Sat, 15 Sept
|Centennial Park (York Rd Gate)
Spring Beginners Waterfall Ride (Part II: Waterfall)
The real deal. We are off to Waterfall.
Time & Location
15 Sept 2018, 5:40 am
Centennial Park (York Rd Gate), Centennial Park NSW 2021, Australia
About the event
As we head into Spring, now is the time to ramp up your long rides. If you live in Sydneys inner-city or east this means a Waterfall ride with the group. For many, the weekly Waterfall group ride poses two pretty major hurdles:
- Making the distance of 90km or so to Waterfall and back, and
- The daunting challenge of big group riding on busy roads.
If you want a little help, guidance and support on your first few rides to Waterfall then this is for you. Even if you are fit enough or maybe you have even ridden to Waterfall before this is a great opportunity to learn the tricks and hacks to make riding to Waterfall and beyond a peice of cake. A safe and easy peice of cake.
Why we ride to Waterfall
The straight Waterfall ride is a pretty crappy ride all things considered. There are more scenic and enjoyable alternatives. However, the time v. training value of the Waterfall ride cannot be surpassed. From the east, all other 90-100k rides will take one hour longer and/or require driving to the start. For those of us who are time strapped or don't want to dedicate the entire Saturday morning to the ride, the Waterfall ride is the best option.
Secondly Waterfall is the jumping off point to many longer and much nicer rides. Royal National Park, Sublime, Bald Head, Scarborough Hotel, Woolongong and Mt Kiera all start with the Waterfall ride. Kind of like the Everest Base Camp.
The Plan
Week ending 2 September (this week): try and ride 2-3 times this week with one ride about 2 hours at either of the Tue or Thu Brat rides or perhaps in the Park or east over the weekend.
On Tue 4th Brat ride: give it a good solid hit out.
On Thu 6th Brat ride: just cruise for a recovery ride. On this ride a ride captain will check your bike for safety: (a) check tyres and brakes in good working condition; (b) check front and back lights; (c) check mandatory pump - not gas; (d) check tool kit includes 2 spares and tyre levers; and (e) 2 biddons.
Saturday 8th Brat ride: We will ride to Sutherland only - about 60km. We will meet 20 mins before the group and do one lap of the park to discuss the plan, demo proper group riding and answer questions. We will ride out with the main Brat group.
The group will stick together for the whole ride. We will drop off to stay with the slowest rider/s. A few advanced members will ride with the group.This is a very clear 'leave no man behind' ride.
We will stop at Sutho and turnaround. Please register seperately for Part I of the Spring Beginners Waterfall Ride here.
Saturday 15th Brat ride: we will ride all the way to Waterfall. This is Part II of the Spring Beginners Ride to Waterfall.
Possibly we will be able to ride with the main bunch, but if not we will drop off the back as a group. As a group ride we will look after each rider and make the ride fun and social while we learn good group cycle practice and safety. We will also learn how to extract the most fitness value from your weekend ride to Waterfall and beyond.