Firstly, congratulations Norman. Unbelievable that you can beat all but one of the blokes in that international field. We’re in awe. [She was second in the above link if you’re reading this and you’ve no idea who Norman is].
I’m still on a high from our Highland Fling yesterday.  It was brilliant.
Saturday night was very pleasant – dinner with the ER crew then chatting at the campsite and checking on the weather forecast. 8-12 degrees with a 90% chance of 10-20 mm rain.
Thanks to Admin for organising everyone so well, such that all ER’s were camped together – it made a big difference.
Woken at 5:30 am to the sound of bagpipes – I haven’t heard Amazing Grace on the bagpipes before.
Blue and I were taking the easier option of the Half Fling – only 59 km whereas the others were all doing the Full Fling 110 km and were off an hour before us.
The weather forecast was correct – miserable conditions.

We went over to the start to see the others off but with about 2000 riders  and the mud and blood jerseys hidden under rain jackets we couldn’t pick anyone out.
We set off near the back of the last start as we assumed we would be among the slowest.
This would be our second ever mountain bike ride on the tandem, having done the Terrey Hills perimeter track and St Ives sniggle once, as practice.

We soon came to one of many creek crossings – mostly about knee deep.
Blue carried the tandem across and I asked for creek service but my request was ignored. We passed PD who was waiting for his friend at the top of the first hill.
The riding was lovely – open trails, attractive forest, the odd patches of loose sand. When the track narrowed I couldn’t see what was coming up as my view was completely obscured.
Sometimes we would launch down slopes that I had no idea were coming which was a bit scary.
Blue had strict instructions to call out the bumps as I can’t see them and the bike has no suspension – he was pretty good.
Several times riders immediately in front of us would stop dead unexpectedly and Blue did well to avoid them.
(Blue: It’s just as well Pink couldn’t see some of the drops and obstacles we took on, they get quite technical when one has to get 2 sets of pedals past the rocks)

We were somewhat surprised that we kept overtaking riders, even uphill.
The atmosphere was fantastic. There was even live entertainment along the way.
A band singing beautifully in harmony, then bongo players at the top of a very zigzaggy tight hill that we managed to ride all the way up.
Towards the end a choir at the top of a hill under a gazebo complete with conductor – As we rode past they made up a verse of the song about a tandem
We joined in briefly, then got out of hearing range, dropping down a steep narrow rocky section that was very challenging for us.

We got heaps of encouraging comments from other riders all the way through which was great – even from the fast Full Flingers.
The food at the transition was very welcome – fruit buns and bananas.
I hope we didn’t have more than our share because Wilson said there was none left when he got to this transition on the way back – I think people eat more when they’re cold and wet.
After a civilised 25 minute break we headed onto the harder section of the course.

The brakes started to make some funny noises – noises that we’d never heard them make before so we pulled over for some brake fettling.
Then like a hurricane the first group of the elite riders came flying past. They were amazing.
From here on we had to be on the lookout for fast riders from behind, so we could move out of their way.
Blue had a cocaine bar and it gave him a second wind. Every time there was a steep incline to walk up he would grab the tandem and run up passing lots of slow riders. I’d try and run up after him.

Other riders kept saying to us I don’t know how you’ll get through the technical sections.
There were two problems really – some of the turns were too tight for the tandem and there were lots of rocks that we didn’t have the clearance for.
Still we tried everything that looked doable and had to walk lots that were too hard.
I think we only hit the chain wheel badly once and Blue only slammed me into a tree once on a very tight corner.

Then Bambam came flying past and called out to us. It was great to see him.
When we crossed the line I forgot to look at the clock so we didn’t know what time we’d done but we didn’t care.
Our aim was to finish and we’d done that so we were stoked. Thanks Clutters – it was everything you said it would be and more.
The race caller interviewed us as we crossed the line as we were the first tandem to finish. Unfortunately the only other tandem broke the rear triangle so didn’t finish.

We certainly did it the easy way – I take my hat off to those who do the Full Fling and even the 160 km.

Pink Stratos

This years ride was going to be pretty special, not for me so much as the two younger riders I would be taking with me.

It would be Grant’s first attempt and Keith’s second, although his first solo attempt. I rode with Keith last year on a Tandem.

Plan A was that we would catch a train to Sydney Park, St Peters and ride from there. But as the big day approached it became apparent both boys could ride from our home in Wahroonga (Plan B). So final details were put in place. We rose at 3:45 (1/2 and hour before we went to bed) and left home at 4:20.

