16 Nov 24
- I was a first timer for the Newcastle Overnight. I had ridden longer rides, climbed bigger hills and had even done the ride in the opposite direction, but all of those had been in the daylight. My evening started with pasta at York Lane, thanks Dieter for a great meal. Observatory Hill is close by so a quick ride along the cycle paths for the brief and the grand departure. Wonderful view of the Harbour Bridge from there as well. Off across the bridge and down the stairs, a couple of streets and then onto the Pacific Highway. By the time you get to Hornsby, the pack has thinned out. From there it’s up and over the top to the first big descent down to the Hawkesbury. I do recommend a helmet mounted light in addition to a bar mounted one. Makes it easier to see around the corners at speed.
- Then it’s back up again before stopping for coffee and snacks at Mt White. Big thanks to the team for providing the caffeine hit. Next big downhill was into Mooney Mooney and up again towards Gosford. The drop into Gosford was the steepest and I was lucky enough to catch a green light at the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. From Gosford on, it was smaller ups and downs while battling the incessant headwind that just wouldn’t go away. It was funny the number of people you kept seeing on the way, they usually would pass me on the uphill and I would pass them on the next downhill until the next uphill etc. Overall, lots of fun and looking forward to the next one.