Sunday Ride - 6th March - Palm Beach

[Andy H]

A Palm Beach ride is on again this Sunday.

Leaving  West Gosford shops at 6.00am sharp - to easily make the 10.30am ferry to Ettalong after a coffee stop somewhere (usually at Palm Beach).

For anyone that hasn't done this ride it is quite tough - there are lots of hills and it's about 120kms. This is not the best ride if it's a first attempt at this distance, especially with the added pressure of making the ferry. In saying that - it's a great ride on good roads and usually good numbers.

As usual, the bunch will wait at the top of each climb and we well arrive together as a bunch to the ferry - even if it means giving a push to get up the final climb or two.

Remember to pack plenty of food/snacks for this ride to keep energy levels up. There are numerous places to stop for water bottle refills.

If you have a club jersey, wear it for the ride if possible.

If you want to make it home a little earlier - park and leave from Ettalong at 5.30am to have your car there after the ferry ride.

Note: Ferry cost is $10

[greggy]

did i hear palm beach??  i don't even need to tell you where i'll be at 6 am on sunday. the end

[Chelsea]

Haha come on do it, its the best ride long and hard but you feel like awesome after its the best

[PeZulu]

did i hear palm beach??  i don't even need to tell you where i'll be at 6 am on sunday. the end

You're obviously back in town Moeller, so pray tell, where will you be 6am on Sunday?

[greggy]

I'll be in the WGS carpark warming up on the turbo trainer. 
i need all the training i can get to get rid of my boat belly.

[Matt]

The good new is Nippers finishes on Sunday afternoon.  The bad news is that footy trials are on Sunday morning.  Sometime in the next decade the stars will align and I will be able to do a Palmy ride.

[Chelsea]

Throw a sicky and do the Palmy ride 

[Phill]

How did the ride go.
Many starters?

[jock]

As usual the trip to Palmy was an awesome ride.  14 starters and 13 finishers (Phil turned back at Cowan to do the family thing).

The ride started out in cool conditions with two remarkably neat lines of mostly orange kitted enthusiasts.  A light southeasterly breeze picked up not long after the sun broke through the morning clouds to give us a headwind for most of the journey.  Four punctures tested the patience a bit, but despite the lost time there was never any worry about missing the boat with Phil Thuaux and Matt gronking out the watts on the tandem to keep the pace high at the head of the pack. 

The highlight of this ride is bombing down into Bobbin Head and we managed to get from top to bottom on this run without getting caught up behind slower riders or cars. Incredibly Phil and Matt (who has impaired vision) got to the bottom just as quick as the fastest descenders.  I can't imagine what it would be like to scream down a hill like that as a stoker, but not being able to see what's coming would be positively frightening.  Despite Phil calling out the turns Matt would still need nerves of steel and an incredible amount of trust.

There plenty of tired legs by the end of the ride, so the tailwind from Ettalong to WGS was much appreciated by the masochists who rode home.