Sydney to Canberra... ka-ching!
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:13 am
What I'm going to do today is tell y'all a story about a little thing I like to call 'riding a bicycle from Sydney to Canberra'. And you're going to read it, because it's part of human nature to enjoy engaging in other people's lives. Hence the reason we watch movies. Visit other countries. Learn to eat with chopsticks. Tour on bicycles. Plus, it it a cool story, involving rags to riches storys, and real risk taking activities like jumping red lights in front of cop. According to various sources quoted through wikipedia, twice has a man beaten a horse in the 'man versus horse marathon' in Wales each year. Sure, in hot conditions, man could beat a horse easily, but why not use a bicycle? Much faster than either, no second mouth to feed, mane to brush, agistment, pooper scooper etc, and frankly, you see and feel much more on a two wheel thingy for 8 hours than you would sitting in a cage like thingy for 3 hours.
After a good training ride with my pal Matt (Addict3), and chatting to Pete (MrHuong), we decided to head to Canberra after all. Pete dropped out last minute with work commitments, so myself and Matt headed to Macarthur station and the University of Western Sydney for a 7am start, with no rainclouds in sight. I like to pack light; 5 Muesli bars, phone keys wallet, gatorade powder, sunscreen pack, crampeze pack, HRM, and arm sleeves, keeping it real! On the way to Macarthur, a dude on the trackwork trains wanted to know what 'you bludgers are doin on the train'. He told us he went from homeless bum to centrelink-paid student, to $120,000/year OH&S operator in a matter of weeks! He was trying to convince us to ride against traffic to avoid getting rear ended - sound advice, but just because we don't like a law, doesn't mean it's all right to break it. We were going to the nation's capital after all, and could have coffee and biscuits with the red lady if we really wanted to discuss the issue.. Down onto the freeway on the Scott Addict and Azzurri Chrono Elite, and absolutely awful road for about 20km.. bumpy little rocks, but flat enough. 700x25c tires would have been excellent here, however, these were not to be found nearby. A short potty break where my mate Daniel and girlfriend Laura drove past (they were our ticket home), and we were back on the road again, and it was relatively smooth sailing - a few stupid bits where the road had been dug out (probably to access underground pipes) then resurfaced with rocks that washed out (as no cement was added), a couple of bridges with no shoulder (thanks to the courteous drivers who changed lanes for us), and we were well on the way to Mittagong. We passed an older fella on a mountain bike just heading for a ride, and saw all the spoils of the Great Southern Land; desert, country, bush, and forest - and we weren't even half way yet.
The first service station (after he Mobil 45km in) is the one at Marulan (just after a heavy vehicle checkpoint) is the best spot to get water (about 112km in). No thanks to whoever planned the god-awful Marulan road works, which had a concrete barrier between the road and bicycle lane. Great! Pedalling on a 2 lane 80km/h road. What is it about not treating bicycles equally anyway? I pay my taxes to aid the $6.9 billion spent on building and repairing roads this year, and pay registration on all my vehicles with a power output greater than 200 Watts, as necessitated by the RTA. After a few cars passed safely, there was a truck coming with a car next to it, so it couldn't change lanes. I unclipped, put one leg on the barrier and hopped over it. Riding on the other side of the barrier was all good - till Matty rang and told me he's still at Marulan when I thought he'd left before I did! A 5 minute rest near the grave of Khan, sunscreen on, sleeves off, then back on the road.
Smooth sailing all the way to Goulburn, but still on the 'hilly' side. My 25 tooth minimum had a bit of trouble climbing at 90RPM, but Matt had no problem with his 27 tooth. Plus, his frame weighs 900 grams, his wheelset's under 1.6kg, and he's one fit bastard!. A stop off at Coles in Goulburn Centro (after a devilishly long incline), and the self-serve machine was popping out $5 bills to me like a dirty casino game. 6 more muesli bars in the pocket, red rooster (sushi in Matt's case!) in the belly, and we were ready to roll after thanking the security guard for keeping our bikes in the security room. He said he's had a bit of trouble with the local boys who'd want to bring their bikes in since we could, so he wanted to take them away for safe keeping. No worries mate! Down the main street of Goulburn to turn left a red light, where Matt decides to get a rolling start - only the light doesn't go green. The car next to us beeps at him, and Matt's half way through the turn when I realise it's actually a cop getting out his booklet to fine him. The other officer tells him not to worry, so they follow us for a while to see if we do anything stupid.
