RNP Ride for slowies 1st of Feb

[Trouty]

Mike and Weiyan,
Some one told me you guys were leading out a slowies ride to RNP on the 1st of Feb. I had a few takers on today's "Cruisers" ride that said they want to go (including myself), so can you guys put a post out on departure time meeting place etc

[geoff m]

This would be great to get this going. I think this would make it about 5 official rides on every second Sunday. 5.45, 6.00, 6,20, 6.30, 6.40. Wow.

Having just made a return to RNP this morning after a 7 to 8 month winter (long winter eh) break, with James C, Eugen and Julian.

It is so magical going into the valleys, with cool air, trees, the running creeks, etc. The hills are tough and I struggled a bit with the hills today, but remember, Hills Are Your Friend. If anyone really wants to improve, and think of road racing, they must include hills. The usual Sunday ride to Waterfall doesn't have any hills.

Hills are good for stamina, and especially to improve your recovery rates. Without the training, in a road race you will get dropped on even the smallest of ankle snappers.

I must say I was very impressed with young Julian on his second RNP. That young lad can climb! I think he has the right makeup to be a great road racer. Maybe even Europe???

And a special thanks to Eugen. He became my domistique for about 25-30kms this morning and I was able to keep along with the four, between the hills, sitting in his slip stream. He did this job so perfectly, with precision, and it made all the difference.

[mikesbytes]

Yip RNP Slowies on Sunday 1st Feb, 5.45am departure

All welcome, pace will be set by the slowest rider.

[brego]

hi everybody ,
so can someone tell me how many kms from mazza to rnp and to mazza
please
if we start at mazza @ 5.45 am maybe i need candles in the morning .

rgds
nickb

[insomniac]

The ride adds about another 15kms (see Jimmys comment on the RNP sticky)....so the ride must come in just under the 100km mark. A great ride ..even though its pretty tough. For those slowies who haven't done it before but are thinking about it, give it a go. ...but do it at your own pace don't worry about keeping up with the group. Weiyen and Mikebytes will no doubt have us rerouping near the exit of the park or after each of the hill. For Slowies (like me) the first ride is very personal, you versus the hills, bugger the speed and what others are doing. With this attitude you'll make it and it will be a memorable achievement for you. .... and all the other rides you do will seem and actually be much easier. Hope we get a good roll up for this ride.

[jimmy]

At a rough guess, you would be looking at about 95km or so.

When I leave from my place and return (going through the Big Dipper both ways), I tend to get about 96km.

James

[insomniac]

I trust the ride will be in at Waterfall and out at Audley.

[geoff m]

The excitement is building up. As Insomniac says, you have to do it. Its you vs the hills and a great sense of achievement.

So much so that I took out a helmetCAM this morning and did a bit of filming. So here is my virtual tour of the Royal National Park. Hold on, as you can see, if you train, like me you can cycle up the hills fast. Just check me go!

Remember, Hills are your friend.

OK you will see familiar territory waiting at the lights next to Sutherland Criterium track, before crossing onto the freeway. Actually, when doing RNP its best not to go through Sutherland Station but straight onto the Freeway at the beginning. The tour guides will show those who venture on the first expedition.

If going in the Audley end, you will see here you turn into RNP at first chance, pass the pay station (bikes are $1.50 entry) and then you are ready to decend on some pretty steep bends down to Audley Weir.

Watch.......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3e7I3tO ... r_embedded

[geoff m]

OK, so you have almost decended a very steep 1.5km hill, with some curvy bends at the bottom requiring breaking to about 25kms p/h. You come round then at 50kms per hour but have to slow right down for the last bend at the bottom at Audley Weir. As James C said to me today as I passed him up Artillery Hill, "Geez, if you overshoot here, SPLASH"

So you think you are pretty special having survived the fast descent. Well, you are about to meet the PERSONAL CHALLENGE. Its the Mt Ventroux of France, the Willunga Hill of South Australia. Its Artillery Hill!!!

1.5kms of very, very steep gradiant (Weiyun, stats here please!).

This will test you. My first go, I had to get off my bike. But today, you will see I would have given Lance a run for his money.

Oh how glorious when you reach that peak of the hill. It feels soooooo good.

