Rogan's ride report
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:35 pm
Me and some mates are warming up for the 3 peaks, 5 of us, Dave K, Dave D, Matt and Lachlan, decided to ride to Goulburn today.
The route was (from West Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, M7 path, F5, Ingleburn and Campbelltown, Narellan, Razorback, Picton, Bargo, Yerrinbool, Old Sth Rd to Bowral, Moss Vale, Exeter, Bundanoon, Wingello, Marulan and Goulburn. This picked up the tips from Beanzy and hannos for the tricky section from Prestons to Narellan Rd.
The full route and ride details are at strava.
http://app.strava.com/rides/4035020
The weather forecast was pretty dire, particularly in the Southern Highlands. We expected to get very wet.
We started at 6.30, in very light drizzle. The first section we took really easy, we cruised through Castle Hill, Bella Vista and down the M7 path. The M7 path was very wet from the overnight rain, although we were still only getting light drizzle. One section 2 km from the end was completely flooded. Camden Valley Way at that time of day was very busy, but we cut across to Beech Rd and Campbelltown Rd. If we had gone straight on the road of the M7, we would have had a very interesting time getting across the Campbelltown Rd on-ramp at Prestons. We got off the F5 at Brooks Rd, and went down the alternative route. The sun came out around about here. Traffic was busy but not bad through the Ingleburn-Leumeah-Campbelltown section.
Right onto Narellan Rd, past the crazy slip lane set up, and down the hill to Mt Annan and away out of town. We took the Camden bypass, and stayed on the road across the long narrow bridge. Traffic was not too bad. The road from there to the bottom of Razorback is not great, no shoulder, 100km/h and poor surface. Razorback is not a really hard hill, but we didn't smash it, we kept it on about 18 and got over the top. Coming off Razorback, our first puncture - Matt got a front wheeler.
Away again, through Picton, and up the other side under that nasty tight rail bridge and the hill following, we got 3 km out of Picton before our second puncture - right on 100 km Dave K hit a ridge in the road, and cut his rear tyre, causing an immediate loud blowout. As this happened, a very heavy shower passed over us, and we got drenched. An attempt to patch the tyre with a tube patch was only moderately successful, and the CO2 had the tube bulging out the cut. We let the tyre down again, hand pumped it to about 40 psi, and put Dave K on the front and told him to dodge all rocks, stones, ridges, holes of any kind, get the smooth part of the road and ride it up to the bike shop at Tahmoor. Four careful and cautious kms later, we made it to the bike shop, and bought a new tyre. On the way the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It even started warming up a bit. By this time we had lost an hour due to punctures, and it was cutting into our planned lunch break in Bowral. Back on the road again, it really is a long tough drag up this road. From Picton to Yerrinbool you go up 400 metres vertical in about 30 km. Doesn't sound that hard, but there are absolutely no downhills, and there are at least 5 significant climbs. Except for the steeper Catherine Hill, we were holding a steady speed above 25 km/h for this section. Also, there was a fair bit of traffic between Picton and Bargo but after Bargo, and the freeway interchange, there was much less traffic, and the riding was very enjoyable.
The left turn onto Old South Rd sneaks up on you, it's not well marked, it looks like a "nothing" road. But it is a great little road, which bypasses Mittgagong and drops you into East Bowral. I only know about it because the used to bring the Goulburn to Liverpool that way in the 90s. We took the first 5 km or so quickly, enjoying the first downhill sections since we came off Razorback. Right before the hardest hill of the day I got a flat in my front wheel. Our third (and thankfully last) of the day. Another quick fix, 135 km covered it was nearly 1 pm by this stage. Up the very tough little hill (7.5% for 2 km, but with a significant flat spot in the middle, most of the actual climbing is over 10%). The highest point of this route. Strava says I'm now sixth on this hill. I'll be 7th when DK loads his data up - he and Dave D rode away from us up here. Down the hill, it's steep and straight, I hit 84 km/h. Right at the bottom, and into Bowral for lunch 144 km, we stopped a few minutes after 1 pm.
