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Taking the long route to the coffee shop

The South Bank 11 rides again

If you use Roman numerals, it sounds like a cricket team: the South Bank XI.

If you spell it out, it might be a caper movie, with special effects & explosions & George Clooney & Brad Pitt: South Bank’s Eleven.

To the ears of some it has the ring of a group of accused persons (the Bali nine, the Guildford four): the South Bank 11.

So while it must be fairly obvious which of us would be played by Clooney when they make the movie, nonetheless I must insist that there were no Hollywood-style stars on this ride. It was a team effort, and the team consisted of 11 riders and 4 support crew.

The riders, in no particular order: Peter Ferguson, Peter Sullivan, Mick Goldspink, Sally Johannesen, Ernie Tye, Rob Wilson, Dean Winchester, Andrew Demack, Tim Slack, Noel Ashford and Bruce Lanham.

The crew: Jane Clarke, Barbara Miller, David Clarke and Les Hewett.

And the challenge: the 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif. 225 km, 3800 metres of vertical ascent, one day’s riding.

We assembled at the Winchester residence on Friday morning, and loaded up my Mitsubishi Starwagon with five bikes on the roof and three on the rear rack, and a hired Budget 12-seat Toyota, with five more bikes in Dean’s newly modified trailer. Bags were jammed into the corners of the vehicles, with wheels and toolkits and track pumps and eskies threatening to overwhelm the passengers.

The trip to Grafton was friendly but uneventful, punctuated only by a Subway stop at South Tweed. And with only minor geographical embarrassment we found Grafton City Cycles and got registered by 6pm. Back to the Espana Motel at South Grafton to reassemble the bikes.

The Espana, as its name suggests, affects a mock-Spanish style of ‘architecture’, complete with arches over the entrance. The Mitsi, with Dean’s home-made self-designed six-bike roof rack bringing the height up to somewhere north of 3.5 metres, didn’t fit under the arches. No problem, just get the bikes off the roof and park the bus out in the street.

I had prepped the Espana Motel staff on our dinner requirements, as they had offered a $20 all-you-can-eat buffet. And they did not disappoint, with a multitude of different pasta and rice dishes. No one left the dining room hungry, although some managed to disappear up the road and return with Magnum icrecreams.

So the crew settled in for the night, making lunches, filling water bottles with secret concoctions, fiddling with temperamental bike computers, and test-riding around the Espana forecourt.

Everyone was present and ready to roll out next morning at 6.15, and we got to the start line in plenty of time for the advertised 6.30 am start.

The mist settled low on the Clarence River, and as the ride started around 6.45am, conditions were still. The South Bank 11 began the cruise towards their date with the Gibraltar Range.

But there are plenty of lumps and bumps before you get to the big climb at 78km. It soon became apparent that Bruce wouldn’t be able to ride at the same pace as the rest of the pack, so he urged us to continue, and he would go at his own speed. So we did.

For the rest of the ride, then, it was the South Bank 10, and the lone wolf. Not that the bunch was all at the same level, but we were able to keep it together for most of the day.

A quick stop for water upload / download just past Jackadgery at Mann River, and the bunch was back on the road. Bruce had snuck past us while we waited for Sully to do what he had to do, so the group was all together as we stopped for road works beside the Mann River.

We got the green light and rode through a section where works were in place to shore up a section of cliff face. Large signs told us DON’T STOP FALLING ROCKS. Consensus in the group was that we had no intention of trying to stop falling rocks, and that to do so, either while cycling or driving a car, would be madness. But the NSW RTA has to cater for all types, I suppose.

The Mann River went one way and the Gwydir Highway went another, and we pointed ourselves towards the Gibraltar Range. Our support vehicles were there at the water stop at the foot of the climb. Conditions were still ideal, about 23/24 degrees as we started on 18km of 7% average gradient.

The climb consists of three long traverses, so it takes a while between switchbacks. The group spread out across the hill with everyone searching for their climbing cadence. From my position in the middle of proceedings, Fergie and Dean and later Mick disappeared up the road ahead of me. Ernie and I rode a similar pace, and just behind us were Sally and Rob and then Tim and Noel. Somewhere a bit further back was Sully, riding with the Beauey boys. And somewhere back there, I wasn’t quite sure where, was my mate Bruce.

Heffron Lookout is about two-thirds of the way up the climb, and once again our support crews were there to greet us. A quick comfort stop and off we went again. Although I wasn’t there to see it, I’m told that Mick Goldspink took our group’s KOM, with Peter Ferguson crossing the summit in second place, and Dean Winchester third.

Just over the summit at a convenient roadside rest stop, we re-grouped, and chatted with the Beauey boys, and Les took some photos, and someone pulled Sully’s bike apart, for reasons that I didn’t enquire into. After a break of 20 minutes or so, all members of the South Bank 11 were once again present. The relief at having met and conquered the Gibraltar Range was very real. I’m sure that most of us at that point were confident of doing the rest of the ride.

We set off again for the next landmark, Mt Mitchell, site of a prison farm. The word from the back of the bunch was that Bruce was suffering cramps, and although it may seem heartless, once again we left him to go at his own pace.

Various team members were doing it tough at this stage, with both Noel and Peter Sullivan going through bad patches. And the wind was getting up, and it was a westerly.

So we agreed to take it steady, keep the bunch together, and just work our way towards Glen Innes, some 60km away. The next three hours passed ever so slowly, as we ground our way along the road and into the wind. “Keep it steady on the front!” was a cry heard more than once from the back of the bunch.

