Cycling down under - a perspective from Rob Quinn

[Snoop Doug]

This update on cycling down under was kindly provided by Rob Q for the Lanterne Rouge. Take it away Rob:


"I am fortunate to live in an area that seems to be the hub of cycling in Northern Sydney. One of the guys I cycle with compared the area to the cycling equivalent of living at the bottom of a ski slope. The group I cycle with are not a club (yet) but like a lot of clubs here are attached to a cycling shop. I ride with the St Ives cyclery commonly known as SIC and the riders called SICO’s.

The biggest club(circa 200 members) in the area are called Peloton Sports, but they are again attached to a cycle shop called Turramurra Cyclery and that’s what everyone calls them. I have recently started to split riding with both these groups as Turramurra is a lot bigger giving you more choice of groups. A bit like the ACC. However the SIC group are smaller and more social group and like me, a lot of this group ride with both clubs.

Sydney is blessed with awesome weather, but in the summer months the heat can be overwhelming so understandably they tend to ride earlier here… a lot earlier. Try 7am start !!! This does take some getting used to, however the benefit of this is you tend to beat the heat of the day and you are generally finished your ride by 10 – 10:30 am. Now we are moving into our Winter and the weather is still pretty good with only arm warmers required up until now. But to my surprise they still start at 7am. It takes some getting used to but when you finish early it does give you a full day to do other stuff.

Sydney also has a number of great national parks which are traffic light free and great to ride in. Sydney also has a tremendous amount of hills and climbs, a lot more than I expected. The one downside to cycling here is that Sydney has very little back roads or country lanes. I guess it’s the way the city and suburbs have been developed over the years and to get anywhere you always have to at some point cycle on a busy road. With that in mind this is also maybe why cycling early is popular as the traffic is less busy.

The rides are generally completed without a stop for coffee/cake. The stops are a quick drink and snack stop and then back on the pedals. The coffee stop is at the end of the ride with toast, raisin bread, or a full brekkie on the menu with no cake of any sort in sight.

My overall experience of cycling here has been positive although I do miss the English country side and beautiful changing seasons. Cycling is very popular here and over time I am sure I will get to experience more rides and routes as I discover and widen my horizon. There are also a lot of MTB trails here which I hope to ride soon."

[Marek]

Rob, have you been down to the track yet. Apparently there are early morning track sessions which are meant to be great fun, you could do a few laps before work (if you can get up early enough).

http://www.duncgrayvelodrome.com/

Cheers

Marek....

[Marky Mark]

[quote="Snoop Doug"]This update on cycling down under was kindly provided by Rob Q for the Lanterne Rouge. Take it away Rob:


The rides are generally completed without a stop for coffee/cake. The stops are a quick drink and snack stop and then back on the pedals. The coffee stop is at the end of the ride with toast, raisin bread, or a full brekkie on the menu with no cake of any sort in sight.

There are also a lot of MTB trails here which I hope to ride soon."

[Rob Q]

[quote="Marek"]Rob, have you been down to the track yet. Apparently there are early morning track sessions which are meant to be great fun, you could do a few laps before work (if you can get up early enough).

http://www.duncgrayvelodrome.com/

Cheers

Marek....

[quote="Rob Q"][quote="Marek"]Rob, have you been down to the track yet. Apparently there are early morning track sessions which are meant to be great fun, you could do a few laps before work (if you can get up early enough).

http://www.duncgrayvelodrome.com/

Cheers

Marek....

[Rob Q]

Thanks for the info Argy.
The ACC is a great club. Make sure you get out with the disagreeable arm of the club. They tend to go on many various routes around Surrey, Kent and Sussex and you will get to see some of the best England has to offer. They are normally led by Pete who is a right miserable bastard, but will look after you and with the rest of the merry men you will have a right laugh. Try avoid Conor the Irish bloke who is a right boring tw@t and definatley do not associate yourself with Marky mark as your liver will never be the same again. Also avoid Ian, he is pure evil .
Other than that enjoy!

[John G]

[quote="Rob Q"]Thanks for the info Argy.
The ACC is a great club. Make sure you get out with the disagreeable arm of the club. They tend to go on many various routes around Surrey, Kent and Sussex and you will get to see some of the best England has to offer. They are normally led by Pete who is a right miserable bastard, but will look after you and with the rest of the merry men you will have a right laugh. Try avoid Conor the Irish bloke who is a right boring tw@t and definatley do not associate yourself with Marky mark as your liver will never be the same again. Also avoid Ian, he is pure evil .
Other than that enjoy!

[Snoop Doug]

[quote="Rob Q"]Thanks for the info Argy.
The ACC is a great club. Make sure you get out with the disagreeable arm of the club. They tend to go on many various routes around Surrey, Kent and Sussex and you will get to see some of the best England has to offer. They are normally led by Pete who is a right miserable bastard, but will look after you and with the rest of the merry men you will have a right laugh. Try avoid Conor the Irish bloke who is a right boring tw@t and definatley do not associate yourself with Marky mark as your liver will never be the same again. Also avoid Ian, he is pure evil .
Other than that enjoy!