RTA Cycle Sydney

[jimmy]

Hi All

On the weekend (30th November) I took part in the annual RTA Cycle Sydney. This event has been running for about 8 or 9 years. It has two distances either 50kms (North Sydney to Parramatta) or 20kms (Concord to Parramatta).

Although neither distance compares to Ken's ride just recently I took part for the second year running in the 50km leg on my Coker. We set of at about 7:30am and once I had a clear run I was able to mount and I was away. It is a bit chaotic at the start as there are cyclists everywhere and everyone is trying to break away from the pack, well, the fast cyclists are. From there we made our way over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and for the first year we had two lanes instead of the usual one.

Once over the bridge we turned off and went through the Rocks, the site of the origional Sydney Town and then from there headed south through the City. This was one of the hardest parts for me as there were a lot of traffic lights, and a lot of the time I was forced to stop and dismount. Which then meant that I had to remount. It wasn't uncommon for me to walk across the intersection, wait for all the cyclists and then remount and keep going.

I made the first 10 kms (which was to the first rest stop) in about 45mins or so, as I was feeling really good I didn't stop long and I was soon back on the Unicycle and away. The route typically weaves it's ways through cycle paths and back streets, but there are some places where it is necessary to mingle with main road traffic. Luckily there is usually a lane closed just for the cyclists.

I was getting a lot of encourging comments from other riders, including the usual original lines of "you're missing a wheel". The comments in something like this can really keep you going. Especially when crotch pain starts to set in a bit.

I had a break at each of the rest stops, some longer than others and in some cases I went between rest stops without stopping or dismounting. For me that was a record. I ended up finishing at about noon. I had an average of about 13.5, so I spent about 3 hours 45 minutes cycling. Again no where near as fast as Ken but I don't have the same super human ability as him.

Like last year I had a lot of fun, and although I am feeling it a bit this morning I can't see any reason not to do the same thing next year as well.

James