Muggaccinos Pedlars  - The Bullsheet

Sunday, 29 Sept, Brunch at Pearl Beach - Old Rattler home:

*    8am from Hornsby [83km] - ETR 2:06pm; or 

*    8:30am from Berowra [71.5km] - 3.57pm

  • Ride Leader  Phil Johnston - 9498.3684 hm

  • Hardcopy these directions and bring on Sunday

  • Cycle two abreast at own risk.  Keep well to LHS

  • Get off the road at Sag Stops

  • Maintain your membership of Bicycle NSW for Public Liability cover in case another Mugg sues your arse for riding negligence

  • Some cyclists start at Berowra - take 2nd off-road from Freeway

  • When passing a fellow Mugg, always provide a metre clearance.  If you can't, or are passing on the inside, you MUST call out loudly eg. "passing inside tight" etc

  • Don't ride with Muggs if your tyres are crap or your gears don't work, 'cause the Peloton is gettin' pulled up unnecessarily

 

www.cityrail.com.au "Trackwork Menu" [updated ??/?] reports no train disruptions this Sunday on North Shore, Northern or Wyong lines

 

1st Leg: Hornsby to Mt White Store - 35km (85 min)

¨                  By 7:50am park at Hornsby train station car park [70m N of the Railway Hotel in Jersey St – N/W side of train station] to rollout at 7am for 400m then L and 20m later R at lights onto Pacific H'way; or

¨                  pick-up the convoy at 8:30am on Old Pacific H'way opposite Berowra train station carpark.

Continue N up Old Pacific H'way to 1st Nosh Stop from 9:25am [30 mins] at Mt White Village Store.

Second Leg: Mt White Village Store to Kariong Shell garage - 19.2km - (52 min)
9:55am -

  • R Nth up Old Pac H'way for 6.2km to Calga Interchange around 10:15am Sag Stop [2 min] to re-group; 

  • R East to Gosford “Scenic Route”, remaining on Old Pac H'way, to intermittent sounds of chirping Bellbirds, crossing Mooney Mooney creek 4.1km later;

  • climb 6.1km and take a Sag Stop [5 min] at the Wisemans Ferry/Gosford roundabout at Somersby Industrial Estate - keeping well to LHS; and

  • R Sth for 700m on Wisemans Ferry Rd, then L for 1.4km back on Old Pac H'way, arriving at familiar Kariong Shell garage at 10:50am [54.2km] for a short Sag Stop [10 mins].

 

Third leg: Kariong to pristine Pearl Beach - 18km (54 min)

11am -

  • Initially flattish S/Eth along Woy Woy Rd, thence down the hill past Phegans' Bay twds Umina Beach.  After approx 12.5km from the Shell Garage we cross train tracks at level crossing and road becomes Rawson Rd.

  • 400m later cross Ocean Beach Rd and continue ahead for 250m when road becomes Allfield Rd for 200m.

  • R into Blackwall Rd/Memorial Ave/Barrenjoey Rd for 3km and take Sag Stop [3 mins] 50m after Warrah St  [Keep well to the left side of passing traffic].

  • Next R into West St for 1km.

  • It then changes to Sydney Ave as it veers L for 100m.

  • R into Hobart Ave for 200m.  L into Mt Ettalong Rd for about 3km.  At the Sth. end of beautiful Umina Beach, Mt Ettalong Rd changes to Patonga Drive.  Climb past "Mt Ettalong Lookout" for a further 1km.

  • L into Pearl Beach Drive for 1.75km to unspoiled, but expensive Pearl Beach [heaps of Filthy Rich “near deads” and WOOFS (Well Off Older Folks) driving Bentleys 'n Mercs].

2nd Nosh Stop [45 mins] from 12pm [74.7km] at the fish shop near the Sit ‘N’ Chat Beach Café (4341.3686 ph) nestled in a sunny, snotty spot.

