DUBBUG Cycle Report
Sunday 27 May 2012
Colleen Henry
Ten of us set off from Urunga BP on Sunday, braving the chill to cycle to Bellingen on the good old NBSA (North Bank South Arm or some variant of the above). The bits where we cycled in the sun were beautiful, but the shaded sections under the trees and zipping down the hills made our eyes water with the cold.
Partway to Bellingen, Phil, Alan and Herb peeled off (well, as much as one can when one’s riding a mountain bike) at Old Brierfield Road, and took the track into town. There was meant to be an alternative ride that morning on mountain bikes, but only Alan and Herb showed up with their fat tyred lumps of heavy metal. They were encouraged by the others to join the speed machines anyway. They certainly didn’t embarrass themselves, and kept up with the group no worries, with the three arriving only minutes after the first riders made it to Bellingen. We had had our doubts about these three heading off into the wilderness by themselves, reminding them that a “short” bushwalk at Hat Head a couple of weekends ago had them coming back to camp just before dark and just before we sent out the search parties for them.
The hot coffee and warm scones really hit the spot this morning. Talk at one end of the table between Betty Anne, Sally and Deb was all things Europe, with the departure date just one month away – the words “Strasbourg,” “Paris,” “train,” “Tour de France” floated across the table. The ride back to Urunga was much more pleasant than the ride out – less hills and the sun had been up long enough to take the chill out of the air. The 45km ride seemed a bit quicker than usual today. Maybe it was the cold nipping at our heels.
Next Sunday’s scheduled ride is a “ hard, hard hilly ride” up to Dorrigo, but ride leader George S. has been out of action recently with a sore arm, so please check with him on 6568 2115 if you want to confirm the destination. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, just show up at BP Urunga at 8am on Sunday and see where it takes you. Weekly rides on Wednesday and Friday depart 8am at BP Urunga.