We didn't have that long, but we kept it tight, everyone was reaonably happy to get moving again. We started at 1.50 pm, needing to cover the 87 km to Goulburn in 3 hours 10 minutes. From Bowral I had chosen quiet back roads as much as possible. So we went through Moss Vale, then out along the Illawarra Highway for 6 km, then left along the Exeter Rd. I had a bad patch through Moss Vale at around 150 km, but came good at about 160 km. This 45 km section of road to Marulan was the nicest road of the day. Very little traffic, it seemed more down than up (Strava doesn't agree) and we had a tailwind. The road runs along the rail line, and undulates a bit but the gradients are nothing to worry about. We got some very light showers through this section, but it was still warm and comfortable. Lachlan was starting to drop off on certain sections, and we had to nurse him a bit. I got a thigh cramp for a short while at Penrose, but had some gatorade and it went away.
At Marulan we turned onto the Highway, stopped for water at the service centre, and kept going. About 2 km up the road the shoulder was closed. After experimenting with riding the shoulder on the wrong side of the barriers, we had to just get back on the Highway, and ride about 500 m with no shoulder. From there we went along the more regular undulations as we got up to Governors Hill, and dropped down to the McDonalds, where we were meeting our ride, stopping the clock at 4.50 pm. 231 km at 27.6 km/h. From Bowral to Goulburn we averaged over 30 km/h, if you take the water break out. My legs now feel OK, I could have comfortably ridden another 30 km, and will probably go out tomorrow if the weather is OK. The two Daves, who have done 3 peaks, reckoned it was like riding to the bottom of Falls.
The temperature was over 20 C for most of the distance. Apart from the tyre change outside Picton, we got nothing heavier than drizzle. Driving back up the Hume, there was torrential rain from about Mittagong nearly to Campbelltown. So we had a good run.
I ate two bananas in the first 70 km, then a High 5 caramel bar, a pizza slice and coffee at Bowral, and a powerbar in the last 90 km. Starting with two bidons of water, I refilled at Tahmoor, Bowral (one water one gatorade), and one more bottle at Marulan. All up I actually drank about 5.5 bidons, including all the gatorade. It wasn't a hot day, I didn't need more.
8 hours 23 moving time. Total time was 10 hours 20. That included more than hour fixing and fiddling around with punctures. My first ride longer than 130 km since 1992.
With 4 weeks to go to 3PC, I know I can do the distance, but I need to do some work on steep hills, and just generally ride as much as possible, for the next 3 weeks.
The route was (from West Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, M7 path, F5, Ingleburn and Campbelltown, Narellan, Razorback, Picton, Bargo, Yerrinbool, Old Sth Rd to Bowral, Moss Vale, Exeter, Bundanoon, Wingello, Marulan and Goulburn. This picked up the tips from Beanzy and hannos for the tricky section from Prestons to Narellan Rd.
The full route and ride details are at strava.
http://app.strava.com/rides/4035020
The weather forecast was pretty dire, particularly in the Southern Highlands. We expected to get very wet.
We started at 6.30, in very light drizzle. The first section we took really easy, we cruised through Castle Hill, Bella Vista and down the M7 path. The M7 path was very wet from the overnight rain, although we were still only getting light drizzle. One section 2 km from the end was completely flooded. Camden Valley Way at that time of day was very busy, but we cut across to Beech Rd and Campbelltown Rd. If we had gone straight on the road of the M7, we would have had a very interesting time getting across the Campbelltown Rd on-ramp at Prestons. We got off the F5 at Brooks Rd, and went down the alternative route. The sun came out around about here. Traffic was busy but not bad through the Ingleburn-Leumeah-Campbelltown section.
Right onto Narellan Rd, past the crazy slip lane set up, and down the hill to Mt Annan and away out of town. We took the Camden bypass, and stayed on the road across the long narrow bridge. Traffic was not too bad. The road from there to the bottom of Razorback is not great, no shoulder, 100km/h and poor surface. Razorback is not a really hard hill, but we didn't smash it, we kept it on about 18 and got over the top. Coming off Razorback, our first puncture - Matt got a front wheeler.
