MS Society Sydney - Wollongong Bike Ride

[MID02K]

Hi Fellow TrackChatter's..

I work for VI.SA. Australia (www.visa-aust.com.au) and one of our Truck Drivers is always doing what he can for those not as fortunate as most of us....

Giovanni Zotti is riding in the Sydney to the Gong annual bike ride and is currently seeking donations.
These donations are 100 % tax deductible and go to a really good cause.
Click here to leave a donation!! (https://register.gongride.org.au/?giovannizotti)

For those of you that don't know what multiple sclerosis is, i have taken this info from there website
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that randomly attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The progress, severity and specific symptoms of the disease cannot be predicted; symptoms may range from tingling and numbness to paralysis and blindness. MS is a devastating disease because people live with its unpredictable physical and emotional effects for the rest of their lives.

I would like to thank those of you now who do make a donation.. In the comments box, just mention ur from Trackchat.com.au

Thanks Again..

Paul

P.S. Thanks to Nick for allowing me to post this here...

[seedyrom]

I'll make sure I say g'day when I pass him

(I'm a bit of a downhill specialist :D )

[MID02K]

Are u riding in the event seedy or driving down :|

[NickS]

Good on him ... and good luck !!!

:yep:

[seedyrom]

LOL

I'll be peddling.

With my car now off the road for 2 1/2 months, i've become a bit of a rider. (25kms each way to work and back).

Still got a fat guts, haven't lost an ounce of weight, but you should check out my thighs!!!! :bravo:
Yum.

I'm thinking of shaving down and rubbing baby oil into them
:waving:

I've been catching public transport this week as i've got bad tonsilitis at the moment. But i'll be firing on all 2 cylinders again shortly.
Honestly, the amount of bugs i'm consuming riding along is horrendous.

I got one of those GPS training devices drewbytes recommended.
On my crappy $100 womens bike from ebay, i'm averaging 23km/h, and have maxed it out at 61km/h.

That's quicker than when I drive !!!

[MID02K]

Thanks Nick!
It's nice to see that even though you dont know the person, you are still willing to put in for a good cause and Gio thanks you.


And Seedy, if you are peddling ur way down there, i may see u there as i will be down that way... i have to see u shaved legs and greased up.... :p

[seedyrom]

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride1.jpg

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride2.jpg

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride3.jpg

I'm the one in the spiderman outfit :D

I took it relatively easy, but was still able to run in a fairly decent time at 4 hours 10 mins to get down there. I went with the pro riders group at 6:15am, so there was good competition. That also meant it pissed down on us for half the way there, then went to a lovely day. (as a comparison, another guy from my work did it and took 7 1/2 hours!!!).


Maintained an average of 21.4 km/h including a couple of stops to regather the troops and have a cup of coffee and piss. Also not bad considering the crappy hills to go up, and they were then making us ride behind motor bikes on the down hills so we wouldn't go too fast. I got yelled at by other riders for overtaking on the wrong side of the road down the wet hills :). Gosh riders are a bunch of holier-than-thou wankers.
Though at one point, we did pass a guy that was off in the trees, with an ambulance treating his 2 broken legs, and a carbon fibre bike that was split in two pieces. There were a lot of bandaged people at the finish line.

I don't pack ride normally, but geez they yell abuse when you don't follow the "rules" of riding. Friggen wankers.
They would have hated seeing the crappy $100 mountain bike overtaking their racers, and not just on the down hills :) - The extra 8kgs of mountain bike, coupled with my big fat guts do however make me an absolute down hill specialist. (That being said, there were some supreme athletes who were going up the hills, then back down and up again whilst I was still going up. CRAZY.).

It was a good day, but unfortunately the people I was with stayed at the finishing point for 3 hours afterwards lying around in the sun drinking beers from the beer tent.
I spent that whole time on my feet stretching, so the next day I was totally fine with no muscular pain in my legs at all. Infact, I felt better the following day, than I do after one day riding to work, because I don't stretch enough once I get home or to work. So yeah, not sore at all ....
EXCEPT for the hideous sun burn on the back of my legs. Damn old fools staying there for so long in the sun. I still can't walk properly, i was like Frankenstein's monster for Monday and Tuesday.
Of course, as we were leaving the finishing point, I then noticed the St John's Ambulance tent giving away free sunscreen :(
They had it set up where all the private corporate tents were, which is why I didn't find it when I needed it.

