What an absolutely cracking day! Started out just before 5am and made my way up to Hornsby for the start. We stayed more or less as a group for the run down Pennant Hills Rd and along the M7 cycle way. The pace was fairly high so we made good time to Camden.
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| Berry tart and coffee at Camden |
After a quick coffee it was onto the second leg which was the killer. We passed over the Razorback and made the journey south towards the Southern Highlands. I was very conscious on riding my own pace so was yo-yoing of the back most of the way. We passed by the airfield and then tackled the terrible climb up Old South Road. It was one of the worst road surfaces I've ever ridden and by the time we got to the top Hugh and I were seriously doubting whether we would even finish. Fortunately this is more or less where you start the run through the Highlands and we were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery and beautiful roads around. Eventually we made it to the Famous Robertson Pie Shop for lunch where I enjoyed two pies whilst Hugh stepped up and devoured three!
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| Hugh up ahead on a beautiful stretch of Southern Highlands road |
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| Howard pointing out the awesome view of Fitzroy Falls Reservoir |
We joined forces with Howard and Phillip here for the run around to Mittagong via Fitzroy Falls. After a stop for coke and Doritos we started the Homeward journey back towards Penrith. It wasn't long before the beautiful afternoon faded into night. As the temperature dropped, the sky lit up with millions of stars, it was awesome! This was certainly a long section of 100km without a break and we were very relieved once we reached the McDonalds for a final rest.
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| With Howard & Hugh near Mittagong |
Leaving the Yobos and their Commodores behind we headed up to Richmond. I dunno what was in Hugh's apple pie but he took the front here and absolutely gunned it! After passing through we rode passed the RAAF base, through Windsor and onwards towards Cattai Ridge. After 365km my legs decided that they had finally had more than enough for one day. They felt like lead and would scream every time I would jump out of the saddle on a climb. After the grind up Cattai Ridge I had one final gel and we pressed on into thickening smoke from the back burning over in the Kuring-gai NP.
Finally we made it over the Wyldsberg and pulled up alongside Andy's cafe with 15km to go for one last breather. We both cracked out our secret weapon, Grandma's Favourite Chocolate Custard which we promised Howard we would save for the bitter end! It was delicious but certainly more of a mental boost than anything else. We descended into the freezing Galston Gorge and crawled up the other side. We looked at the clock and used every last sap of energy to get back in under 19 hours and 30 minutes rolling into Hornsby Police Station with approx 20 seconds to spare!
An absolutely awesome but shattering day, the final 15km ride home was an ultimate struggle despite being mostly downhill. A big thanks to Hugh for the ride and sharing the journey and as always, to Howard and Bec for organizing yet another fantastic day
Strava GPS Data.
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| With Hugh at the finish after breaking 19.5 hours for the 400km |
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