2014 Gong Ride

tez001
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2014 Gong Ride

Postby tez001 » Mon May 26, 2014 12:40 pm

Hi all,

Notice there is a pre registration for the gong ride. Does anyone have a code for this :D
Also, this thread can be used to discuss the 2014 ride, what are you going to be riding, what are you dressing up as :lol:

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familyguy
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby familyguy » Mon May 26, 2014 1:11 pm

With luck it'll lob in my inbox shortly. I always like doing it. And I've managed to have a good crack at $600+ raised each year for last nine years.

Not dressing up. Don't wanna ruin my vintage mankini by riding in it.

Jim

tez001
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby tez001 » Mon May 26, 2014 3:00 pm

Never done it before although keen to crack it this year. Is there any special preparation needed for this? Currently do some 60 - 100km rides on the weekends so Im not phased about the distance. And it appears to be mostly ok apart from bits in the national park

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familyguy
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby familyguy » Mon May 26, 2014 4:12 pm

Last years thread may assist.

60-100km fitness will get you there. Just don't overcook early and leave some for the RNP. But that's not the hurty part. First Bald Hill, then the (seemingly) endless rolling lumpiness from Thirroul to the finish are what's gonna get ye.

Jim

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Rockford
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby Rockford » Mon May 26, 2014 6:07 pm

And just remember for those doing it, Tough Mudder is a week or so after it. Lots of fun for November.

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grantw
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby grantw » Mon May 26, 2014 6:19 pm

familyguy wrote:
First Bald Hill, then the (seemingly) endless rolling lumpiness from Thirroul to the finish are what's gonna get ye.

Jim
Technically that's the flat part :-)
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queequeg
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby queequeg » Mon May 26, 2014 7:00 pm

familyguy wrote:Last years thread may assist.

60-100km fitness will get you there. Just don't overcook early and leave some for the RNP. But that's not the hurty part. First Bald Hill, then the (seemingly) endless rolling lumpiness from Thirroul to the finish are what's gonna get ye.

Jim
Bases on the course profile I was expecting bald hill to be a mt Ventoux type of climb, but when I did the ride I was wondering when the climbing was going to start.

I did the ride with less capable friends, and my HR barely reached 60% max.

coming down the other side of bald hill was fun. All I could hear was "bang, bang....bang" as all the poorly maintained bikes had blowouts from excessive braking on the way down.
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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Derny Driver
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby Derny Driver » Mon May 26, 2014 7:28 pm

tez001 wrote:Never done it before although keen to crack it this year. Is there any special preparation needed for this?
Yeah, make sure your medical insurance is all paid up :D

39x25
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby 39x25 » Mon May 26, 2014 7:43 pm

Getting a work group for this one. Never done it before either.

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bigfriendlyvegan
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby bigfriendlyvegan » Mon May 26, 2014 11:00 pm

Whales. Ones in the water - very cool - and ones on bikes who are getting out for a challenge and make it to the end. If they can do it, you can do it. You can do it on a bmx. You can do it on a fixie. You can do it on a bent. You can do it dragging a child in a trailer. It's just a matter of how fast you do it. If you're not worried about how fast you're going, anyone can get there.

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KGB
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby KGB » Tue May 27, 2014 9:11 am

And that's the reason I did it once and won't go back. One of my fav rides is down the highway, drop down bulli pass then back basically the reverse direction of the gong ride.
The event itself though, is not one for me.
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familyguy
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby familyguy » Tue May 27, 2014 9:18 am

queequeg wrote:Bases on the course profile I was expecting bald hill to be a mt Ventoux type of climb, but when I did the ride I was wondering when the climbing was going to start.

I did the ride with less capable friends, and my HR barely reached 60% max.

coming down the other side of bald hill was fun. All I could hear was "bang, bang....bang" as all the poorly maintained bikes had blowouts from excessive braking on the way down.
You're right. That's the wrong hill. I'm referring to the pinch after the Seacliff Bridge. Always get a lot of topplers there, so be warned!

Don't expect to set records, be prepared to slow down and you'll have a good day.

Jim

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Mugglechops
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby Mugglechops » Tue May 27, 2014 9:33 am

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:Whales. Ones in the water - very cool - and ones on bikes who are getting out for a challenge and make it to the end. If they can do it, you can do it. You can do it on a bmx. You can do it on a fixie. You can do it on a bent. You can do it dragging a child in a trailer. It's just a matter of how fast you do it. If you're not worried about how fast you're going, anyone can get there.

