Gong Ride 2012

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bigfriendlyvegan
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby bigfriendlyvegan » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:42 am

The guy with the track pump in his backpack was probably one of the hard working and very handsome mobile support crew. We carry the big pumps so that you don't have to.

We had 16 jobs before Waterfall and then only two after that. Most of the repairs were tubes and, unfortunately, tyres. People seem to be getting the idea that they should bring along their own tubes and get their bikes looked at before the ride. Unfortunately, some LBSs are incompetent scumbags. I had one guy who was quite proud that he was prepared and gave us his spare tube to fit and pump for him. He had gone to the LBS the day before WITH HIS BIKE and picked up tubes for it. Unfortunately, the LBS sold him tubes (at $15 a piece) that had valves that we too short for his wheels.

Another lady had brand new Duranos fitted the day before and the LBS did such a ham-fisted job that the bead popped the tube with a bang (as it does). No, it wasn't a fault in the tyre, this looked like some monkey had fitted the tyre with a pair of pliers or a screw driver.

We saw one broken wrist (one of the Avenger's - Wonder Woman) and we stopped and administered first aid to a poor woman who stopped and collapsed beside the road, 2km after a water stop and 8km before the finish. She was left behind by her group and she was trying to catch up, so she was riding hard and skipped the last water stop.

Had a lot of fun, did a lot of work, kept people going to the end.

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daniel.s
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby daniel.s » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:46 am

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:Had a lot of fun, did a lot of work, kept people going to the end.
Good work. Thanks!

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby lump_a_charcoal » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:50 am

daniel.s wrote:
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:Had a lot of fun, did a lot of work, kept people going to the end.
Good work. Thanks!

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x2!

You guys make it work so well!
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby daniel.s » Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:00 am

Had a good ride yesterday. Was nice to have cooler weather for the ride down this time. I was going to take it easy on the way down to conserve energy for the way back, but that all went out the window once we got to the RNP.

The ride back was hard work. Rode it with Chris (mr coops) and one of the MIA guys, Martin. They're both way fitter than me on a bike, so I was pushing hard just to keep up. Chris just hammered up Mt Keira. Thanks for letting me tag along, and sorry for slowing you down. :oops:

I'd do it all again, but if I do, I'll make sure I'm averaging around 200KM per week on the bike like Chris and Martin instead of the 95-odd that I'm currently doing.
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familyguy
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby familyguy » Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:47 am

lump_a_charcoal wrote: Best bike award for me goes to the 8ft tall dude on the 5 ft tall, double cross bar yellow bike - Tallest man in the world!
Came past him just after the airport. I thought I was tall! Anyone else see that hand-cycle guy was there again? Now that's an effort!
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:The guy with the track pump in his backpack was probably one of the hard working and very handsome mobile support crew. We carry the big pumps so that you don't have to.
He didn't have the red shirt or bike tag, just him and his girlfriend side by side. Preparedness! I did see lots of the support guys all assisting, kudos David et al.

There were a lot of Flashes, I didn't see Wonder Woman, or any other superheros. The 80's hair-rock-metal dudes were really moving. Wonder if they overheated with the wigs at some point?

Jim

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby purple » Mon Nov 05, 2012 12:16 pm

It was a good ride. Thanks for the riders who let me suck his wheels all the way from Sutherland to Waterfall :)

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby SmellyTofu » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:03 pm

lump_a_charcoal wrote:Anyone else see that hand-cycle guy was there again? Now that's an effort!
I went past him before the West Botany St. That's a massive effort to do this ride in that thing.

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:The guy with the track pump in his backpack was probably one of the hard working and very handsome mobile support crew. We carry the big pumps so that you don't have to.
[/quote]

I helped a guy on the first incline out of RNP who had troubles with his 2 of his CO2 canister. Score 1 for good old fashion traditional hand pumps.
Last edited by SmellyTofu on Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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coops
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby coops » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:07 pm

A top day out for my first Gong ride. Had a 6am start and averaged a bit over 31km/h on the way down despite the drizzle and getting a bit lost near the finish line. Hung around with the MIAs for a bit then cycled back via Mt Keira & Prestons with the company and support of Daniel & Martin. Thankfully no punctures and headwinds weren't too bad for the return. A mate just gave MS a $206 donation. i.e. $1 per km that I rode. :D

Excerpt from a conversation after 160km sitting at Prestons Maccas and staring into space...
Coops - "I guess we'd better do the final m7 leg now"
Martin - "I thought that 10 minutes ago but decided not to say anything"
:D

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby lump_a_charcoal » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:15 pm

Wow, big effort!

