Muggaccinos Pedlars Sunday Cyclists The Bullsheet

1.    This Sunday, New Year’s Eve, 31 Dec – Quatre Montagnes (anti-clockwise) from Turramurra or Hornsby

  • Cyclists commencing at Turra' do not pass by the Hornsby start point, rather usually catch 'em approaching the Berowra Waters Punt

  • Bring a snack for the Punt, 'cause it is 51kms b4 our first and only Nosh Stop at Green Shades Nursery Café, Galston

  • Ride contact is Phil J  9498.3684 hm or 9312.3319 wk.

  • Please hardcopy these instructions and bring on Sunday.

Both below ride start points to arrive at only Nosh Stop - Green Shades Café Galston around 9:40am:

¨                       Longer Ride - Quatre Montagnes [83kms]
Arrive Turramurra car park [North/East side of station] for a 7am rollout in/out of Bobbin Head, arriving at Kalkari Reserve after 14kms around 7:40am for a brief breather.  About 4 clicks later, we take a right off Belmont Rd onto the Pac Highway at the lights after passing Asquith Golf Course. Then it is due north for approx. 7.5kms to the left turn at Berowra Waters Rd around 8:25am. 

¨                   Shorter Ride - Due Montagnes [49kms]
Arrive at Hornsby car-park [100 metres Nth/West of the Railway Hotel in Jersey St] for 7:45am roll out cycling 600 metres north up Jersey St and turning left, followed by a right 60 metres later [at traffic lights] onto Old Pacific Highway for 8.5kms to the left turn at Berowra Waters Rd around 8:20am.

About 2kms later we are descending to picturesque Berowra Waters for the ride on the punt around 8:35am.  Bring a snack for the punt, 'cause it might be hungry and if it ain’t, you might be, coz it is still 20kms to brunch at Green Shades.  After cycling thru rural Berrilee and Arcadia, we head twds Glenorie by taking a right (approx. 2 clicks prior to the nursery) off Arcadia Rd at Wylds Rd and 1.5kms later we left onto Old Northern Rd for 2.5kms, thence a further left into Mid-Dural Rd for 2kms for an early lunch-time Nosh Stop at Green Shades Nursery Café, Galston [9653.1500ph] (10% surcharge) with an ETR of 9:40am.  

Luigi, the café mgr. is comfortable with us leaving our bikes outside the rest rooms and inside the green metal doors.  Allowing for 30 mins with the Nose Bag on, around 10:10am we return via Galston Gorge regrouping at the familiar Hornsby Heights' bus shelter at top of Galston Rd around 10:35am. 

ETR -

¨                       Hornsby is 10:45am - 49kms - 2 hills.

¨                       Turra' is 11:30am - 83kms - 4 hills. 

2.                Scribe’s rap-up of:

¨                     58 kms Duffy's Forest Camel Cruise; and 

¨                     Chrissie Cheer at Russ ‘n Brenda’s

One of those rides where things didn’t go our way, however, we muddled thru.  Nine rolled out of St Ives on what promised to be a stinker later – Simmo, BackPacker, Bazza, Tony, Whippet, PJ, Bulbous Bloke (aboard a new Avanti company paid for treadley) ActionMan and Widget. 

PJ scored a rapid-fire flat commencing the descent to St Ives Showground whereupon BackPacker fleeting thought of stopping with Bazza right up his arse.  Fortunately, Bazza’s derogatory reaction questioning the bona fide's of Bruce’s parents, prompted BackPacker to adopt Muggs’ tough titties “bad luck chum!” reaction to PJ’s plight and pedaled on, thereby avoiding a potential pile-up. 

Brian mistook the Terrey Hills Flower Factory for the M.V. Fruit Barn leading ActionMan and Tony on a merry sojourn via the main drag - still, all roads led to Rome.

Around 8:30am, after climbing out of Akuna and re-grouping at the WH/AG/McC  “T”, we opted for the closer Church Point, in lieu of Bayview Nosh Stop, ‘coz we was late already and no one seemed intent on stirring up the troops. 

Around midday we were back at Widget’s splashing around in her Cement Pond shared by two friendly pouches and a big Real McCoy green snake that Brenda assured us didn’t bight too deep.  There was a veritable cast of thousands – Bazza’s other half, Helen and daughter, Christine, Ian/Elfi. Vicki & Harry, Nicky, Dieter/Helga, Sig, Peter T and son, Maria and Ross.  Talk about rent a crowd and this was allowing for apologies from Suicide Blonde, ToothFairy and ActionMan who’d skipped town. 

Simmo announced that he was going to be a Dad and “the knot”, according to Nicky’s Dad, wasn’t being tied quickly enough, notwithstanding a mid-Jan wedding.

Apart from one Shenia Twain track played early, the jingle bells music sucked, but the hospitality from Russ and Brenda made up for it – tons of gobbled down grub and where did all that white wine go?  More bottles of bubbly kept getting opened.  Must have been evaporating in the heat tempered by a welcome breeze on a day that was a real Summer stinker – which only became apparent after we’d left Widget’s lofty digs mid-arvo and returned to a scorching suburbia.  

3.             Following week, 7 Jan, Breakfast at Brooklyn on the Pier

80kms from Turra' at 6:45am [ETR midday] or 55kms from Hornsby at 7:30am [ETR 11:20].

4.      4th mid-week Sunset Ride – 5:30pm,
         Wed, 27 Dec, Mona Vale Fruit Barn

Last Wed, Dieter, Helga and PJ enjoyed 50.3 kms to West Hd, returning via Akuna Bay on the longest day of the year, 'twas 29.8 degrees at 5:30pm.

This Wed, today, we again depart from Mona Vale Fruit Barn at 5:30pm.  However, 'cause Papa Bear's tennis re-commences soon, we are switching Tues night thereafter, as he reckons "my weight just isn't falling off the way it should" and the Audax is rapidly encroaching.

If you want to check that you aren’t going to be riding on your lonesome, 'phone PJ - 9312.3319 or 0404014725.

The Scribe   -  27 Dec 2000