You left out Fatbike :D

I am doing again this year. We normally get the train up on the Saturday stay in Sydney then ride back through to Kiama and train it to Nowra

andrich
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby andrich » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:41 pm

Hi guys
Was wondering if anyone had a map of the route. I'm doing it this year for the first time and wana check out where it goes
Cheers

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rheicel
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby rheicel » Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:05 am

Check out my 83.3 km Ride on Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/92876216" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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andrich
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby andrich » Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:14 am

Thanks :D

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trailgumby
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby trailgumby » Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:10 am

Derny Driver wrote:
tez001 wrote:Never done it before although keen to crack it this year. Is there any special preparation needed for this?
Yeah, make sure your medical insurance is all paid up :D
Yep it's pretty chaotic. That and the Spring Cycle. Full of not just "Sunday riders" but once a year riders, lots of people for whom riding bikes is an extension of their pedestrian habits, and kids with zero traffic sense.

The event is great for getting people out on bikes and I want to support that, but after seeing the number of crashes requiring paramedic attention, and experiencing countless near misses I am unlikely to ever participate again.

The teenage kids were the most scary. Random line changes across the full width of the road without looking, like windscreen wipers.

I ended up riding the wrong side of the road most of the time just to get a little space so I could relax occasionally.

Everyone should do it once, but you need to be very attentive the whole way.

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HiChris
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby HiChris » Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:07 am

Agree with Trailgumby, everyone should do it once, it would be a better ride if people could ride straight, also I found the first 20k's pretty horrible, they didn't have enough road closed off to cater for the sheer number of cyclists trying to fit through.
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queequeg
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby queequeg » Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:53 pm

Same sentiment. Do it once for the experience.
The most frightening part for me was the descents from Waterfall and Bald Hill.
There is a reason the police have an escort in these sections. The skill levels on display were atrocious.

Going down bald hill all I could hear was "bang......bang........bang....." as all those poorly maintained bicycles had blow outs from excessive braking.

If I really really had to do it again, I would leave at the earliest possible time, and I would join the course at Tempe just off the Cooks river path and avoid the jam.
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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Mugglechops
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby Mugglechops » Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:44 pm

Change of plans for this year. We are doing a 2 day ride out of Mittagong instead.

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rheicel
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby rheicel » Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:49 pm

Not sure why people are complaining about the slow ride and the non-experience rider here. If you find that this is not challenging or whatsoever, just donate some money to MS.
:D
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rdp_au
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby rdp_au » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:26 am

This a popular ride. there will be lots of people. If you're concerned about inexperienced riders, chose one of the early start times - 6:00 or 6:15. Still lots of people, but they move pretty well. I suspect that you'll see a lot of the dodgy riding in the later starts.

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SmellyTofu
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby SmellyTofu » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:16 pm

Last year I had a bad experience with people muscling their way around and my ride didn't clear until about the bottom of RNP. As much as I appreciate the closed roads, the event is massively massive and this year I'll give it a miss and look at alternate annual events.

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SheikYerbouti
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby SheikYerbouti » Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:08 pm

queequeg wrote:Going down bald hill all I could hear was "bang......bang........bang....." as all those poorly maintained bicycles had blow outs from excessive braking.
What do you mean? Locking up and skidding and quickly wearing thru tyres?

I'm looking to do this, doing Spring Cycle with a work team, and to learn group riding, then the Gong a month later. I'm a recreational rider, not a racer/pseudo-pro, so I am not sure if others' objections would apply to me...

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queequeg
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Re: 2014 Gong Ride

Postby queequeg » Thu Jul 10, 2014 10:35 pm

SheikYerbouti wrote:
queequeg wrote:Going down bald hill all I could hear was "bang......bang........bang....." as all those poorly maintained bicycles had blow outs from excessive braking.
What do you mean? Locking up and skidding and quickly wearing thru tyres?

I'm looking to do this, doing Spring Cycle with a work team, and to learn group riding, then the Gong a month later. I'm a recreational rider, not a racer/pseudo-pro, so I am not sure if others' objections would apply to me...
Nope, riding the brakes and heating up the rims, leading to the tubes blowing out. Mind you, one of the guys I was riding with had a blow out just before the RNP stop, and his tyre was down to the canvas! The mechanics at the stop sold him a new tyre for $50, which he claimed had doubled the value of his bike!

If you are looking to learn group riding, the Spring Cycle and Gong Ride are not the places to do it. Find a local BUG and do some rides with them to learn those skills. The big events are filled with a very large range of riders, from novices to pros. Most of the prangs I have seen are from poor handling skills and the general chaos of such a large event.
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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