2010 Spring Cycle...no harm done

[Editor’s Note: Due to various wallpaper removing, wall painting and furniture moving about, this year’s Spring Cycle write-up is shorter than intended. Hope you enjoy it; and remember, you’re not removing wallpaper while reading this.]

The 2010 Sydney Spring Cycle turned on elemental charms on Sunday, 17^th October for the 10,000+ cyclists who turned out, along with hundreds of volunteers and support personnel from police, fire and ambulance services. We'd gone from snow flurries in the mountains to North Sydney sunshine in less than 24 hours.

Thunder Horse under Police Escort

To top it all - we had a police escort! [They must have heard about how many times I fell off my bike during last year's Gong Ride...]

We rolled off at a measured pace, allowing us to take in some of North Sydney’s architectural highlights while Saw Horse lightened his load.

There were a couple of minor mechanical issues: thrown chains; falling over; too much ricotta canoli ... the usual cycling hazards.

Fortunately, Team Iron Horse needed no assistance from any of the emergency services—despite a couple of decent attempts at injury through crash tackle cycling tactics.

Saw Horse on median strip

Perched on the median strip, Saw Horse began the ride with a closer inspection of his chain ring. An inauspicious start to what turned out to be a solid performance in his first Team event.

Dark Horse

A $150 spanner in his backpack allowed Dark Horse to make fast adjustments to Saw Horse's bike. Proving once again that he is the Dark Horse and, following the adjustments, Saw Horse was less sore at the end of the ride.

Lightning Horse

Throwing chains seems to be something of a team pastime, hence Lightning Horse's darkened hands. The sign was trying to keep these sorts of antics at bay.


Perhaps Tumbling Horse would be the more accurate moniker after taking the fine art of falling off his bike to new heights by colliding with another cyclist who failed to keep left; due to another cyclist not keeping left. Yes, the age old, indefatigable, Domino Theory.

The ensuing pile-up left a rather surprised cyclist with a torn pair of lycra resulting from his own handlebar riding up his shorts!

Thunder Horse left the scene, eventually, after helping the anonymous cyclist extricate his aforementioned handlebars from his aforementioned nether regions. Amusing in hindsight. Not at the time.

This year’s finish line allowed for a spectacular burst of sprint energy, should the mood take you, followed by a quick dismount for medal collection.

All in all, a great day out and positive training towards the Gong Ride, just a couple of weeks away!


Until next time, Pedal On!


Thunder Horse

Stop laughing, this is serious ...

Yesterday was the tenth day of the tenth month, 2010 - a busy day for weddings and wallpaper removalists; and what a cracking day it would have been for a blog post: the tenth at that!

Alas, I was removing wallpaper. 

Nonetheless, it occurred to me as the steam mixed with whatever adhesives had been used to apply the wallpaper I was removing that I wasn't cycling. More importantly, and perhaps of greater relevance, was that all of the training so far is intended to prepare the team for the 2010 MS Gong Ride. And it's fast approaching. And I'm not sure that I've called this goal out in this blog before. What was I thinking about? Wallpaper?

The Gong Ride takes place on Sunday, 7 November, 2010. The aim of the ride, apart from inflicting serious fatigue and pain on ourselves, is to raise funds for people affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is the most common disease of the central nervous system and affects more than 20,000 Australians.

This year, Team Iron Horse's fundraising goal is $1,500.00. Overall, MS Australia hopes to raise $4 million from the 2010 Gong Ride. That's huge!

You can DONATE by clicking on this link: Team Iron Horse  and help MS Australia support Australians affected by multiple sclerosis.

MS Australia aims to minimise the impact of multiple sclerosis on all individuals affected by the disease, as well as their families, carers and the community, by offering a wide range of services, equipment and support. MS Australia's goal is to assist everyone affected by MS to live life to their fullest potential and secure the care and support they need, until we ultimately find a cure. 

This weekend we're tackling the (50km) Sydney Spring Cycle as further training for the Gong Ride. Expect another blog soon, with less wallpaper.

Until then,

Pedal on!

Thunder Horse