DUBBUG Ride Report 19 May, 2013
The Russian anarchist Bakunin once commented famously that there would be far fewer suicides if every day was sunny. Today’s ride was sunny, though crisp, and bonhomie radiated in all directions. What a time to be alive and pedalling.
The ride from Urunga to Bellingen and then along Gleniffer Rd to the Garden of Eden and return is one of the most beautiful cycles imaginable. Sometimes we forget how scenic our part of the world is. Of course the road is rough and the hills plentiful but that adds to the challenge of the 60kms traversed.
Vicissitudes were not limited to the terrain however as Don had to change a tube even before the ride commenced and George found his newish steed in need of major repairs and had to abandon ship. Steve shed his sunglasses along the way but was delighted to find that Michelle had stopped and retrieved them only discovering at a later reassembly point that they belonged to one of our group. Such good fortune also smiled on George as he was retrieved by Kurt coincidentally driving past and returned to his vehicle. Our president was then able to chaperone the group in his car for the remainder of the ride as an insurance policy against any other unforeseen problems.
The efficiency of the bicycle over walking was also demonstrated as the Kyeewa walking group simultaneously departed from the start point in Urunga with our group in the first of four morning-long walks to Bellingen. The cyclists reached this destination in barely an hour of riding. Similarly, a group of women were passed walking from Gleniffer Church to Bellingen, a journey taking over two hours whereas cyclists complete this distance in under half an hour.
Thus another Sunday morning passed in healthy exercise, good conversation and comradeship.