Back on the freeway with 90km to go, and a nice downhill to so called 'Lake George'. Ain't nothing remotely lake-y about it, just a big field of grass with a wind farm in the back ground, and deceiving flat looking incline. A sharp climb, and we realised something must be happening in Canberra - the amount of cars pulling trailers with high-end track motorbikes was well above average. Not real sure what was happening there. After hearing a tapping noise coming form the back wheel, I pulled up to find a piece of metal lodged in the back tire. Lucky it's lined with proper anti-puncture material - or it'd be the third puncture this year. After yanking it out, I noticed a brand new VW golf with hazards on in front. I went to ask if everything was right, but he beat me to it. Nice bloke thought I'd broke down! Along this route, there were plenty of lots, pet kennels and cemeteries, and even lots for sale. Seems like a good deal to me, and why not? Walk around the front yard naked in the morning, own sheep and chickens, grow strawberries, and throw parties as big as you want without neighbors complaining.
Between Lake George and Hadlow Drive, there was the steepest incline of the day (pfft, the M7 has worse!), with a nice lookout opposite Hadlow Drive. After this, there was nothing. Great scenery, but no reason to shift at all in the saddle. Rabbits, cute little sheep which looked like balls of grass unless you looked closely, more track bikes, rock roads which buzz annoyingly (better than rough roads I suppose..) uphills and downhills for miles. Rolling into Canberra was a good feeling - apart from the rotting corpses of Kangaroo's and the van of Asian fella's who slowed down to wave, it was quite flat and fast. I can't say I've ever spent much time in our nation's capital, so after a trip to the skatepark and local subway, the bikes went in the boot and it was back to Sydney the boring way.
Cheers to the good drivers of NSW, Victoria and Canberra, (hope everyone stayed safe on the motorbikes!) some of which rode the middle line of the road to give us unnecessary extra room, the cop who told the other cop not to book Matt, Daniel and Laura for meeting us in Canberra, and that one dude on the bus. Overall, it was a great ride, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to do a day tour without needing a backpack, or anyone who wants to try distance cycling for a first time. It was my first ride over 200km (238.66km in 8:30, top speed; 73.8KPH, 156 BPM AVG HR), with good scenery and wide enough lanes for the entire (bar about 1km total) trip. The only gripes are the 'rocky' flat roads which are made of hard packed little stones for about 1/5 of the ride, great for grip, but not so great for speed or on the arse with road buzz. If anyone has any comments or questions, feel free to post them underneath!
After a good training ride with my pal Matt (Addict3), and chatting to Pete (MrHuong), we decided to head to Canberra after all. Pete dropped out last minute with work commitments, so myself and Matt headed to Macarthur station and the University of Western Sydney for a 7am start, with no rainclouds in sight. I like to pack light; 5 Muesli bars, phone keys wallet, gatorade powder, sunscreen pack, crampeze pack, HRM, and arm sleeves, keeping it real! On the way to Macarthur, a dude on the trackwork trains wanted to know what 'you bludgers are doin on the train'. He told us he went from homeless bum to centrelink-paid student, to $120,000/year OH&S operator in a matter of weeks! He was trying to convince us to ride against traffic to avoid getting rear ended - sound advice, but just because we don't like a law, doesn't mean it's all right to break it. We were going to the nation's capital after all, and could have coffee and biscuits with the red lady if we really wanted to discuss the issue.. Down onto the freeway on the Scott Addict and Azzurri Chrono Elite, and absolutely awful road for about 20km.. bumpy little rocks, but flat enough. 700x25c tires would have been excellent here, however, these were not to be found nearby. A short potty break where my mate Daniel and girlfriend Laura drove past (they were our ticket home), and we were back on the road again, and it was relatively smooth sailing - a few stupid bits where the road had been dug out (probably to access underground pipes) then resurfaced with rocks that washed out (as no cement was added), a couple of bridges with no shoulder (thanks to the courteous drivers who changed lanes for us), and we were well on the way to Mittagong. We passed an older fella on a mountain bike just heading for a ride, and saw all the spoils of the Great Southern Land; desert, country, bush, and forest - and we weren't even half way yet.