Watch.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_G09Hk ... r_embedded

[geoff m]

So you've got that fantastic feeling, and as you get your heart rate back under 300, you start go along some flats for several kms then have a nice easy decent to Flat Rock over the wooden bridge.

So, let's decend........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arlWZXlR ... r_embedded

[geoff m]

Normally, coming from this direction we would continue on and turn-off and up the 4.5km hill to the Waterfall overpass bridge. But I couldn't help myself this morning and turned around just to give you all some good shots.

I went back up to the top of Artillery Hill. So if you enter the RNP at Waterfall, and come out at Audley, you will get the pleasure of going down this bugger of a hill, without too many curves, so it can get very fast.

So, push that bum back on your seat, head down, and here we go............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlDGiGO ... r_embedded

[geoff m]

Wow, that was fun

Oh dear, I forgot, there was an almost (but not quite) difficult climb back out from the Weir up to the Pay station. About 1.5kms and with a quite a few sharp bends - but don't worry, at 8kms per hour you won't overshoot these. Check out the gradient around the 30 to 40 second mark of the video.

Then, its past the pay station and we've done RNP for another week. Easy, really, what are you all waiting for. 1 Feb Roll Call now in progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbR-oAVl ... r_embedded

[eric]

[quote="geoff m"] pass the pay station (bikes are $1.50 entry) quote]

Can you confirm this ? From their website theres no bike fees mention ? Is this new ? Is this for bicycles or motor bike ?

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Natio ... x?id=N0030

[geoff m]

So, from tomorrow its time to start your training for the 1st Feb expedition.

Get you trainer out everyday, put your laptop in front, rest your bike's front tyre on about 5 yellow pages, put your gear into the hardest, and then switch on YouTube's view of the climb up Artillery Hill - then start peddling.

Do that for about 2 weeks, and you will be in top form.

[geoff m]

Gee Eric when did you last go down into RNP? Might be time to give it a go.

Street Directories always have a purposely designed error (extra street which doesn't exist etc) on each page, to catch out copywrite cheats using and republishing pages from their maps.

Likewise, I inserted a eroneous fact to test if you were paying attention. That's attention and not $1.50. You are right. Its free for us free wheelers.

[weiyun]

Gosh, the Slow Coach™ is eager isn't it? We were going to put in a reminder thread closer to the date but will now just put in the reminder in this thread when the time is right.

[Stuart]

I won't be doing this ride so I'll try to be cruisers Waterfall bunch co-coordinator for the day (with Geoff S) in place of Lindsay who will be riding to Melb - that does not however mean I'll stay on the front all the way like he does, all riders will get a turn on th e front and we'll change over both front riders regularly. It will be my first ride back after my current USA trip so I'll be going slowwwwwww.

[mcrkennedy]

Sounds like a great intro to the NRP so count me in.

[Trouty]

I won't be doing this ride so I'll try to be cruisers Waterfall bunch co-coordinator for the day (with Geoff S) in place of Lindsay who will be riding to Melb -

We will eventually get you up to RNP stuart - Just think you have to do Alp Duez in June so this is the perfect warm up. But it is good that some one is staying back with the Waterfall Cruisers

[brego]

Now we have set the date for this ride , we need set training programme  for this famous ride    any sugestion    may be we should ask our club road captain  or our fellow roadie riders   regardsnick

[insomniac]

Do the Sat Slowies ride and instead of just doing laps at Centennial Park, do the hill (think its called Sprinters Hill), and just do the hill, then do the hill again and again... keep doing the hill as many times as possible, nothing but the hill...do at least 6. Come Saturday (if I get some sleep) I am going to try and do at least 7 and maybe 8....this for me, would be a good effort. The hill at Centennial Park is great training esp for RNP.

[T-Bone]

Any riding is good training. Nothing specific is required, so if you can do the Waterfall ride, you can do RNP. The main thing is to enjoy yourself and stay relaxed, because if you keep thinking the hills are terrible, they will stay that way.

I'll try and think of a specific training program that doesn't involve Bulli Pass.

[mikesbytes]

Now we have set the date for this ride , we need set training programme  for this famous ride    any sugestion    may be we should ask our club road captain  or our fellow roadie riders   regardsnick

You'll be fine for this ride