Hi,
I am riding up to Katoomba next Sunday 11 December to raise funds for a school trip. I've pasted a bit more information about the trip and my fund raising below. I'm posting to find out if anyone would like to come along and support my ride.
We are planning to ride along the Old Western Highway to Penrith and then up the Great Western Highway. Simon (my Dad) is coming with a few of his mates (including Nosh Mistry from St George) and I think Hugo and Rhys are coming. Donna is going to cook some snags and have some other food for everyone at Katoomba. Hopefully we'll be up there by about 10.30.
I hope a few people can come.
Bill
Email text:
Please sponsor me to ride 100km and climb 1000m from Dulwich Hill to Katoomba
In September 2012 I will be going to India with Antipodeans Abroad to help out in a community. Antipodeans Abroad is a company that takes Australian teenagers to developing countries to experience a completely different country and culture and to help out in a poor community.
As part of the challenge of going on the trip participants are expected to raise some of the cost of the trip and undertake further fundraising to assist the community they will work with while there.
As a keen bike rider I am turning my enthusiasm for cycling towards seeking sponsorship by setting myself a big goal in the hope that I might be sponsored to achieve it.
In December I will be riding 100km to Katoomba (Blue Mountains) from Dulwich Hill. The ride will include over 1000m of vertical climbing and will take about 5 hours.
If you are able to sponsor me please let me know. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Ride to Katoomba next Sunday 11th...
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boltonfamily
- Posts: 41
- Joined: 04 Dec 2011, 14:46
Hi all - great that you can come Rhys and Chris.
Thanks Tim - hope you can come too.
Hopefully the weather will turn out OK.
Rhys - your report about CSC is great.
Bill
Thanks Tim - hope you can come too.
Hopefully the weather will turn out OK.
Rhys - your report about CSC is great.
Bill
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boltonfamily
- Posts: 41
- Joined: 04 Dec 2011, 14:46
Hi - Simon here.
We are keen to ride on Sunday if the weather holds - or we'll need to postpone to late January because things are so busy around xmas.
At the moment the most detailed forecast says Partly cloudy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms from the late morning. Winds northeasterly and light.
Sounds reasonable for an early start to Katoomba, but the forecast could change. Are you OK for a decision, communicated via forum at 6pm Saturday?
At the moment the groups is Bill, Hugo(?), Chris, Simon, Rhys, Nosh, Andy, Tom (to Glenbrook or Springwood).
My no is 0434 662872.
We are keen to ride on Sunday if the weather holds - or we'll need to postpone to late January because things are so busy around xmas.
At the moment the most detailed forecast says Partly cloudy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms from the late morning. Winds northeasterly and light.
Sounds reasonable for an early start to Katoomba, but the forecast could change. Are you OK for a decision, communicated via forum at 6pm Saturday?
At the moment the groups is Bill, Hugo(?), Chris, Simon, Rhys, Nosh, Andy, Tom (to Glenbrook or Springwood).
My no is 0434 662872.
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boltonfamily
- Posts: 41
- Joined: 04 Dec 2011, 14:46
Hi,
It's on! Forecast seems reasonable for am, so it seems daft to postpone and hopefully we'll stay dry.
Aim is to leave our place, 25 Constitution Road, Dulwich Hill at 6am. We are 100m towards Summer Hill from Sideways Cafe. Donna will take any bag anyone wants for train back. (Trains back leave Katoomba 26 mins past each hour.) She will meet us at Glenbrook with muffins and coffee and gourmet snag sandwiches at Katoomba!
Hope all this is OK and let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers
Simon
It's on! Forecast seems reasonable for am, so it seems daft to postpone and hopefully we'll stay dry.
Aim is to leave our place, 25 Constitution Road, Dulwich Hill at 6am. We are 100m towards Summer Hill from Sideways Cafe. Donna will take any bag anyone wants for train back. (Trains back leave Katoomba 26 mins past each hour.) She will meet us at Glenbrook with muffins and coffee and gourmet snag sandwiches at Katoomba!
