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Muggaccinos Sunday Cyclists - The Bullsheet This
Sunday, 8 April – Cinque Montagnes (anti-clockwise)
commencing from either Turramurra or Hornsby ·
Cyclists
commencing at Turra' do not pass the
alternate Hornsby start, rather usually catch those departing from Hornsby when
approaching Pie in the Sky ·
Ride
contact is Phil Johnston 9498.3684
hm or 9312.3319 wk. who’d appreciate a call or e-mail from anyone who might be
starting from Hornsby ·
Please
hardcopy these ride directions and bring on Sunday Both
below ride start points to arrive at initial Nosh Stop -
Pie in the Sky
for Brekkie around 9:30am: ¨
Longer Ride - Cinque
Montagnes [105.2km] ¨
Shorter Ride - Three Hills
[76km] After
25 mins with the Nose Bag on, around
9:50am (depending on the weather)
we return south for about 16km before taking a right into Berowra Waters Rd
where we descend to picturesque Berowra Waters for the ride on the punt. [If you’ve had enough, you can continue south and return to either
Hornsby [46km] or Turra’ [76km] car parks]. After
cycling thru rural Berrilee and Arcadia, we include a 4km adjunct West into
parts of rural Glenorie by taking a - ¨
Right heading West along Wylds
Rd for 1.6km with a beaut new hill ¨
Left heading South along Old
Northern Rd for 1.9km ¨
Left heading East along Mid-Dural
Rd for 400m ¨
Left heading N/E along
Sallaway Rd for 800m ¨
Right heading North along
Johnson Ave for 100m ¨
Left heading East along
Galston Rd for 800m We
arrive at our 2nd Nosh Stop
at Green Shades Nursery Café at
Galston [9653.1500ph]
(don't forget 10% surcharge) for an
early lunch-time from 11:20am where I've booked with Luigi, restaurant mgr, who
is comfortable with us leaving our bikes outside the rest rooms and inside the
green metal doors on the LHS. As it
will be approaching lunch-time, we might struggle to get a table, whereupon we
will likely hit the small shop at the gas station across the street. Allowing
a 40 min repast if the weather is
pleasant, we commence our return home via Galston George at midday pulling in at
the familiar Hornsby Heights' bus shelter at 12:23pm. ETR
- ¨
Hornsby
12:40pm - 76km - 3 hills. ¨
Turra'
1:33pm - 106.6km - 5 hills. Player Profile - ToothFairy Nomenclature
such as Whippet, Widget, Blonde Bombshell,
The Enforcer, Arrogant Bastard, Milko Joe, Suicide Blonde, and
Temperate Tony, is testimony that Muggs
comprise an interesting array of persona. Some
maintain their Mon/Fri image when they don the coloured lycra on w'ends to play
with their middle aged toys. Others
seize the opportunity to schizo out. Ann
C. aka ToothFairy, doesn't let on too
much of what she does during the week. However,
being one of the most punctual at arriving at the advertised start time, and
always ready to roll out, provides an insight that Ann is governed by procedures
and timetables. Ann,
together with her partner, Geoff McK, are two of Sydney's eminent Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgeons - for laymen like me, Ann, who holds a Degree in
Dentistry and other post-grad medical qualifications, operates on faces,
sometimes following trauma. At
The Scribe's behest, Ann has provided
the following two brief reports. The
first is a summary of a week Ann and Geoff give each year, travelling to the
Philippines with a bunch of colleagues from Oz and abroad, to operate on people
with facial deformities, who without such generosity, would not receive
treatment which we take for granted. The
second article covers an arduous fund-raising ride from Sydney to Southport which Ann, together with about 35 other
endurance riders, completed last year in an amazing 7½ days.
Ann has booked in to do it again, and hopefully Widget
will join her. (i)
Operation Restore Hope "Cebu, Philippines This
surgical mission has just completed its 7th mission to help the people of Cebu,
an island area of over 5 million people with a very high incident of cleft lip
and palate deformity. We also see
many patients with burn contractures and scars as the villagers' open style
cooking results in many accidents. The
mission was established by Daryl Hodgkinson, myself and my partner Geoff
McKellar, with professional contacts in Cebu. Each
year a team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nursing staff spend one to two weeks
at the Lapu Lapu Hospital. We
take our own instruments and much donated supplies.
It is hard to believe how little they have and you have to remember life
can be pretty basic. This
year Geoff and myself, both Oral and Maxillo-facial surgeons, together with 2
plastic surgeons and one ENT surgeon had a busy but very fulfilling week.
On the 1st day we screened over 100 patients some who had travelled by
boat overnight from other islands. As
usual we saw children and adults with unrepaired cleft lips and palates, such
deformities would be unusual in adults in our country as they receive treatment
in the special clinics. One of the
plastic surgeons specialised in the burn patients and looked after them, while
we had two operating tables in the operating room and thus were able to
undertake over 60 surgical procedures in 5 days.
The local nursing staff work with us and have become an important part of
the team. Conditions are quite different to Australia but one cannot help but be
impressed by the patience of the people and their gentle and loving way in
looking after their children despite the deformity. (ii)
"The
Tooth Fairy rides again" [Hopefully with Brenda if her back improves in time! I have every confidence that it will be OK.] The
Rotary Club of Engadine is running the 2001 Cycle Ride from Sydney to Southport
for the 3rd year. It is a fund
raiser for "Youth off the Street" which is run by Fr. Chris Riley and
looks after young people who have many problems and often have no where to turn
to. Youth off the Street provides
homes and counselling and opportunities for disadvantaged kids.