The first service station (after he Mobil 45km in) is the one at Marulan (just after a heavy vehicle checkpoint) is the best spot to get water (about 112km in). No thanks to whoever planned the god-awful Marulan road works, which had a concrete barrier between the road and bicycle lane. Great! Pedalling on a 2 lane 80km/h road. What is it about not treating bicycles equally anyway? I pay my taxes to aid the $6.9 billion spent on building and repairing roads this year, and pay registration on all my vehicles with a power output greater than 200 Watts, as necessitated by the RTA. After a few cars passed safely, there was a truck coming with a car next to it, so it couldn't change lanes. I unclipped, put one leg on the barrier and hopped over it. Riding on the other side of the barrier was all good - till Matty rang and told me he's still at Marulan when I thought he'd left before I did! A 5 minute rest near the grave of Khan, sunscreen on, sleeves off, then back on the road.
Smooth sailing all the way to Goulburn, but still on the 'hilly' side. My 25 tooth minimum had a bit of trouble climbing at 90RPM, but Matt had no problem with his 27 tooth. Plus, his frame weighs 900 grams, his wheelset's under 1.6kg, and he's one fit bastard!. A stop off at Coles in Goulburn Centro (after a devilishly long incline), and the self-serve machine was popping out $5 bills to me like a dirty casino game. 6 more muesli bars in the pocket, red rooster (sushi in Matt's case!) in the belly, and we were ready to roll after thanking the security guard for keeping our bikes in the security room. He said he's had a bit of trouble with the local boys who'd want to bring their bikes in since we could, so he wanted to take them away for safe keeping. No worries mate! Down the main street of Goulburn to turn left a red light, where Matt decides to get a rolling start - only the light doesn't go green. The car next to us beeps at him, and Matt's half way through the turn when I realise it's actually a cop getting out his booklet to fine him. The other officer tells him not to worry, so they follow us for a while to see if we do anything stupid.
Back on the freeway with 90km to go, and a nice downhill to so called 'Lake George'. Ain't nothing remotely lake-y about it, just a big field of grass with a wind farm in the back ground, and deceiving flat looking incline. A sharp climb, and we realised something must be happening in Canberra - the amount of cars pulling trailers with high-end track motorbikes was well above average. Not real sure what was happening there. After hearing a tapping noise coming form the back wheel, I pulled up to find a piece of metal lodged in the back tire. Lucky it's lined with proper anti-puncture material - or it'd be the third puncture this year. After yanking it out, I noticed a brand new VW golf with hazards on in front. I went to ask if everything was right, but he beat me to it. Nice bloke thought I'd broke down! Along this route, there were plenty of lots, pet kennels and cemeteries, and even lots for sale. Seems like a good deal to me, and why not? Walk around the front yard naked in the morning, own sheep and chickens, grow strawberries, and throw parties as big as you want without neighbors complaining.
Between Lake George and Hadlow Drive, there was the steepest incline of the day (pfft, the M7 has worse!), with a nice lookout opposite Hadlow Drive. After this, there was nothing. Great scenery, but no reason to shift at all in the saddle. Rabbits, cute little sheep which looked like balls of grass unless you looked closely, more track bikes, rock roads which buzz annoyingly (better than rough roads I suppose..) uphills and downhills for miles. Rolling into Canberra was a good feeling - apart from the rotting corpses of Kangaroo's and the van of Asian fella's who slowed down to wave, it was quite flat and fast. I can't say I've ever spent much time in our nation's capital, so after a trip to the skatepark and local subway, the bikes went in the boot and it was back to Sydney the boring way.
Cheers to the good drivers of NSW, Victoria and Canberra, (hope everyone stayed safe on the motorbikes!) some of which rode the middle line of the road to give us unnecessary extra room, the cop who told the other cop not to book Matt, Daniel and Laura for meeting us in Canberra, and that one dude on the bus. Overall, it was a great ride, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to do a day tour without needing a backpack, or anyone who wants to try distance cycling for a first time. It was my first ride over 200km (238.66km in 8:30, top speed; 73.8KPH, 156 BPM AVG HR), with good scenery and wide enough lanes for the entire (bar about 1km total) trip. The only gripes are the 'rocky' flat roads which are made of hard packed little stones for about 1/5 of the ride, great for grip, but not so great for speed or on the arse with road buzz. If anyone has any comments or questions, feel free to post them underneath!