Hope all this is OK and let me know if you need any more info.
Cheers
Simon
-
boltonfamily
- Posts: 41
- Joined: 04 Dec 2011, 14:46
Sunday 11 December 2011
Hi all,
I made it to Katoomba! It was a great ride with good company and there were a few adventures.
I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to do it because the weather has been so wet for the last few weeks and the forecast wasn’t great all week. Friday and Saturday were completely taken up by checking the weather forecast. The Yahoo app on my phone said that it would rain from 3 am Sunday morning then we would ride into thunderstorms at about 10am. However, fortunately the Bureau of Meteorology said that it would be a dry morning and start raining and storming in the early afternoon. This was fine by us so we let everyone know we would start the ride, but we still had to wait and see what happened.
Fortunately when I looked out the window at 5.30 in the morning it was blue skies in all directions. We learnt later from Nosh we should never trust the Yahoo weather app. At 6am my mate Hugo and Rhys, one of the senior club riders and a great sprinter, arrived here 25 Constitution Road. Together with me, Tom and Simon we left our house and began the ride.
The first part of the ride was along Parramatta Road, the main road out West from Sydney for those of you who don’t know it. Considering how busy it can be, it was fine at that time in the morning. Apart from some cracks and holes in the road that part of the ride went smoothly.
When we got to Parramatta (about 15 kms from home) we became a group of six, I’m not exactly sure when though because we were 5 and then I looked back and Simon was having a conversation with Nosh at the back of the bunch. Nosh is a good track racer and works with Simon as well.
The next part of the journey was on the Old Great Western Highway. The road was nice - not many holes or bumps and there weren’t many cars. It was undulating but this was a nice warm up for the larger hills that were to come in the Blue Mountains. After about 45 kms we turned off onto the freeway and went along the hard shoulder. It wasn’t very nice, it was quite narrow and covered in debris such as glass, gravel, sticks and rubber from tires in many places. We crossed the Nepean River and reached the first hill. The first hill is a big one – steep and more than a kilometre long. Nosh lead out fast and by the top we were all very much out of breath.
From the top of the hill it was a nice gentle downhill road to Glenbrook where we met up with Donna and had muffins and banana bread.
From Glenbrook, we continued our now mostly uphill journey. We rode past a couple of groups of riders. We then arrived at Springwood after 11km of mostly climbing.
At Springwood we met Donna again who had ordered some coffees. After a short coffee break Simon, Nosh and I left to try and tackle the last 30km to Katoomba. Rhys caught the train home at Springwood and Tom and Hugo jumped in the car.
After Springwood the hills started to get bigger and the riding harder. The road was ok for about the first 7 or 8km after Springwood and although there were a few holes the bike lane wasn’t too bad. But from there on it only got worse.
About 10km out from Springwood while riding one of the few down hills I decided to rest my bum by standing up on the pedals. Whilst having a rest I hit something on the road that no one saw. I fell forward so that I was in a position similar to what you would see in the Tour de France when they try to get into the most aerodynamic position they can. I swerved out onto the road but fortunately managed to steer back into the cycle lane. I got quite a scare and managed to knee my handle bars giving myself a small bruise and cut.
About 20 metres later I noticed that I had a flat tyre on my front wheel. Fortunately Nosh saved us by getting out his fold up foot pump that is so small that it can be put in the pocket of a cycling jersey. Soon after we had stopped we were back on the road.