Fourth Leg: Pearl Beach to Woy Woy station - 9.9km (27 min) - arrive by 1:20pm:

By 12:50pm -

  • L into Pearl Beach Drive retracing our path out of Pearl Beach up a mother of a hill along (gorgeous view of Pearl Beach on RHS) for 1.75km;

  • R back onto Mt Ettalong Rd for 3.2km;

  • R into Hobart for 200m;

  • L into Sydney Ave for 150m;

  • L into Ocean Beach Rd for 4km; and

  • R into Railway St for 600m to Woy Woy station:

·   express at 12:02pm arrive Hornsby at 12:36pm; or

·   all stops at 12:26pm arrive Berowra at 12:57pm and Hornsby at 1:06pm; or

·   express at 1:02pm arrive Hornsby at 1:36pm; or

·      all stops at 1:26pm arrive Berowra at 1:57pm and Hornsby at 2:06pm; or

·     express at 2:02pm arrive Hornsby at 2:36pm.

Bank Teller's rap-up of Thunderbolts Way bonza w'end in the Upper Hunter - Fri 20th to Sun 22nd Sept

Seven crew hit their jalopies from mid-arvo last Friday in pursuit of the quaint township of Gloucester, 'cause there was a new hill to conquer - Hungry Hill along Thunderbolts Way, which ride organiser Ian, aka Daddy Bear, had calc’d:

  • 600m climb over 5.36km, 

  • mean gradient of 11%,

  • averaging over 4 contours:

*    maximum gradient 16%, and 

*    minimum gradient 7%.

As we were to find out early in  the arvo the following day, those numbers meant Hungry Hill , located between 40 and 50km (in below profile) was one Mother of a Climb, where most of us were out-of-the-saddle for over an hour sloggin 'n sloggin in our lowest cog (28x22) or (30x25) stuff.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our destination last Sat morn’ was the sleepy hollow of Nowendoc, a long way up the Great Dividing Range.  Nowendoc is in the high country.  Not quite at the apex of the GDR but movin' twds it.  The route Daddy Bear had planned would take us 78 km along Thunderbolts Way.  As we soaked up the Spring sunshine outside the Gloucester Bakery before our Sat ride departure, we were cheerfully oblivious as to the dog of a climb that befronted us.

L to R - Navigator, KitchenSink, Teller, RockSolid, DaddyBear, Whippet 'n Princess Monaco

Caroline took the above Happy Snap 23km out from Gloucester as we paused at a fresh mountain stream on the banks of the Manning River.

After 36km we took another breather at the Barnard River - base station of Hungry Hill.  A climb from 200m above sea level to 1,000 was in store before Nowendoc.  

Ten mins later of seemingly vertical ascending we were all hangin' on for grim-life on a mountain we were determined to beat,  no doubt all wishing we had a lower chain ring, and hoping that that around the bend "at the top of the screen" would be the top, or at least a flatter patch to recharge the aching quads.  But it wasn't.  There was always another precipitous sheer section following around each corner.  And there were more corners, and more corners, and still some more corners, but plenty of long straight "sheer-ups" in between.  Actually, Daddy Bear with a Granny a lot smaller than his biggest on the back, may not 've shared our desperation for a lower gear.

Dare I mutter it, Hungry Hill proved possibly on a par with the dreaded, Jambaroo Pass.  No perhaps not as tough, but a clear 2nd place contender in NSW.

Ray aka KitchenSink won the KOM to the lookout, even though his backpack contained tools the head mechanic for Ferrari would be proud of, binoculars befitting the Woomera satellite tracking station, and a fruit shop.  RockSolid registered the fastest down hill of 86km/h.  [Both Brian and Teller checked Rock's computer].  Our ride planner, Englishman DaddyBear, displayed devil may care control zooming down the awesome downhills.  If the gentleman from Surrey had come off, “we’d ‘ve needed paint scrappers ‘n blotters to clean him up”. 

The view from the top:  It may not look it, but it sure was a long way down.  The sight of magnificent large Eagles soaring, making lazy circles in the sky over the majestic valleys below, was a treat.

"To the Victors, go the Spoils."  Boy oh boy! Didn't we pig-out on the spoils back at our delightful digs at Lyn's joint at Nowendoc, after conquering that Mother of all Hills.

Scribe 'n Whippet   25 Sept ‘02