Ride Report - Bicycle SA Mini Slam #3
Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:39 am
The day finally came, and it was my first official event.
It was not a timed event, but a community participation event. The day dawned (well, was up way before dawn) and headed off to pick up the brther in law to load his bike for the trip to Echunga in the Adelaide Hills. The weather report was initailly "a few showers and -4DT", but changed to be a few degrees cooler.
The drive up showed lotsa fog, but at least the rain stayed away. Almost. 5km out from the starting point the wipers were required..... Not much was siad in the car ....
Anyway, we got to the town hall in Echunga, and whilst i unloaded the bikes, my brother-in-law (Peter) collected our numbers. Whilst we waited for the 8am start time to arrive, we rugged up, forgot the idea of riding in shorts, and pondered the perceived lack of common sense of som many people on a Sunday morning.
The rain had stopped, and the group set off. A total of about 230 people set off down the road to cries of "It's not a race", and "two abreast". The ride quickly settled down , and whilsta bit chilly, it was great to be riding in a bunch and through some great roads.
The first of the gentle climbs took up past Mel Gibson's hills hideaway, and on to some steeper hills. Some of the front chargers were going backwards on the hills already.
Then came the first of the biggish hills - thank god I had put the 12-26 cassette on the new rims !!!!! The hill decents were handled with due car as the roads were still damp and the bunches were still a bit wobbly.
There was a quick rest break at the 32km mark. Straight after that there was one of those 5 and a bit % climbs which tested the legs after a rest.
The remainder of the ride was just about on my own, and as I went further, the progress up the hills became a bit slower. I spent a bit of time riding with a 70= year old who was doing the 150km course, so I had to leave him behind in the fear he might actually ride faster than me. The sun was coming out and it was a great day in the making.
The last 20km got cloudy again, and then the last 10km had rain. The non-stop hills and descents were a good break from being continually flat. I managed to pass a few people near the end as the finish point came in sight.
I completed the line a bit cold & wet in a time of 2hrs & 46 min for an avg speed of 26.02km/hr. The legs were tired, but it was a great ride. Peter came in about 15min behind and they got a bit of hail !!!
The next ride on the 21st October is the 100/200km option and starts at Little Hampton. I'll put the route up soon.
As soon as some pics come up, I'll try and get them in the thread
Cheers
Michael B
It was not a timed event, but a community participation event. The day dawned (well, was up way before dawn) and headed off to pick up the brther in law to load his bike for the trip to Echunga in the Adelaide Hills. The weather report was initailly "a few showers and -4DT", but changed to be a few degrees cooler.
The drive up showed lotsa fog, but at least the rain stayed away. Almost. 5km out from the starting point the wipers were required..... Not much was siad in the car ....
Anyway, we got to the town hall in Echunga, and whilst i unloaded the bikes, my brother-in-law (Peter) collected our numbers. Whilst we waited for the 8am start time to arrive, we rugged up, forgot the idea of riding in shorts, and pondered the perceived lack of common sense of som many people on a Sunday morning.
The rain had stopped, and the group set off. A total of about 230 people set off down the road to cries of "It's not a race", and "two abreast". The ride quickly settled down , and whilsta bit chilly, it was great to be riding in a bunch and through some great roads.
The first of the gentle climbs took up past Mel Gibson's hills hideaway, and on to some steeper hills. Some of the front chargers were going backwards on the hills already.
Then came the first of the biggish hills - thank god I had put the 12-26 cassette on the new rims !!!!! The hill decents were handled with due car as the roads were still damp and the bunches were still a bit wobbly.
There was a quick rest break at the 32km mark. Straight after that there was one of those 5 and a bit % climbs which tested the legs after a rest.
The remainder of the ride was just about on my own, and as I went further, the progress up the hills became a bit slower. I spent a bit of time riding with a 70= year old who was doing the 150km course, so I had to leave him behind in the fear he might actually ride faster than me. The sun was coming out and it was a great day in the making.
The last 20km got cloudy again, and then the last 10km had rain. The non-stop hills and descents were a good break from being continually flat. I managed to pass a few people near the end as the finish point came in sight.
I completed the line a bit cold & wet in a time of 2hrs & 46 min for an avg speed of 26.02km/hr. The legs were tired, but it was a great ride. Peter came in about 15min behind and they got a bit of hail !!!
The next ride on the 21st October is the 100/200km option and starts at Little Hampton. I'll put the route up soon.
As soon as some pics come up, I'll try and get them in the thread
Cheers
Michael B