About 10km down the road from my near miss the cycle lane got as bad as it could. Non-existence. I heard a call from Nosh saying that we should go onto the new pavement instead of the single lane highway. I then relayed this message to Simon who was at the front. He agreed that it was a good idea and slowed down to get off the road. Unfortunately there was quite a large kerb that we had to hop over. Simon hopped it first, then me and then Nosh. However, the kerb got bigger and he didn’t quite manage to get over the bump. After some shouting we heard the hard to describe noise that is crashing - as Nosh fortunately landed in a nice soft flower bed on the side of the road. He was clutching his leg and Simon thought he had broken his leg. After a few seconds Nosh was able to explain that it was a cramp, and again after a brief wait we were off. I had taken my sunglasses off while we were picking up the bikes and I put them on the pavement. Unfortunately I forgot to put them back on so when we got to Katoomba and I glanced up at the sun I realised that they were not on my face.
After finally arriving in Katoomba we rode down the main road and off to a barbecue area near the Three Sisters where we met up with Hugo’s mum and dad and had a nice barbecue. Thanks to Tom and Hugo for cooking the sausages. As we ate the thunder started. Fantastic timing.
On our way home that night we decided to get out at the crash spot and have a look for my sunglasses. Me and Tom got out of the car with raincoats-as it was raining very heavily - and had a look. After I had just given up, Tom looked up on the fence of the house and found them there. I was very happy.
A big thank you to Rhys, Nosh, Hugo and Tom for joining the ride and keeping me company.
i have a version of this report with photos. If you would like to see the photos send me your email address and ill send the report to you.
Finally a very big thankyou to everyone who has sponsored me to do this ride. It is the biggest ride I have ever done and I really enjoyed it. I have raised more than $1,000 which is a good way to my target and is just awesome.
And the statistics: Distance: 104km. Ride time: 4:07 mins. Average speed 25.3 kph. We also took a total of about an hour in breaks during the ride.
Thanks again, Bill
And thanks Mark for you offer of sponsorship. My account details are:
Swift Code: CTBAAU2S
BSB: 062022
Account: 10106183
Name: William Bolton
Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Hi all,
I made it to Katoomba! It was a great ride with good company and there were a few adventures.
I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to do it because the weather has been so wet for the last few weeks and the forecast wasn’t great all week. Friday and Saturday were completely taken up by checking the weather forecast. The Yahoo app on my phone said that it would rain from 3 am Sunday morning then we would ride into thunderstorms at about 10am. However, fortunately the Bureau of Meteorology said that it would be a dry morning and start raining and storming in the early afternoon. This was fine by us so we let everyone know we would start the ride, but we still had to wait and see what happened.
Fortunately when I looked out the window at 5.30 in the morning it was blue skies in all directions. We learnt later from Nosh we should never trust the Yahoo weather app. At 6am my mate Hugo and Rhys, one of the senior club riders and a great sprinter, arrived here 25 Constitution Road. Together with me, Tom and Simon we left our house and began the ride.
The first part of the ride was along Parramatta Road, the main road out West from Sydney for those of you who don’t know it. Considering how busy it can be, it was fine at that time in the morning. Apart from some cracks and holes in the road that part of the ride went smoothly.
When we got to Parramatta (about 15 kms from home) we became a group of six, I’m not exactly sure when though because we were 5 and then I looked back and Simon was having a conversation with Nosh at the back of the bunch. Nosh is a good track racer and works with Simon as well.
The next part of the journey was on the Old Great Western Highway. The road was nice - not many holes or bumps and there weren’t many cars. It was undulating but this was a nice warm up for the larger hills that were to come in the Blue Mountains. After about 45 kms we turned off onto the freeway and went along the hard shoulder. It wasn’t very nice, it was quite narrow and covered in debris such as glass, gravel, sticks and rubber from tires in many places. We crossed the Nepean River and reached the first hill. The first hill is a big one – steep and more than a kilometre long. Nosh lead out fast and by the top we were all very much out of breath.
From the top of the hill it was a nice gentle downhill road to Glenbrook where we met up with Donna and had muffins and banana bread.
From Glenbrook, we continued our now mostly uphill journey. We rode past a couple of groups of riders. We then arrived at Springwood after 11km of mostly climbing.