Last year the ride raised $40,000 for the cause with 4 of the kids
joining the group and riding part or all the way - amazing as they had hardly
previously been on bikes! The
ride from Sydney to Southport is over 7½ days and averages 120 to 160 km per
day. The support vehicles/back-up
teams are superb and have always looked after us very well. Last year's ride comprised approx. 45 riders split into four
groups with a support vehicle assigned to each group and everyone was very
friendly. Our camp stops are at
Morisset, Bulahdelah, Laurieton, Macksville, Grafton, Lismore and Hastings with
the finish at a BBQ lunch on the Saturday at the Southport Yacht Club.
Last years' ride was a challenging experience for someone as unfit as me,
but well worth the effort.....must be otherwise "why am I doing it
again?" If
you want to know more about the ride you can call me on (02) 9648.6700.
If you would like to make a donation please post a cheque payable to
"Rotary Club of Engadine Bike Ride Account" to me at Suite 24, 1a
Ashley Lane, WESTMEAD NSW 2145. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. Whippet ‘n
Scribe's
rap-up of Sunday, 1
April, "Maraylya - Berowra
Waters" After 10km we’d bobbed ‘n weaved up hill and down dale, thru a dozen different streets amidst a thick fog, which goes with the territory at change of season. Fortunately, the Highland Mist had lifted by the time we threw a left into Kenthurst Rd which, together with the following Pitt Town Rd, provided longish, straight stretches heading NW out in the boondocks where we were able to pick up our speed. Shortly after 10am with almost 40km on the clock, we escaped a short stretch on Scary Rd (Old Northern Rd) by throwing a left at Wylds Rd which took us into familiar territory entering Arcadia Rd about 3km north of GreenShades Nursery. Alas, with our tongues hanging out for a good caffeine fix, we were cycling away from Muggs' popular Nosh Stop. Fortunately, consensus had been reached that we’d pull in at the Marina Café on the west bank of the Berowra Waters, which “God’s honest truth” looked at its pristine best - coffee, which came in classy Italiano cups, was OK. ToothFairy, Pete
and The Scribe had drifted ahead of the Peloton, as like every responsible
Ride Leader should do, Kin-Yat was diligently re-grouping every 10km or so
to ensure that no one got left behind. In
any event, these three “head scouts” arrived at the café and ordered Bacon, Eggs
‘n Cheese on a Roll. Then
barely a few minutes later, the second wave of Whippet
(another puncture), Rock Solid,
Temperate Tony, NoPlay Pete and David arrived, and upon PJ's recommendation
ordered the same Brekkie, only to be
told at 11:02. “Sorry,
the breakfast menu finishes at 11am.” Cognisant that she was the slowest rider, about midday Heather caught an earlier punt across Berowra Waters. About 10 mins later the remainder of us bordered the next punt as we could see Heather scaling the road out. Not sure why, however, it was on for young ‘n old with everyone in pursuit, anxious to see if they could catch ‘The Wild Heather’ before the apex. The KOM went to real speed merchant in the mountains, Hats off Dave, followed by our Ride Leader, who for once didn't have to worry about Heather. With
Kin-Yat escorting Heather to the train at Hornsby, the Peloton re-grouped/waited
on a traffic island on the Pac H'way which leads down to Normanhurst.
Upon Kin’s return after careering past “Barker
College”,
Normanhurst and Thornleigh, we arrived back at Pennant Hills Station at 1:20pm
with 80km on the clock. Congrats
to Kin-Yat for his knowledge of the intricate route and expert ride leadership. Tentative rides over Easter Mindful that the artery roads out of Sydney are still busy
on Good Friday morn and re-energise
around midday Easter Monday, the following two rides are proposed for those not
jumping ship over Easter. If the
weather is bad on the Friday or Sunday, we could move the affected ride to
Easter Monday:
Could you please e-mail PJ if you think you could be interested in either ride. Muggs
returning to the Lower Hunter this June long w'end Last June long w'end 22 of us froze our buns off at Bundanoon firmly of the conviction that Bundanoon provides all the ingredients for a wonderful cycling holiday. However, heading south in June is only for the Eskimos. www.muggaccinos.com provides a write-up and pics of that memorable holiday, however, it was cold, especially our Easter Sunday ride to Robertson via Kangaloon, albeit we were blessed with fleeting sunshine on the picturesque climb from Kangaroo Valley on Easter Saturday. In June '99, Muggs basked in warm sunshine at Mudgee. The two June's before that ('97, and '98) we were also blessed with fine, warm conditions staying at the Neath Hotel, 3km east of Cessnock. Over the ensuing week's PJ will provide info of two pubs, Probably The Kearsey and The Bellbird and two B & Bs for interested Muggs 'n Bike North members to book at, as unlike previous year's, Arrogant Bastard won't be doing all the bookings. However, he will provide interesting rides for each day from Friday, 8 June to Sunday, 11 June which will incorporate shorter starting spots (to the same lunch digs) for those who can ride 50/70km all-up. If you want to do your own exploring of suitable digs, check out http://www.winecountry.com.au/home.htm Expats Corner Last week PJ rec'd an e-mail from Frank 'n Fiona in India who will likely be back in Sydney in May for a flying visit for his daughter's b'day. Muggs is going to try and put together a restaurant night, which should be interesting as Frank has alluded that business ethics and the "traditional business case to support the investment" aren't always consistent with protocols he became used to in Oz firms. The Scribe - 4 April 2001 |
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