As we passed distance markers, we counted down to Glen Innes. A couple of times I felt I had to point out to my friends that there was still more than 65km on the other side of Glen Innes, but the bunch was focussed on just getting to the next stop.

The hills on that section of road are gentle, but seem to go on for kilometres. The Gwydir Highway climbs to its highest point of 1190m above sea level about 20km out from Glen Innes.

Eventually, around 3pm we rolled down the hill into Glen Innes. Ernie’s sister Cheryl and brother-in-law Steve who live nearby, were there to greet us. They had prepared beautiful sandwiches, and had comfortable chairs set up in the park beside the little creek which runs through the town. With a corned beef, cheese and tomato sandwich in one hand and a ice-cold Gatorade in the other, Glen Innes seemed like a good place to stay. At least for the night, and perhaps for the rest of 2009.

While we were relaxing, Bruce rolled in, and moments later the Beauey boys were there too. Bruce had battled the headwinds solo the whole way, but was still making remarkable time.

Despite the offer of cartons of beer/Magnums from the Beaudesert crew if we stayed to give them a windbreak, the South Bank 10 got back into the saddle for the last 67km to the finish.

Just like 2008, the wind dropped away and turned back to a south-easter. But there are still some testing climbs, and the Waterloo Range saw the group splinter. Just over the top I called for a re-group stop, but the entrance to the rest area was a tight corner, and had loose gravel. The first couple of riders negotiated it sucessfully, but Ernie came in at speed, tried to hold the bike straight as he braked, and stacked it quite spectacularly into a ditch, while still clipped in. Fortunately both Ernie and his celeste Cannondale were undamaged and able to continue, suffering mostly from the taunts of his team-mates.

All together again, the boys in the group bombed down the descent, while Sally sat up and took a more stately path. The descent seemed to inspire some, and refresh the legs a bit, because soon the bunch was hammering along in the mid-30s. Inevitably a split occurred with about 40km to go, and Dean and Mick and Rob were off the front. Most of us were far too sensible to chase them.

On the next long hill, we in the remnant peloton could see the breakaway three become two, as Rob was dropped. But the main group was going steady as well, so we never caught Rob.

The Gwydir Highway loses around 500 metres of elevation in the 67km from Glen Innes to Inverell, and with headwind no longer a factor, it was a beautiful ride, despite most of us suffering greatly from fatigue.

With 20km to go, the peloton reached Wire Gully. The climb out of Wire Gully is the last KOM sprint in the G2I race, and often proves decisive. Well for the remnant of the South Bank 11, it was almost the last straw. That’s where we lost Ernie and Noel.

Fergie and Sally and Tim and I rolled along, hoping for the bunch to reform. Sully rejoined us after a km or two. And finally Noel got back on as well, but only a few km later he made the mistake of getting to the front of the bunch. Almost straight away he sat up, and let us go.

I knew from previous years that the last five km into Inverell were all down hill, so I made sure that everyone knew to look for the 5km to go marker. It was about 5.45pm when that came into view, and the bunch rolled triumphantly through the outskirts of town, patting ourselves on the back and congratulating each other.

Into Inverell’s town centre and we followed the big red arrow to the Inverell Swimming Pool where we (Tim, Andrew, Peter F, Peter S and Sally) crossed the line. Surprisingly for us, we beat Rob home, as he didn’t see the signage. After touring Inverell he arrived five minutes later. Dean and Mick were already there, relaxing.

After a short delay, Noel and then Ernie rolled across the line.

Members of the bunch began retrieving gear from the support vehicle, wallowing in the pool, sucking down cans of cold beverages, having showers, getting presentable, congratulating each other some more, thanking our fabulous support team. All the while we kept an eye on the finish gate, waiting for Bruce.

And suddenly there he was. Of the 225km, I think he probably rode 200 of it on his own. Regardless of his protests, that’s a mighty effort.

It was a mighty effort from all concerned, and I was proud to be part of the South Bank bunch’s assault on the Grafton to Inverell.

The rest of the weekend was fun, and social. We enjoyed the BBQ and presentation at the pool. Several team members won cash in the lucky number draw. We sat around shooting the breeze and reliving the ride at our motel. And the next day, we got up, loaded the bikes and bags again, and drove back to a very warm Sunshine State.

But the dominant memories from the weekend will involve the view from the saddle. Every one of the South Bank 11 will have their own story to tell and their own perspective on the event. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and with the experience of the previous year under my belt, was able to cope with the physical demands of the event much better.

I have the feeling that if I do Grafton-Inverell again, I will be more worried about the headwinds than the climb. But it’s all pretty tough, from the start at Grafton, through the lumpy bits to the base of the climb. Things only start to get easier at Glen Innes once you already have 160km under your wheels, and by then it might be too late!

The training rides we did stood us in good stead. I would encourage any one from the South Bank bunch who wants to give it a go in subsequent years. The Inverell Cycle ‘n Tri Club are the organisers of the event, and they are keen to see it grow. They loved having a good-sized team in the event, and would cheerfully welcome us back with 20 or 30 riders!

Thanks again to our support crew Jane and Barbara and Dave and Les, whose photos from the event give such a great insight into what went on.

See also:

• Les Hewett’s G2I 2009 photo set on Flickr
• Photos Jane & Barbara took, on my camera
• Bruce’s reflections on his ride (on the South Bank Bunch Google Group site).
• The Grafton to Inverell web site, run by Inverell Cycle ‘n Tri Club.
• Event results, from Cycling NSW.

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