So yeah, a good day. I look forward to it next year.

Now for the pr0n.

These guys were champs. Rode the whole way like this.

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride4.jpg

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride5.jpg

http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride6.jpg

Well done.

[Black VESSV]

I'm the one in the spiderman outfit :D

I don't pack ride normally, but geez they yell abuse when you don't follow the "rules" of riding. Friggen wankers.

These guys were champs. Rode the whole way like this.

[IMG]http://www.oz8.org/gallery/albums/Seedyrom/bikeride4.jpg



Well done Seedy / Spidey :bravo:

I have limited experience with packs of bike riders (ie in my car on way to beach early in the morning) and have to agree with your opinion of them.

I had the misfortune to follow a man in his green mankini in the city to surf. For them to ride that far in one is a very impressive effort but wouldn't have been pleasant following one on a hill climb:puke:

[seedyrom]

Final check of the bike done for this year.
Just need sun up to confirm last minute gear/brake adjustments are right.
Now consuming about a thousand beers ... for carbs :D

I'm heading off from Sydney Park at 5:55am Sunday with the pro riders. :bat:

Been in training since breaking my car at the trackchat drag day .
So have lots of practice kilometres under the belt.

Hoping for a sub 3 hour time.
Last year it was 3 hours on the dot, but the weather was a lot better.
This year the Sunday is shaping up for a 36 degree high heat/humidity.UV day ... so might cause some attrition


Have a great weekend!

[VYII]

One of my mates put the challenge out that if he raised $500 in donations by 6pm last night, he would ride to Sydney then ride home again.

He raised $550. So it's a 3am departure from Wollongong tomorrow morning for him!

[seedyrom]

That is a supreme effort.

Make sure you congratulate him for me.

I'm finally home after 3+ hours of state rail plus riding.

I got off to a bad start.
Rode to the station to catch my 5:08am train ... but the damn thing came 2 mins early and I missed it!
I'm to blame, as I shouldn't have left it so fine (but I had the runs and had to take care of business if you know what I mean).
Anyway ... cause I couldn't wait another hour for a train, I had to ride 30 mins to an interconnecting station to get a train from a different line.
I was worried it would tire me, but it was okay.
Of course, silly me had removed all my lights off the bike the night before to save weight ... so I diced it up with early morning cars in the dark without lighting down Concord Road :shock: :stupid:

Got a train, got to Redfern, then took off.
They didn't let me leave till 6:15am because registered teams got first preference.

I set a PB at 2hrs 56 mins.

There was more to be shaved, with better luck with lights ... plus the fact that the first 20 kms are nong heads treating it like a Sunday Social, riding 2 and 3 abreast in our single lane.
Very frustrating. Though I can't complain. As they say every year ... It is a ride, not a race *cough*bullshit*cough*

Congrats to all the volunteers that made the day work so well.
These types of events really do restore faith in humanity, when you see so many people willing to help out for charity.
Good stuff guys.

Without further adieu, here's the stats

http://connect.garmin.com/player/17661109
Click Metric in the top right corner for more useable stats

[Muncha]

Congrats on having a go Seedy. I did it from Waterfall about 2 years ago but for some stupid reason haven't done it the last 2. Next year
i will try to get my act together and get back out there.

[VYII]

Well done Seedy. Love the garmin/stats thing you have there. How do you record that?

I picked me mate up at 1pm today from stuart park. Didn't ask about his time. I don't think he cared in the end haha.
He said his morning got off to a great start with a puncture at 3:15am. Rest of the trip was uneventful however.
One stat he did tell me is he burnt roughly 7400 calories on the ride. A Mighty Angus meal seen to that on the way home haha.