4th Linger & Die to the Upper Hunter -  Fri 24 Sept '10 to Mon 27 Sept '10 - limited to 8 cyclists unless someone in addition to Scott aka PatternMaker offers their vehicle as a support car to carry o'nite stuff incl the tents of a few who are camping

Three options:

(i)      four days cycling - as listed in below table; or

(ii)     three days cycling - if you can't jag Monday off work - catch train back from Morisset to Hornsby on Sunday arvo; or

(iii)     two days cycling - if you can't ride Sunday - cycle back to Hornsby from Wollombi on Fri. and we will return your o'nite bag later that week

Our inaugural Linger and Die ride to the Upper Hunter in Dec '01 attracted 9.  Muggs' 2nd L&D in 2002 attracted 11 cyclists.  17 signed-on for #3 in 2003. Other cycle w'ends forced this delightful ride to the Upper Hunter onto the back-burner.  However, Scott aka PatternMaker, who is providing his Ute as the Support Vehicle/Sag Wagon, has asked for L&D to be de-mothballed. 

If you have to work on Mon 27 Sept, there are 7 trains from Morisset station back to Berowra and Hornsby stations between 10:07am and 4:07pm.  So you can join us for 2, 3 or 4 days cycling.

Commence from -

*        Either Hornsby station carpark in Jersey St from 8am (after trains from Northern line arrive at Hornsby at 7:47am or 8:05 or 8:19am) after you load your o'nite bag onto a Sag Wagon, but beware the traffic from Hornsby to Sth Cowan on route to F3 may be heavy; or

*        Berowra station carpark from 8:30am (after 7:50am train from Hornsby pulls-in at 8:07am or after 8:20am train from Hornsby pulls-in at 8:37am) after you load your o'night bag into a Sag Wagon. 

On Monday, 27 Sept, trains to Hornsby and Berowra depart Morisset at 10:07am, 11:07am, 12:07pm, 1:07pm, 2:13pm, 3:21pm, and 4:07pm, and arrive Hornsby 1 hr 23 min later. 

If you need to return to Berowra station, change trains at Wyong to catch a train stopping at Berowra station, or cycle from Hornsby back up to Berowra. No trackwork scheduled.]

If interested cyclists exceeds 8, we require a 2nd Support Vehicle / Sag Wagons (support car with cycle racks) to carry our over night bags. Each Sag Wagon will hold an ave of 8 o'nite bags.  Each cyclist contributes $12 ($15 if camping) to aggregate up to $94 min to cover gas and wear 'n tear  -  payable before you load your stuff in the trunk.  Cyclists will again share the driving with each cyclist driving approx. 30km legs.  Our Support Vehicle must remain behind the last cyclist throughout the four days, so we always provide a Sag Wagon.

Below are details of camping, B&B, motel and hotel accommodation at our 3 o'nite stops of Wollombi, Paterson and Morisset.

Click on: Route Spreadsheet

Click on: pp

Explanation of "Linger 'n Die" folklore

In 2000, David aka The Enforcer, with "No Hill is to High" and "No Mountain too Mean" firmly inculcated in his noggin, noticed a new conquest from Column 8 in the SMH – extracted below where a local, Peter Olsen, describes Linger And Die Hill, between Dungog and Gloucester in the Upper Hunter Valley, as “so sheer that if bullock wagons stopped during the climb, they couldn't get under way again”.  Simmo ‘phoned up Peter Olsen to suss out the Hill, whereupon he spoke to Ms. Peta Olsen who described it as “a tough mile and a half”:

Below is Column 8 in the SMH on 29 June 2000

"ON Monkerai Road, the old coaching way between Dungog and Gloucester, is the wonderfully named Linger And Die Hill, a name also often attached to a nearby three-span timber bridge over the Karuah River.  An NRMA plaque proclaims the bridge, built in 1877, to be the oldest truss bridge in NSW.  On Tuesday night one of the spans broke, having faithfully supported traffic from horse-drawn coaches to big trucks for 123 years. It's a bit of history that may now be lost. Linger And Die Hill?  Peter Olsen, whose family has been in the district since 1827, says it was so steep that if bullock wagons stopped during the climb, they couldn't get under way again."
 

  #     Day   Date          Ride route                             Distance            Staying In

1st	Fri	24th	Hornsby (or Berowra) to Wollombi            114km (103km)    Wollombi
2nd	Sat	25th	Wollombi via Morpeth to Paterson               74km                    Paterson
3rd	Sun	26th	Paterson to Morisset                                      68km                     Morisset
4th	Mon	27th	Morisset  to Hornsby                                    129km                    Your place
			385km (374km)