed, tells it all.

How could the weather on two consecutive Sundays be the antithesis of each other.  No matter we all got thru it, but Sergey, in particular, who'd cycled from Eastwood to Hornsby, completed the 125km loop, and cycled back to Eastwood, must've been hurtin'.  This little Brown Bunny, who'd taken the easy out by commencing at Berowra, for 102km,  grabbed a Siesta shortly thereafter.

More pics from this ride are in this hypertext or under "Sun" on RHS of 10-Nov-02

Whippet’s rap-up of “St Peters - Gong ride” 3^rd Nov - 87km

Six Muggs’ departed the old St Peters brick pitt on a hot summer morning (out of furnace into the fire) heading south to be part the mass 10,000+ annual exodus for the “Sydney to Wollongong Bike Ride”.

Publican, Pocket Rocket, Kiwi Mardie, Bazza, Cooko 'n Whippet (small fish in a big pond) were underway from a staggered start, amongst a convoy of bikes of all shapes and sizes.  Slowly edging our way down the Princes H’way towards Sutherland, we were brought to an abrupt halt at Waterfall to receive a motor cycle escort on the down hill run into the “Royal National Park”.  Whereupon we caught up with BN crew [Keith & Fran, Graeme & Debbie, Kin-Yat, & others].  A mono cycle ‘back pedalling’ to reduce speed, dancing to and fro into the path of one of BN riders brought down a number of riders.  However, McKell Ave was still very fast with the a number of riders getting tangled up and biting the bitumen, Ouch!

The run thru the park was a relief under the tree canopy masking the heat of the morning sun.  But alas the rough road surface has not improved with only small sections providing an acceptable hot mix finish.  Once outside The Park we passed the familiar Otford Pie shop at the bottom of Bald Hill, a steep little pinch with a coastal breeze, where the hang gliders soar overhead.

The next climb to the Clifton Pub was breath taking, mind-zapping stuff in more ways than one, as the view looking south to the finish at Flagstaff Point, took in a coast line of beaches, babes and booze.  What are we doing on this seriously hot day mounted above a thin metal frame on two skinny wheels?  Should we stop for a drink to dull the pain?  The brain has become dull, fogged, distracted by a large numbers of riders with more pleasant ideas.  But it’s “soldier on” as the finish line seems all down hill from here. 

The down hill was fast and exhilarating until we took a sharp left onto the cycle path which was littered by walkers, slower bikes, and local residents who all wanted to take part in their chosen leisure.

Flagstaff Point was a welcome sight, as we rounded the bay to join the ever burgeoning brigade of “Gong Ride Finishers!” 

The Scribe    4 Nov 2002