On Sunday the 24th I took part in the Central Coast Century Challenge. I spent the night before at my uncle Brian’s and auntie Jean’s then went to the Mount Penang Gardens at Kariong for the ride. On the way I went to BiLo to get some energy bars. Unfortunately there were none so I got a couple of mars bars and a sneakers bar. I have done the ride before but given that the turn off to Kariong is not well sign posted. I wound up back on the freeway heading off to Sydney. I got to Kariong after I headed back to Gosford via the Old Pacific highway. As a consequence I got to the start late. I parked the bike late and watched the 50km riders head off.
When I went on the Tour de Hills, I had intended to do the century ride but wound up having to do the 70Km ride because I was stuck at the lineup for registration. This time it was different. I pre-registered; I collected my number and got a map of the course. I got briefed on when the various turn backs were going to be closed. Although I was tempted to do the 50 km course I resolved to do the 100. I got on my bike and began riding all out. I began pegging back 50Km riders as I went along.
As I headed towards Calga I began to relax and enjoy the countryside as it changed from light industrial sites to rural villages like Somersby and then onto the bush. It was a pretty good day. We had a week of rain and now we had sun and things got warm as we went along.
When I reached Calga I was faced with the choice of continuing with the 50 km course or doing my century. I chose to do the century and headed towards Mooney Mooney along the Kowan Road. As I road along I could see the other Century riders heading back toward Calga. Some of them called “lots of hills” as they went past. As I went down towards Mooney Mooney, I was some riders who appeared to have been in a mass crash. They were being looked after by the organizers. A short time later I was passed by an ambulance. Then a couple of moments later I was passed by two tow trucks. As I reached Mooney Mooney I was passed by the last of the 100km riders. A couple of girls as the end of the riders called “we thought we were last”. When I got to the turn around I got some water and rode on I slowly caught up with the last riders of the 100km ride and got talking to the girls who called out to me earlier.
When we reached the crash site the tow trucks and the ambulance were still there. I picked up the pace and left the other riders behind. When I got back to Calga I had a chat with a couple of people at the water point. One was a teacher who was supervising a student teacher who has a position lined up at the Kinross Woloroi school Orange. I am from the Central West area myself and we had a good chat. As the day went along the temperature got warmer and I unzipped my jersey to cool myself down. It worked.
I headed down Peat’s Ridge Road. The road was hard and I wound up having a mars bar to give myself some extra energy to climb some of the toughest hills on the course. I rode on and went though Peat’s Ridge Village Eventually I pegged back some more riders who were still plugging along the hills or in one case eating getting supplies at a service station.
I got to the drinks post at the 61 km ride and I stocked up with bananas and water. I was relieved that the drinks post was still there because I was told that it would be closed at 12:00 or 12:30 I got talking to the people at the drinks post and found out it would not be there when we came back from the drinks post at the 71km point. Another rider who was with the Central Coast Triathlon club said he was uncertain about continuing on with the century ride as it was his first big ride after tearing a muscle in a triathlon event last year. We were assured when we came back from the 71km point the course would be a lot easier.
I then headed down George Downs Drive towards the 71 km point at Kulnura. As I headed towards Kulnura, the motor traffic picked up notably. Most motorists were well behaved except an idiot P plater in a ute who made a screeching turn out of a drive way behind another rider. The hills on this section were reasonable and the sight of the water point at the general store was a welcome sight. I took my time refilling the water bottles and had a couple of bananas. I took a brief look around and noticed a yellow MG near the general store. I got myself ready for the ride back and headed off back up George Downs Drive. I As I rode back I was a few other riders heading towards the turn back point. When I reached the site of where the 61km point drinks station, it began to rain so I stopped and put my rain coat on.
With 83 kilometers under my belt things did get easier. Wisemans Ferry Road was smooth and relatively flat. I noticed the area had undergone some hazard reduction work for bushfires done. I got closer to the finish point the countryside began to change again. We went through bush again to rural villages such as Somersby which still seems to be protesting against another sand mine in the area. When I got to Kariong I went along some tough roads. One in particular had patches over the surface which gave the effect similar to riding across the cobble stones of the Paris-Roubaix. I there were also some issues with gravel in some parts. I wound up riding with some recreational riders as I got closer to the finish. I wasn’t sure if they were part of the ride but they were a lively group.
When I reached the finish point I rode in as the organizers were getting ready to pack up. I got a round of applause from some of the organizers who were waiting for the remaining riders. I got a couple of sausage sandwiches and a cup of coffee. I missed out on the show bag that was supposed to come with entry. Not that it mattered. I had finished what I intended to do. I got talking to one of the organizers form Erina Rotary about the charity which they were supporting with the ride. Coast Shelter is an organization that looks after the homeless on the Central Coast. It may be hard to believe that homelessness would happen in such a beautiful place but it does. The organizer explained that there were people who came up to the coast from Sydney and beyond believing that the rents and housing would be cheaper. However they have often been knocked for six but the expense. I am on the verge of getting my own home (with a bit of luck). I feel for those who are homeless. It is a situation I hope to avoid at all costs. So Coast Shelter is a good cause to support.
If I were to rate this ride I would rate it as a hard ride but it is not as hard as the Blaney to Bathurst but better than the Tour De Hills. I would like to thank My Auntie Jean and Uncle Brian as well as Liz and Peter Murphy for looking after me the night before and the Central Coast Touring Cycle Club for organising the ride.
Tags: Australia, Bicycles, Bikes, Calga, Central Coast, Central Coast Century Challenge, Charity Rides, Coast Shelter, commuting, Cycletouring, cycling, Dangerous driving, Environment, Erina Rotary, George Downs Drive, Gosford, Kariong, Kulnura, Mooney Mooney, Peats Ridge, Peats Ridge Road, riding, Safety, Somersby, Sydney, touring, Wisemans Ferry Road
