Sydney to Wollongong Charity Cycle
Article by Mark Ward
As many of you will know, as part of our charity program, changedrivers organised a small team to spend 4th November 2007 taking part in the 90km cycle ride from Sydney to Wollongong in aid of Multiple Sclerosis.
Although it was a thorough improvement on the previous night's torrential downpour, it was an unfairly wet, cold and grey Sunday morning that greeted us at Sydney Park, St Peters and the start of our ride.
And despite it being very much the wrong side of 8am on a Sunday morning and that the weather was still doing it's utmost to dampen the occasion, our team (Mal Anderson, Jos van der Velde and myself, Mark Ward pictured below) was ready for action and our collective team spirit was high and still relatively dry.
The overall sense of soggy camaraderie certainly bolstered our enthusiasm, as we, along with several thousand other entrants, somewhat unceremoniously walked our bikes across the start line and out of the park.
A little more polite jockeying for position up to Princes Highway and then, with a deep breath and resigned smiles all round, we were off, cheerfully dismissing all thoughts of increasingly wet socks and potential saddle sore.
The early morning Sydney streets were soon behind us, our well organised route lined with the friendly dedication of the volunteer Marshalls. Before long a small patch of blue sky encouragingly opened ahead of us and the future seemed very bright indeed.
The rain eased as Cook Park, Loftus Oval and Heathcote all flashed by and, before we knew it, we were at sun-soaked Waterfall and the gateway to the Royal National Park. Being a designated rest area, it was time for stretching, re-fuelling with snacks and water and good opportunity to make use of the bike mechanics that were on hand.
After a gradual, but seemingly never-ending climb up to Waterfall, the long and winding descent into the breathtakingly beautiful park was most welcome, great fun and very fast. With so many cyclists going at considerable speed, the possibility of ending up at the roadside in a heap made this stretch both exhilarating and quite hair-raising on occasion.
But we took our time, silently praying that our pre-ride bike service was thorough and that more specifically, our brakes were up to the task. As we coasted down into the noticeably cooler, fresh and earthy forest air, it was wonderfully serene. It felt like a long way to Sydney.
Naturally what goes down must come back up and, after a brief mid-morning lunch stop, it was time to go 'over the top'. On paper, the profile of Bald Hill was an impossibly steep, unremitting, thigh-trembling ascent. Thankfully, in reality it was a little more forgiving and, as we broke out of the trees at the crest of the hill, our efforts were rewarded with the most spectacular views out across the ocean and right down the coast to Wollongong.
Our goal was in sight and, although Bald Hill had dispersed our team, we knew the back of the ride had been broken. With the sun on our faces we headed along the rolling coast road through Otford, Coalcliff and the spectacular Sea Cliff Bridge, down through Clifton, Wombarra, Austinmer and Thirroul.
Invigorated by the sea air, with the sparkling ocean to our left and the towering cliffs to our right, we soon reached our final designated rest area, grateful for a water re-fill and some much needed free fruit.
With extra banana energy, we were soon winding through Wollongong's northern suburbs. My onboard computer was reading 84kms, so when a Marshall informed us "only one and half k's to go!!" I was very happy, but at the same time I wasn’t quite prepared for it to be all over so suddenly.
Crossing the finish line, we were greeted by a sea of friendly faces, our support crew and fellow team members, feeling both elated and relieved. Thanks to the great generosity of our sponsors and the support of the changedrivers Managing Directors, the team raised $4,260.
To date, the 2007 Sydney to Wollongong charity cycle has raised over one million dollars for Multiple Sclerosis.