Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

morini wrote:The baker from Stanthorpe's Zest bakery was telling this morning that the train flogged all comers on Saturday. Must be getting quicker this train.

It must have been.... training.

morini wrote:The baker from Stanthorpe's Zest bakery was telling this morning that the train flogged all comers on Saturday. Must be getting quicker this train.

The train "cheats" slightly by not stopping at the official start point (Dalveen). They say that Qld Rail does not let them stop at Dalveen. Well that's their excuse anyway.
So the cyclists are behind at the start when the train comes through, admittedly it does slow down a bit through Dalveen. The best chance for cyclists is that train must start to slow down a few km before the Stanthorpe station platform. No such necessity for bikes, apart from a few intersections close to the stop.

I'd love to have a crack at racing the train. What date in November are you thinking elantra? If I have a date to work towards I can drag a few Twba riders with me.

moreegolfer wrote:I'd love to have a crack at racing the train. What date in November are you thinking elantra? If I have a date to work towards I can drag a few Twba riders with me.

According to the southern downs railway website their next Stanthorpe/Wallangarra run in on Saturday November 30.

Dunno if that date suits me because the Tour de Tamborine is the NEXT DAY and i have already paid up for that one.
I s'pose could do both but that might be too much of a good thing.

Anyway will think about it. By the way, the train runs to toowoomba this saturday (according to website) so maybe you can try that

http://www.southerndownssteamrailway.co ... events.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How about making a BNA race out there? Get lots of members here to head out to really make a day of it

Lukeyboy wrote:How about making a BNA race out there? Get lots of members here to head out to really make a day of it

You bet, i'm so up for it! .

Thanks elantra for the link. If I wasn't riding the RM Gran Fondo on the GC this Sunday I'd probably do it. I will try to lock in Nov 30 from anything else. A BNA day would be great, I'm up for it and reckon I know half a doz from Twba who'd jump at it.

The time before this last time I threw the kids in the car and went train spotting to see who was out on the road when two blokes came flying past a good kilometre in front of the train. I whipped the car around and took off to see if I knew them. It turned out it was Rooster, who owns Warwick's Redback Cycles and another mate of his. Rooster was on a mountain bike.........

He told me later his mate just got away from him and so he spent the whole time chasing him. He also told me he'd ridden from over near Allora to race the train from Dalveen and then rode back to Allora afterwards. That's pretty impressive for a bloke who's not a young rooster any more.

This race is starting to get some life. I had a good laugh with one of our local doctors while he was telling me how close he came trying to beat the train the other week to the Summit road/rail crossing. The train just beat him and forced him to wait. He said he really flogged himself into the red trying to pass it all the way down to Stanthorpe but it did the lot of them. Headwinds.....

morini wrote: He also told me he'd ridden from over near Allora to race the train from Dalveen and then rode back to Allora afterwards. That's pretty impressive for a bloke who's not a young rooster any more.

Did he do that back in May too? I'm sure I heard that someone had done the Dalveen-Stanthorpe race after riding there from up north of Warwick.

Might need to get some BNA TT skin suits going haha.

He might have. That newspaper article was news to me. I love the way journalists never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

There's a couple of blokes up here who average 4 - 5 hundred k's a week so a trip up here from the other side of Warwick and back again isn't a problem for them.
Can't see myself ever doing this of course.

One bloke up here used to ride down to Warwick to go riding with the locals down there, then ride home afterwards. Another old digger up here used to ride to Armidale to court his missus on the weekends. That's about 250 km each way. When he wasn't doing that he'd ride down to Brissy or Toowomba to track race then ride home afterwards. Apparently he loved betting people that he could beat them to Warwick from Stanthorpe on his bike but they had to give him a 15 minute head start. From what I've been told no one ever beat him.....and he was riding a fixed gear bike. That's impressive. He's in his 80's now and but is a resident at an oldies home.
Must be something in the water up here.

Sounds like one hell of a character .

Ok it's on again people! Only one week til the next train run, who's going to have a crack this time?

ldrcycles wrote:Ok it's on again people! Only one week til the next train run, who's going to have a crack this time?

Sorry Lachlan no can do this time.
Too much other stuff happening at this time of year unfortunately.
I hope to challenge again early next year, either Warwick to Dalveen, or Dalveen to Stanthorpe, or do both as you have done.
Steve

The bike i'm using this time (a 1965 Local Cycle Co 3spd) is almost finished, typical last minute rush! The forecast for tomorrow looks a bit less than ideal though, 15 degrees, thundery rain and a headwind . Rule 5!

Rule 5 = Pull ya finger out and pain is good.

Foo

So come on, cough up, how'd ya go against the steamer?

Foo

Must still be racing it

Geez you lot are impatient!

Well short story, I beat it.

Long story- http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 8#p1058908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


We need to get some cyclists up there for me to race, this train's too damn easy .

Thanks for the report!!
Yeah, 2014 ..more rides in Stanthorpe district. My inlaws live near there so I am used to the drive but it is great area for cycling and the train is fun. The white roads would make a great classic ride on steelies and the scenery is magic at most times of the year.

ldrcycles wrote:Geez you lot are impatient!

Well short story, I beat it.

Long story- http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 8#p1058908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


We need to get some cyclists up there for me to race, this train's too damn easy .

We live in a world of technology so we expect the news asap 24/7

That reminds me koen, when I first did the ride back in May the area was very dry and brown though still very pretty, this time around the recent rains had it showing a beautiful velvet green and lots of little flowers on the roadside .

I've been looking at the SDSR website and i'm going to look into taking on some of the other lines. They do the Clifton trip quite often and it's scheduled to take an hour and a half for roughly 44kms. That distance is for the main roads, I don't know yet if there are any old back roads for that route equivalent to the Old Stanthorpe Rd.

Or for a big challenge, 109kms to Inglewood in 3:15, or 201kms to Goondiwindi in 6:45 . Just imagine, a double century on a 3 speed!

There is but not are all paved. There's a good paved road to Allora which follows the train line and it's also used in the Gatton to Warwick bike race. After there you have to get back on the New England Hwy. There's another road further west but it's mainly dirt from memory.

ldrcycles wrote:Geez you lot are impatient!

Well short story, I beat it.

Long story- http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 8#p1058908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


We need to get some cyclists up there for me to race, this train's too damn easy .

Well done Lachlan. A heroic effort. Gobsmacked that you could do it on that machine.

Might be a while before the old girl is out and about again, she broke a main crank pin on the return trip, 16 km from Wallangara . This results in a total failure, requiring a rescue by diesel loco from Toowoomba.

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