www.Muggaccinos.com The Bullsheet

Sunday, 7 Sept '03:

¨    "Quatre Montagnes Plus" clockwise - from Turra’ – 90km - ETR 1:05pm

¨    “Duo Montagnes Plus” clockwise – from Hornsby – 56km - ETR 12pm

q      Ride Leader    Phil Johnston 9498.3684 hm

q      Hardcopy this and bring on Sunday

q      Cyclists from primary/longer Turramurra departure point do not pass shorter Hornsby departure spot - usually meet them ascending Galston Rd

q      45km from Turra’ to only Nosh Stop at GreenShades Nursery - pack a snack for only preceding Sag Stop at Kalkari Reserve

 Snapshot:

 Detailed Spec:

¨                    Longer route from Turra’ - Quatre Montagnes [90km]
Turramurra car park [N/E side of station] 8:15am rollout in/out of Bobbin Head, arriving at Kalkari Reserve for 1st Sag Stop (10 min) after 13.3km from 8:45am.  Heading for Galston Gorge  via Hornsby Heights, 4km later L into Belmont Pde. [becomes Royston Rd] hugging Asquith Golf Course on LHS, then join Pac. H'way after R into Baldwin St and cross over railway line at Asquith station initially S down Old Pac H'way and after R at 1st traffic lights we continue SW for 450m, then R into Galston Rd and pedal NW twds Hornsby Heights. 

¨                    Shorter route from Hornsby - Duo Montagnes [56km]
Hornsby car-park [100 metres NW of Railway Hotel in Jersey St] 9:10am:
N up Jersey St for 400m, 
L 40m to lights,
R 800m up Old Pacific H’way, and 
L at lights at Galston Rd and NW twds Hornsby Heights.

Route is now common for both start points.  After a couple of clicks pedaling Nth we R at lights into Somerville Rd for a 3km out & 3km back, along top of Galston ridge - smooth, undulating, surface with bike lanes on both sides.

Around 9:40am return into Galston Rd and immediately after passing the familiar bus shelter commence 3km descent to Galston Gorge.  After climbing from the Gorge at the KOM (Cnr Crosslands Rd and Galston Rd) we R and pedal 3km down Crosslands Rd (rural scenery is superb - back to nature stuff) - and "U" turn at The Toadstool and return to Galston Rd, whereupon we pedal 1.1km ahead shortly 1^st and only Nosh Stop (35 min) at Green Shades Café, Galston [9653.1500ph] (10% surcharge) approaching 10:15am after 44.5km (Turra’) or 25.6km (Hornsby).

10:50am, pedal Nth along Galston Rd/Arcadia Rd which changes to Bay Rd at pastoral Berrilee, where a few km later after passing the familiar Koppers Log KOM we descend to picturesque Berowra Waters for our 2nd Sag Stop (10 min) - ride on the punt.  After another familiar climb, take 3rd Sag Stop (10 min) in park if sunny or under cover at Pool Shop, before re-entering Old Pacific H'way by taking a R from Berowra Waters Rd. and cycling Sth –

¨                  to Hornsby - ETR 12pm - 56km; or

¨                  turning L at entrance to Bobbin Head for Turramurra - ETR 1:05pm – 90km.

Sergey aka Sputnik completes Paris Brest Paris

Below is an extract of Sputnik's e-mail to Scribe of last Wed which attached  pics taken during Sergey's 1,200km PBP over the previous few days:

The  pics are posted at a HTML link PBP on Sputnik persona profile page at Chores 'n Crew

Scribe's rap-up of Ettalong ferry/Gosford train - 101km

The first glimpses of Spring evidenced 15 crew re-group at Church Point after 21km - Navigator, Malvern Star, Publican, Nurse Julie, Craig, Scribe, Arno, Samurai, Rummager, GreyNurse, Tornado, Katrina, Adam 'n Eve (following their 10 week cycling holiday in Ireland).  Papa Bear left us at Church Pt.

Mona Vale FruitBarn SagStop after 6.5km - Lots of chaps are front of screen, incl the behemoth Papa Bear, with some of the tarts, Nurse Julie 'n Katrina, backstage.

A few of the crew said their tah tahs at Palm Beach, with a reduced contingent boarding the 9:30am ferry to Ettalong Beach.

Above 2 pics cover the gang at Church Point, albeit that some of the crew 'au milieu de' get a gurnsey in both pics.

Whilst on board, a local of the Central Coast, Craig, recommended "the next time we do this ride why don't we alight the ferry at Wagstaffe?" (which is the wharf stop just prior to Ettalong wharf).  Craig suggested cycling thru Pretty Beach, Hardys Bay, Killcare which leads to Wards Hill Rd as it links back onto Empire Bay Drive.  Whilst Craig's alternate route to Gosford would be about 3km shorter, it would -
(i)    remove the early section of today's route over/from The Rip bridge;
(i)     provide us an extra 10 min to catch the solitary 'all-stops' train each hour back to Brooklyn, which Adam 'n Eve unfortunately missed yesterday; and
(ii)    pass thru McMasters Beach with the prospect of some new hilly hills, 'cause everything around McMasters is hilly. 

Too many to name at the lookout over looking majestic Whale Beach which was at its pristine best this morn'.  Two of the tarts, GreyNurse 'n Nurse Julie, grabbed centre stage, with another, Ann-Marie, on RHS oblivious to the dickey bird.  Or perhaps "Eve" ain't the vain type.

The Ettalong Ferry has an earlier departure from Palm Beach at 9am.  Hence, Muggs could schedule this ride in Summer with a 7am St Ives rollout which incorporated Craig's alternate route, as today's 26km leg from Ettalong would be busier in mid-Summer, notwithstanding cycling into Gosford almost 2 hrs earlier.

Last week Muggs' phantom erstwhile member, Guiseppe, (who owns a paint shop, and thinks that ever hill should be covered in paint looking like Alp d' Huez) recently commenced painting discrete 'King of the Mountain' murals "Start", "KOM" and X.XXkm:
*    'Brooklyn Rd  to  Pie in the Sky -  3.95km', and 
*    'Cherro's Rd Mooney Mooney  to  2nd Mt White road sign -  7.6km'.  

Katrina took the accolades for being the first Mugg to register a PB for a 'painted' KOM climb, having ridden the 7.6km to Mt White in 25m 40s, almost before the paint had dried on Sat 23 Aug.

Don't know what drugs Arno and Rolf were on today, but with 65km already in their legs, they clocked the incredulous times of 11m 52s and 11:57 respectively, scaling the familiar 3.95km to PitS - see HTML.