Away again, through Picton, and up the other side under that nasty tight rail bridge and the hill following, we got 3 km out of Picton before our second puncture - right on 100 km Dave K hit a ridge in the road, and cut his rear tyre, causing an immediate loud blowout. As this happened, a very heavy shower passed over us, and we got drenched. An attempt to patch the tyre with a tube patch was only moderately successful, and the CO2 had the tube bulging out the cut. We let the tyre down again, hand pumped it to about 40 psi, and put Dave K on the front and told him to dodge all rocks, stones, ridges, holes of any kind, get the smooth part of the road and ride it up to the bike shop at Tahmoor. Four careful and cautious kms later, we made it to the bike shop, and bought a new tyre. On the way the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It even started warming up a bit. By this time we had lost an hour due to punctures, and it was cutting into our planned lunch break in Bowral. Back on the road again, it really is a long tough drag up this road. From Picton to Yerrinbool you go up 400 metres vertical in about 30 km. Doesn't sound that hard, but there are absolutely no downhills, and there are at least 5 significant climbs. Except for the steeper Catherine Hill, we were holding a steady speed above 25 km/h for this section. Also, there was a fair bit of traffic between Picton and Bargo but after Bargo, and the freeway interchange, there was much less traffic, and the riding was very enjoyable.
The left turn onto Old South Rd sneaks up on you, it's not well marked, it looks like a "nothing" road. But it is a great little road, which bypasses Mittgagong and drops you into East Bowral. I only know about it because the used to bring the Goulburn to Liverpool that way in the 90s. We took the first 5 km or so quickly, enjoying the first downhill sections since we came off Razorback. Right before the hardest hill of the day I got a flat in my front wheel. Our third (and thankfully last) of the day. Another quick fix, 135 km covered it was nearly 1 pm by this stage. Up the very tough little hill (7.5% for 2 km, but with a significant flat spot in the middle, most of the actual climbing is over 10%). The highest point of this route. Strava says I'm now sixth on this hill. I'll be 7th when DK loads his data up - he and Dave D rode away from us up here. Down the hill, it's steep and straight, I hit 84 km/h. Right at the bottom, and into Bowral for lunch 144 km, we stopped a few minutes after 1 pm.
We didn't have that long, but we kept it tight, everyone was reaonably happy to get moving again. We started at 1.50 pm, needing to cover the 87 km to Goulburn in 3 hours 10 minutes. From Bowral I had chosen quiet back roads as much as possible. So we went through Moss Vale, then out along the Illawarra Highway for 6 km, then left along the Exeter Rd. I had a bad patch through Moss Vale at around 150 km, but came good at about 160 km. This 45 km section of road to Marulan was the nicest road of the day. Very little traffic, it seemed more down than up (Strava doesn't agree) and we had a tailwind. The road runs along the rail line, and undulates a bit but the gradients are nothing to worry about. We got some very light showers through this section, but it was still warm and comfortable. Lachlan was starting to drop off on certain sections, and we had to nurse him a bit. I got a thigh cramp for a short while at Penrose, but had some gatorade and it went away.
At Marulan we turned onto the Highway, stopped for water at the service centre, and kept going. About 2 km up the road the shoulder was closed. After experimenting with riding the shoulder on the wrong side of the barriers, we had to just get back on the Highway, and ride about 500 m with no shoulder. From there we went along the more regular undulations as we got up to Governors Hill, and dropped down to the McDonalds, where we were meeting our ride, stopping the clock at 4.50 pm. 231 km at 27.6 km/h. From Bowral to Goulburn we averaged over 30 km/h, if you take the water break out. My legs now feel OK, I could have comfortably ridden another 30 km, and will probably go out tomorrow if the weather is OK. The two Daves, who have done 3 peaks, reckoned it was like riding to the bottom of Falls.
The temperature was over 20 C for most of the distance. Apart from the tyre change outside Picton, we got nothing heavier than drizzle. Driving back up the Hume, there was torrential rain from about Mittagong nearly to Campbelltown. So we had a good run.
I ate two bananas in the first 70 km, then a High 5 caramel bar, a pizza slice and coffee at Bowral, and a powerbar in the last 90 km. Starting with two bidons of water, I refilled at Tahmoor, Bowral (one water one gatorade), and one more bottle at Marulan. All up I actually drank about 5.5 bidons, including all the gatorade. It wasn't a hot day, I didn't need more.
8 hours 23 moving time. Total time was 10 hours 20. That included more than hour fixing and fiddling around with punctures. My first ride longer than 130 km since 1992.
With 4 weeks to go to 3PC, I know I can do the distance, but I need to do some work on steep hills, and just generally ride as much as possible, for the next 3 weeks.