DUBBUG Ride Report
26th May 2013
George Smith
After Friday’s torrential rain caused the abandonment of that day’s ride there were few who expected any joy this Sunday. How wrong we were! You could not ask for better riding weather.
Great weather, pleasant company, beautiful scenery, and no mechanical incidents – what more could we want?
There were seven starters from Urunga led by Phil Jones. He set a steady pace along the Old Highway to Mailman’s track, where we were joined by Chris and Allan Fahey, along the new highway to miss the road closed area, and then back to the old highway to Bonville School where we were joined by Coffs Harbour riders David, Rochelle and Leon.
The merry twelve then followed the Gleniffer Road as far as Hyde’s Road. At this point it became clear that some riders were finding that using a road bike on dirt roads was not to their liking. Ride leader Phil conducted a democratic vote and the ride over the dirt road to Gleniffer was rejected in favour of the direct route to coffee at Bellingen. It is open to debate whether it was fear of dirt or desire for coffee that swayed the vote.
Phil was undergoing assessment as a ride leader and therefore some “staged” incidents were called for to test his, now unquestioned, skills in emergencies. Oscar nominee Herb Simpson put on a magnificent performance as the victim of a snake bite. Despite a number of calls to abandon Herb to his fate, (from a number of his “friends”), ride leader Phil made all the correct leadership decisions regarding first aid and calling for appropriate assistance. I am happy to report that Phil has now joined our growing band of accredited ride leaders.
The balance of the ride went off without incident. The coffee, and cakes, were consumed in amazingly quick time and, with that fuel on board, riders competed the return to Urunga, via Northbank Road, with little difficulty
Of course, having started at Nambucca, Tim cycled on alone to complete his 100km plus effort for the day.