I would love to be able to add on a return ride, but those hills at the start of the return segment are all extremely daunting!
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daniel.s
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby daniel.s » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:16 pm

coops wrote:Excerpt from a conversation after 160km sitting at Prestons Maccas and staring into space...
Coops - "I guess we'd better do the final m7 leg now"
Martin - "I thought that 10 minutes ago but decided not to say anything"
:D
I didn't envy you guys that leg of the ride as I split off at Ingleburn. Well done.
lump_a_charcoal wrote: I would love to be able to add on a return ride, but those hills at the start of the return segment are all extremely daunting!
The incline at the start of Mt Kiera Rd is just ridiculous. Hooray for 11-28 cassettes, although a triple front chainring would have come in handy too.
Last edited by daniel.s on Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby queequeg » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:18 pm

familyguy wrote:
lump_a_charcoal wrote: Best bike award for me goes to the 8ft tall dude on the 5 ft tall, double cross bar yellow bike - Tallest man in the world!
Came past him just after the airport. I thought I was tall! Anyone else see that hand-cycle guy was there again? Now that's an effort!
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:The guy with the track pump in his backpack was probably one of the hard working and very handsome mobile support crew. We carry the big pumps so that you don't have to.
He didn't have the red shirt or bike tag, just him and his girlfriend side by side. Preparedness! I did see lots of the support guys all assisting, kudos David et al.

There were a lot of Flashes, I didn't see Wonder Woman, or any other superheros. The 80's hair-rock-metal dudes were really moving. Wonder if they overheated with the wigs at some point?

Jim
I saw two hand cycles, but we passed the guy on the bright green bike about 10 times (since our group consisted of some slower members that we waited up for). He was doing an amazing job, and we saw him finish too!

Lots of mechanicals on the side of the road. In our own group we had our slowest rider blow his rear tyre 100m from Red Cedar Flats. His tyre had a 5cm long hole in it, which showed it was down to the canvas. Big thanks to Ashfield Cycles for selling him a new tyre and tube and fitting it for him! He learnt a valuable lesson :-)

My favourite sight from the day (aside from the hundreds of gorgeous women I saw!) was passing the McDonalds about 1km from the start and seeing dozens of gong riders already "resting" *lol*
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby bigfriendlyvegan » Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:27 pm

The best free market capitalism I saw was the BBQ Pit at Scarborough offering a sausage sanga and a beer (or softie) for $5. The place was PACKED with lycra.

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby SmellyTofu » Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:32 pm

What I want to know as this is my first time on the Gong ride and first time in the RNP is how do those guys in carbon clincher wheels handled the descents? Surely the wheels would have well and truely overheated in those conditions where people are all over the place and emergency braking isn't exactly available. In preparation of this ride, I swapped back to my trusty RS80 and Swisstop greens and even that had some brake fade issues especially after Bald Hill.

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby J-Tim » Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:03 pm

I decided to jump start at Procycles and was off at 6am. Pretty much straight away I saw a Sydney CC bunch that looked fast and decided to try hang on to them. The word "fast" was an understatement.. they were properly hammering!!! Done my best to take my turns in front and in the end was surprised surprised that I have managed to hang on to them all the way to Stanwell Tops, where ( I think ) they've slowed down. I waited for a bit then decided to keep on going thinking that they would certainly catch me. I only saw them after I crossed the finish line. Thanks guys for not telling me off!
I wouldn't be able to do those 82km in 2h40m without your help!

Riding back home however was properly tough and Bald Hill seemed to have doubled in length, so once I got home after 165km it was the rest of the day spent, sitting on the couch and moaning. :mrgreen:

All in all, great day and very well organised... absolutely loved that Turkish Gazleme and Poweraid!