There was a rendezvous at the top of our street with several of the Easy Riders we would spend the day with. From there, a quick descent to Gordon where some 50 or 60 Easy Riders would assemble for the run into the City and on to St Peters.

Knowing Keith would be a bit slower on the way into town, I elected to leave a bit ahead of time. Ravi accompanied us to Observatory Hill where we had enough time for a quick bite and a wee before a throng of Easy Riders swept us up and through the City. We made it uneventfully to Sydney Park.

There was a slight pause while we looked for a baby to kiss (why do we have to do that?) and we were off. About 5:50 am. The ride officially starts at 6:00, but if you get off a bit earlier, there is far less bike traffic and that makes it safer, an important consideration for me managing Keith and Grant. It was clear on the ride down the Pacific Hwy that Grant just wanted to Go. I constantly told him to ease up and ride a “Keith” pace. He was not impressed. At St Peters, I told Grant to find a good Egg and Tomato Jersey (Easy Rider) to follow and ring me if he stopped for anything. That was the last I saw of him. Pshooom!

He did ring at 8:35 to say he had finished and where was I? So, he’d ridden most of the 83 km with Dragon in 2hrs 45 min. An average of 31.2 kph. Thanks for looking after him Dragon! He said it was a bit slow at times, but generally a good pace. Grant, Magoo says that if you find the pace a bit slow to get out and lead for a while. The others will just follow.

Keith and I on the other had a more leisurely roll down. We lost sight of most Easy Riders along Botany Bay. Keith chased for a few km, but realised the pace was too high. There was a period where we saw no bikes until the official Police motorcade passed us, accompanied by a fast group of Sylvania BMW riders. Keith, who had reverted to dawdling hit the gas and joined in. It was nearly 5 km before we fell off the back of that train, averaging over 35 kph. One rider passing exclaimed, “Gosh, its only a kid.”.

We settled into a good rhythm chasing some riders and allowing faster ones to get away. Stopping South of Waterfall, we met Blue and Pink Stratos (The Strati), Shorty, and Jenna’s Sister. We demolished some tasty muffins and fed Keith his first Gu, go food for cyclists.

The Strati got away two minutes in front of us. Keith chased, standing and attacking for over 10 minutes. We passed everything in sight and finally the Strati. They eventually passed us again. We passed this guy who looked like, I dunno, a praying mantis spinning a web. I got to chat with him for a bit. He’s a 7 footer. His seat post was at my eye level. Legs looked like extensions you would take off before going to bed.

More undulations ensued and we made it to Waterfall and the descent into the Royal National Park. Here we had another break and more food. Keith’s cramps were becoming serious now, so a massage was given. I had been more nervous about the Waterfall descent that any other part of the ride. Cycle traffic can be thick and hazardous depending on the experience level of the riders around you at the time. This year, the Police Motor Cyclists were riding interspersed with the cyclists, rather than leading large groups. This lead to a more uniform outcome and no speedsters cutting around people.

With the descent out of the way came the climb. Keith ordered another Gu. No sooner had he eaten the Gu, he was up and attacking the hill and everyone on it. I provided guidance from behind, calling “wait up” on the blind corners and “go” on the straights. I don’t know if more than 6 people passed us on the way up. We passed 100s. Just as Keith was flagging and sitting for a break, the top came into sight, so he was off and attacking again. 200m sprint to the top. We made it phew!

At Stanwell Tops we did another water and food stop and took in the view. More massages for cramps. The second big descent was also uneventful. Sea Cliff Bridge is always a great treat. Torn between marveling at Engineering on the one hand and the views up the cliffs and out to sea on the other. We got into a rhythm climbing undulations and zooming down the other side when Keith noticed he had a flat. That provided a welcome 10 min break about a half hour before the finish.

Keith had just about had enough when we heard it was just 3 km to the finish. Can you make it that far, I asked? Oh, maybe says Keith. In the end we made it easily. At the Finish there were drinks and people clapping. We made our way to the Westpac Tent to enjoy an Egg and Bacon Roll, Cokes, cakes, Fruit,.. It was just marvelous. Thank-you Westpac.

We also found Grant who had been waiting for us for over an hour. Most of the Easy Riders had turned around and started the ride back to the Green Gate in Killara, for lunch, of course. We Perry’s caught the Train back and made it into the Green Gate in time to join in some of the festivities and take on some yeasty restoratives. The boys had squash.

B1.