At Springwood we met Donna again who had ordered some coffees. After a short coffee break Simon, Nosh and I left to try and tackle the last 30km to Katoomba. Rhys caught the train home at Springwood and Tom and Hugo jumped in the car.
After Springwood the hills started to get bigger and the riding harder. The road was ok for about the first 7 or 8km after Springwood and although there were a few holes the bike lane wasn’t too bad. But from there on it only got worse.
About 10km out from Springwood while riding one of the few down hills I decided to rest my bum by standing up on the pedals. Whilst having a rest I hit something on the road that no one saw. I fell forward so that I was in a position similar to what you would see in the Tour de France when they try to get into the most aerodynamic position they can. I swerved out onto the road but fortunately managed to steer back into the cycle lane. I got quite a scare and managed to knee my handle bars giving myself a small bruise and cut.
About 20 metres later I noticed that I had a flat tyre on my front wheel. Fortunately Nosh saved us by getting out his fold up foot pump that is so small that it can be put in the pocket of a cycling jersey. Soon after we had stopped we were back on the road.
About 10km down the road from my near miss the cycle lane got as bad as it could. Non-existence. I heard a call from Nosh saying that we should go onto the new pavement instead of the single lane highway. I then relayed this message to Simon who was at the front. He agreed that it was a good idea and slowed down to get off the road. Unfortunately there was quite a large kerb that we had to hop over. Simon hopped it first, then me and then Nosh. However, the kerb got bigger and he didn’t quite manage to get over the bump. After some shouting we heard the hard to describe noise that is crashing - as Nosh fortunately landed in a nice soft flower bed on the side of the road. He was clutching his leg and Simon thought he had broken his leg. After a few seconds Nosh was able to explain that it was a cramp, and again after a brief wait we were off. I had taken my sunglasses off while we were picking up the bikes and I put them on the pavement. Unfortunately I forgot to put them back on so when we got to Katoomba and I glanced up at the sun I realised that they were not on my face.
After finally arriving in Katoomba we rode down the main road and off to a barbecue area near the Three Sisters where we met up with Hugo’s mum and dad and had a nice barbecue. Thanks to Tom and Hugo for cooking the sausages. As we ate the thunder started. Fantastic timing.
On our way home that night we decided to get out at the crash spot and have a look for my sunglasses. Me and Tom got out of the car with raincoats-as it was raining very heavily - and had a look. After I had just given up, Tom looked up on the fence of the house and found them there. I was very happy.
A big thank you to Rhys, Nosh, Hugo and Tom for joining the ride and keeping me company.
i have a version of this report with photos. If you would like to see the photos send me your email address and ill send the report to you.
Finally a very big thankyou to everyone who has sponsored me to do this ride. It is the biggest ride I have ever done and I really enjoyed it. I have raised more than $1,000 which is a good way to my target and is just awesome.
And the statistics: Distance: 104km. Ride time: 4:07 mins. Average speed 25.3 kph. We also took a total of about an hour in breaks during the ride.
Thanks again, Bill
And thanks Mark for you offer of sponsorship. My account details are:
Swift Code: CTBAAU2S
BSB: 062022
Account: 10106183
Name: William Bolton
Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Great story. Twenty five point three kph to Katoomba is impressive. Well done on finding the sunnies and getting back ok.
Will kick in to the tally.
Will kick in to the tally.
YawnGreat story. Twenty five point three kph to Katoomba is impressive. Well done on finding the sunnies and getting back ok.
Will kick in to the tally.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/131801517
James
lol congrats Jimmy, we are all quite impressed that you are faster than our juniors
Tom is especially impressed with you, he is 14 or so and amazed that you had a faster average speed -
shrubb face
- Posts: 1010
- Joined: 09 Sep 2008, 01:43
- Location: Marrickville
lol congrats Jimmy, we are all quite impressed that you are faster than our juniors
I'm not sure if James was trying to be satirical or not....
Anyway, well done boys. Sorry i couldnt make it, ill make sure to donate some money when im next at the track.
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