This was my first Gong ride and hopefully with many more to come!
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby rdp_au » Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:20 pm

Another enjoyable ‘Gong ride for me. A few things that struck me;

• Walking out of the door at five in the morning to discover it was raining steadily. Thankfully it had stopped by the time we reached the start.
• Usual friendly atmosphere in Sydney Park. Officials and Police did a good job getting us on the road without too much delay. I was scheduled for a 6:30 start and actually crossed the line at 6:45.
• Shuffling along just after the start line and heard the unmistakeable sound of a multi-person clipstack behind me.
• It always amazes me how many punctures there are, especially in the first few kilometres, but I did feel for the poor sod who had one after travelling less than 50 metres from the start.
• Inspired by the wheelchair bound volunteer who was enthusiastically cheering us on as we made our way to the Princess highway. In fact, particular thanks to all the volunteers. You make it all possible, and with lots of good humour.
• Some interesting costumes – seemed to be a big The Flash contingent this year. Thankfully, unlike last year, didn’t see anyone in a ‘man-kini’.
• It’s nice to have a dedicated lane through many of the higher traffic areas, but it is a little frustrating to find yourself bunched behind riders sitting two abreast, chatting away happily and blocking the way for faster riders. Apart from that most people were generally pretty aware of other cycle traffic, although there were a few who would pull out to pass without checking behind first.
• Always enjoy the run through the National Park. Closed roads, with just the smell of the forest in the cool morning air.
• Pleased to see the number of kids out riding with Mum or Dad, and making a pretty good fist of it too.
• Happy with my investment in a new, shiny, and fast bike, as I was 30 minutes faster than last year and had a much easier time on the hills.
• Plenty of action at the finish and lots of tired, happy faces. Weather was very pleasant, cooler and with less wind than last year.
• Saw the chap in the hand cycle nearing the finish as I was riding back to Thirroul for lunch. That’s quite an effort and he looked to be doing it easier than a lot of the able bodied riders around him.

Hats off to those of you who rode back. By the time I got back to Thirroul, I was quite happy to call it a day.

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby find_bruce » Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:56 pm

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:Had a lot of fun, did a lot of work, kept people going to the end.
Am still feeling guilty for not being there to help, even if you survived perfectly well without me.

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby queequeg » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:43 am

rdp_au wrote: • Some interesting costumes – seemed to be a big The Flash contingent this year. Thankfully, unlike last year, didn’t see anyone in a ‘man-kini’.
Unfortunately I saw the "Man Kini" guy at Red Cedar Flats. On the upside, this was offset by the gorgeous blonde woman in the blue dress riding the cruiser bike, along with numerous other hotties that I felt compelled to draft while I rest my legs :-)
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby meridaman » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:45 am

That lady in blue, I started about two in front of her, close but the wrong side! Think there was more talent there this year for sure!

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby Ozkaban » Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:17 pm

I had the gopro on the bike for the ride. Set it to take 1 photo per 5 seconds. Including bits at either end I took over 3,500 photos on the day!

I cut it together in a 2:30 video clip. A bit quicker than the ride.

Enjoy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M_mNyQJ ... r_embedded[/youtube]

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby bigfriendlyvegan » Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:58 pm

Ozkaban wrote:I had the gopro on the bike for the ride. Set it to take 1 photo per 5 seconds. Including bits at either end I took over 3,500 photos on the day!

I cut it together in a 2:30 video clip. A bit quicker than the ride.

Enjoy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M_mNyQJ ... r_embedded[/youtube]
So where's the lady in blue? Or are you keeping those shots for yourself?

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby purple » Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:03 pm

I think i saw myself somewhere in the video... But the photos are playing too fast.....

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby Ozkaban » Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:03 pm

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:
So where's the lady in blue? Or are you keeping those shots for yourself?
Lady in blue?

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby Ozkaban » Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:05 pm

purple wrote:I think i saw myself somewhere in the video... But the photos are playing too fast.....
If you tell me where, I'll send you the photos around that time. They're all 11mp, so you should have a better chance if spotting yourself in the stills.

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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby lump_a_charcoal » Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:28 pm

Ozkaban wrote:
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:
So where's the lady in blue? Or are you keeping those shots for yourself?
Lady in blue?
The tall, blonde beauty in the flowing European dress.

I saw her on the side of the road near Brighton le Sands.
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Re: Gong Ride 2012

Postby SmellyTofu » Wed Nov 07, 2012 1:20 pm



My ride (There's spelling mistakes but I CBF fixing it and reuploading).

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