Sydney to the Gong

Mon: 8k in 40 degrees
Tues: 30k commuting to and from work
Wed: Rest - due to sore throat/run down
Thur: Rest - make sure I was 100% so I could train on the w/e
Fri: 1.2k swim - including 2 x 500m - so improving
Sat: Rest - still not feeling 100% and wanted to be right for Sunday
Sun Sydney to Gong - 85k in 3:10

Speaking to Sub50 during the week and he mentioned he was doing Sydney to Gong ride. I was planning a long ride, so I talked to Paul and some quick reorganising of the weekend and we were both in.

Paul picked me up at 6am, ready to drive to St Peters, register and meet sub50 at 7am. I was keen to see how riding fit sub50 was, I had a hunch he may be better than first expected.


We waited in line to start from 7:10-7:50 before we finally got moving. The frustration continued to mount as we got held up to a stop numerous times in the first 5k. Whether it was the frustration or not I am not sure, but once we got into some free space after Brighton, we took off. I jumped in behind the wheels of Paul and sub50 and thought to myself that I would not be able to keep up this pace.

We stopped after about 25k and had a muffin which was nice. We also bumped into Miss Z. The next section was flat and fast before getting caught up in another traffic jam before the national park decent. The decent was fun and before I knew it we were climbing. I thought it would be much steeper than it actually was. we were still pushing pretty hard and I got dropped on a few occasions only to catch up on the flatter sections.



Once reaching the top we were again stopped at the top of the hill. We eventually heard that this was because someone had an accident (and subsequently died). we spent about 20 mins hear. The finally 30k in Wollongong were fast and I continued to put in everything I had to try and cling to Paul and sub 50s wheels.

A couple of k's from the finish and sub50 found himself getting pushed from the left slowly into Paul's wheel. I saw it coming like slow motion. He had no where to go and nudged Paul's wheel and fell. It could have been a lot worse as he manged to put his foot out and take off some speed. A few grazes, but nothing too bad.

Then we were there. Only 85k which was a surprisingly a surprise of 5k. A quick coke and hot chips before heading back on the train. I was prett happy with how I went and was surprised that I hung on as long as I did.

Very impressed with sub50's riding ability off virtually no training. He did most of the work up front and looked really strong. I think he would smash a half ironman.

I am not sure I would do this again, it seemed like a lot of effort for a long ride. If I were to do it again, I would have a much different attitude - one that was much more relaxed and just simply out for a cruise.