A great weekend of riding, and from reading the reports we’ll make it to the moon and back this year..
YHC was hit by a sudden rush of blood to the head and made a seemingly rational decision to ride the Fondo..Wisemans loop with the Boy , George and Wiggo.
A cool 20C at 6:30 rendezvous, George and Wiggo had already conquered GG , but the Galstone shops was a logical spot to start, and thus it for YHC it would also be a tortuous finish..
Rolling the Old Northern Rd, clear skies, nil wind, George at the front chuffing out a steady 30kph providing a draught for the lesser mortals, and all this with Georges trademark smile and gentle encouragement. YHC considers the Old Northern Rd as kind of “road to nowhere”, it goes on and on through a continuous loop of trees and short hills 50km before you arrive at the escarpment decent into Wisemans..where our lesser band of riders foraged for water but drew a blank..( anyone know of a tap there ? ) ( Mike “Wiggo” was experiencing mechanical issues and turned left for a flatter than the flat lands ride to Windsor )
The ferry across to the dark side, ( as the hill shadow provides a delicious shade from the gathering heat ) and a “gift of the road”..George found a spark plug spanner for his whipper snipper..yup sometimes these things just appear and you just say thank you. Once back in the groove, next stop Spencer, signpost says 25kms, but the further from the city you go the length of a km stretches..everywhere seems to take ages to reach, luckily Spencer is announced at about 10kms from Wisemans, and then you do another 15km to reach the village shops, at which there is perfect little cafe for a stop and refresh..cyclist special , coffee and bacon and egg roll for $8..and a happy snap for their facebook page..YHC merely indulged in a chocolate milkshake, but when combined with 2lts of water..$8.40. The serious climb out of the Hawkesbury valley begins a little way further down the road, temp just nudging 30C at the start, and still in a little shade, but the higher up the slope once clear of the trees and into chook hell..( pong of factory farmed chooks is quite overpowering )..temp climbed to 34C and our happy band gritted their teeth and pedalled on..( Party political broadcast..factory chook farms are just plain wrong, designed and implemented with ruthless efficiency and tellingly are the only farms I know of with 8ft chainlink wire fences with razor wire on the top..when they open the vents in warm weather, the stench is but one manifestation of the evil within) PPB over …Mangrove mountain..aptly named, and relief found at the Corrugated Cafe on Peats Ridge Road..George now counting down the kms to home, 50 to go ( for him ) YHC another 70, nothing that a strawberry milkshake can’t fix..and coffees for the Boy and George, The Boy making this ride look easy, or maybe he just doesn’t sweat. 35.6 C on the Mt White section, George calls this “undulating..” also point of order, never ask George if a section contains a hill, he has no recollection of anything with an incline, for him the world is flat. Some flat sections you can ride without pedalling and go very fast some other flat sections you have to pedal a bit hard to keep going at a normal speed.
Pie in the Sky and for YHC the dream was nearly over, but the road was still long…a quick recovery Gatorade..and back into the heat but now it is the homeward leg, and familiar territory makes it not feel so bad, so the section to Mt Colah sped by in no time, You could hear the beers in Georges fridge calling ( but that would be a siren song to YHC ..GG with a beer in the legs..) He peeled off with grin and gusto, Boy and YHC pedalled on..Boy was headed to collect a car..Normanhurst..( no GG for him then ) but YHC made that right turn and set off with as much bravado as could muster for a gritty little climb out and home..
If it is not on strava it didn’t happen…thankfully a full and frank report uploaded with PBs and words like “Extreme” used to describe what was in fact a very enjoyable day ..many thanks to Mike, Boy and George.
BT