Sydney to the Gong

Originally Posted by LeojVS

cool. Sounds good. Might join on in

Originally Posted by Night_owl

A change of topic.
Just for fun, I went and checked out the transport option for the gong Ride. It clearly states that no bikes are allowed to be carried on STA buses.


So I looked up the STA Transport Info line webpage , which says the following.

"STA Buses / Private Buses: Only wheelchair accessible buses may allow the carriage of bicycles. Bus Operators will use their discretion to assess whether bikes can be safely transported on the Bus. The Operator must consider the safety off all passengers when making this determination. Bus Operators have the right to refuse entry if the safety of other passengers is put at rick by bikes. To avoid injury to other passengers, customers must ensure the bus aisle is kept free from trip hazards. Customers must secure their bikes in the wheelchair areas on boarding the vehicle.

As I live on the Northern beaches & have no car, I'm not about to ride 20Km into the city, catch a train to St Peter's & all before 8am. I plan to try out the bus option. I mean, there's hardly going anybody on the buses, that early, on a Sunday morning. The driver won't be able say, that I'm putting any passengers at risk.

As anybody ever tried their luck with getting their bike on a city bus? It's very well if you live near a train line, but some of us don't have that luxury.

Originally Posted by mikesbytes

Personally I would ride all the way there. After Spit bridge, theres a small hill and then its pretty much down hill all the way to St Peters.

Why don't you drive to a train staiton, some where on the northern line.

Originally Posted by Night_owl

The point about the buses, is that bikes can be allowed, and the MS Syd to Gong webpage got it wrong. Most cyclists are unaware of this rule, but during off-peak hours I don't see why I can't give it a go.

Sometimes I think it would be less of a hassle to live nearer to the city, but if i did i couldn't get to ride to Manly beach all the time (which is one of my fav places).

Originally Posted by sogood

The hill after spit bridge is not SMALL!!!

Originally Posted by piero

btw, I am doing some practice training on the M7 at the moment, usual we go on Sat morning, so if you are interested, please let me know and we can make sure we are fit enough for all the climbs.

Originally Posted by fauxpas

Originally Posted by mikesbytes

I rode up it with the club 2 saturdays ago, and I had to wait ages for them to arrive.

It fairly long, but only medium steepness.

Originally Posted by sideshow_bob

You guys keep talking about the 'climbs' in this years Syd to Gong ride. I'm confused. Over the last I think 3 years the ride has turned into the Royal National Park at Waterfall and headed back to Sutherland. Once you are in the park on that route there are 3 significant climbs between Waterfall and Audley (St Peters to Waterfall is basically flat)... So basically only one climb of any significance!

Originally Posted by Night_owl

About the Manly Ferry, the first sailing on a Sunday isn't to at least 8am.
To go any group rides based near the city, I have no choice to go via Parriwi Rd, & while it isn't a hard hill to climb, it'll be nice if I had more options.

Anyway, it looks like I'll have at least a 20Km ride on the morning of the Gong, then I'll be riding the 90Km. At least, on the way home, I can take the Manly Ferry & then it'll only a 8Km ride home.
It'll be a long day in the saddle, with at least 118Km to cover.Here's hoping there aren't too many hills.

I suppose there's one good thing about living in the Northern beaches, there's no shortage of hills to train on. One good hill training ride is Churchpoint/Akuna Bay/Cottage Point/Church Point. I just hope the gong ride has no hills as steep as those.