Wagga Wagga Zoo 2 Dubbo Western Plains Zoo
Thursday 16^th October 2008 – A group of people from Dubbo hired a small bus and trailer and left for Wagga at approx 9.00am.  On board were John, Terry, and Paul O'Brien, Kathy Furney, Vic Slavensky, Carl Young, Agnes Verstegen, Mark and Lou Rotunno, and Andrew Kearins.  We travelled via Ardlethan to pick up Monica Spora, who drove the bus back from Wagga to Dubbo.

We got to our Motel at Wagga, and after checking in, everyone proceeded to put their bikes together and make sure everything was in working order. That done we all went to look at the local bike shops, and then to the supermarket to make sure we had enough provisions for the next three days.  Back to the motel for a shower and tidy up before we went up to the Farmers Home Hotel for drinks and Dinner.  We met Sean O'Hara the publican, who was one of the riders in last years Zoo2Zoo from Sydney.  We also met up with Sandy McEachern, Ian Robinson, Peter Flinn, Dave Chalmers, Lisa Weekes and Peter McGee at the pub.  Everyone went home early to rest up for the next day.

Day 1:   Friday 17^th October 2008 - Wagga Wagga to Young

All those taking part in the Wagga Wagga option of the Zoo2Zoo met at the Wagga Zoo at approx 5.30am, when it was still dark and quite cold.  We didn't all know each other, and it was hard to do introductions in the dark, but I think we managed.  I figured we will get to know each other on the ride.  We had arranged to split the day's ride into 5 different sections, with stops in between.  This gave us an opportunity to regroup, have something to eat, and top up the water bottles.

The riders on this option were, John, Terry, and Paul O'Brien, Kathy Furney, Vic Slavensky, Carl Young, Agnes Verstegen, Mark and Lou Rotunno, Stuart Lobsey, Andrew Kearins, David Chalmers, Peter Flinn, Ian Robinson, Sandy McEacham and Peter McGee.  Our support crew was Monica Spora driving the small bus, Lisa Weekes driving her car and Diane Sharky driving her car.  We took the obligatory photos in front of the Zoo gates and all departed promptly at 6.00am.

All riders and support crew were given a copy of the route description in case we became separated.  Once we left the zoo the road becomes very hilly, and so some of the slower riders were left behind in the first kilometre.  This was OK except the faster riders took a route different to that on the ride description.  The slower bunch got to the outskirts of town thinking that the others sure took off, but in actual fact they were behind them.  After a small stop and regroup, we rode together to our first official stop at Junee for morning coffee.  Kathy had the honour of getting the first puncture on the ride, after a piece of wire pierced her tube.  At Junee we all read and signed Peter McGee's excellent Risk assessment, had a great coffee and proceeded on to our next stop at Bethungra.  At Bethungra, Kathy was able to contact the ABC radio at the same time as Andrew McKay, and report our progress so far.  It was an excellent day with little or no wind, and we were all having a terrific ride.

Our scheduled lunch stop was at Cootamundra, where we all found a café or bakery and refuelled.  After the climb into Cootamundra,  we all appreciated the one hour rest.  From Cootamundra we had an undulating 20k section to Wallendbeen, where we had a 15 min break.  The last 28km section into Young was an undulating scenic ride with lots of shady trees. 

We all found the Cherry Blossom Motel OK, and most people took the opportunity to have a well earned nap, while others took advantage of the motel pool.  We booked into a popular Italian Restaurant for dinner, and everyone ate together.  There was plenty of food and wine, but another early night for most.

Total Distance today was 144k's

Day 2:   Young to Molong

Everyone got up nice and early for our scheduled 6.00am departure.  Today was again broken down to five sections, with everyone regrouping and refuelling at the designated stops.

It was an extremely cold morning with a slight frost on the ground.   There was a long and slow hill out of town, so it gave everyone a chance to warm up a little.  However when we got to go downhill our hands started to freeze up, except the few people who had the foresight to bring some full fingered gloves.  By the time we reached our first scheduled stop of Koorawatha, the home town of Richie Benaud, we had all warmed up.  A slight communication breakdown saw two different groups at two different spots.  However we all soon re-grouped and headed for Cowra - our scheduled morning tea stop.  There was lots of excitement amongst a few riders as the Golden Arches of McDonalds loomed into view, while the rest of us headed for the Rose Garden Café.

Leaving Cowra we had a long climb towards Canowindra, and plenty of undulations after that.  The view on the way out of Cowra would have to be one of the best in NSW, and the countryside was looking a good as it gets – fantastic.  It was even more fantastic when we arrived at Canowindra and Peter McGee's Mum was and sister were waiting in the park with a beautiful feast for our lunch.  Fresh ham, chicken, salads, fresh bread rolls, fruit and cakes.  With plenty of soft drinks to wash it all down. Talk about carbo loading!!

The next section to Cudal was probably the toughest section, with lots of hills and a distance of 36kms.  Good thing we all had the nice big lunch!  We had another rest and drinks at Cudal before the final push into Molong.  This section was 29kms, with about 10kms uphill.  The whole riding group was well and truly split up by the time we arrived at Molong.  Our accommodation was split up between the Motel and the Villa Ash B&B across the road. 

Total distance for the day 168k's. 

This wasn't far enough for Paul and Mark, who decided to ride on towards Orange and meet up with Andrew and the Sydney team.  They had both done 210k's at the end of the day.

Another surprise today was an invitation to have our Dinner at the local RSL Club, which was all paid for by the manager of Manildra Flour Mills. This is one night Terry would prefer to forget, after he ran into a closed sliding door that unfortuntely had no safety markings - a good gash on his forehead and nose prevailed.

We got to meet most of the riders who were doing the Sydney option at the RSL club.  Andrew gave a short speech, thanking John Campbell and John Chilcott from Manildra Flour Mills and also Steven Foster for designing our great ride outfit.  Another early night for most of us.

Day 3: Molong to Dubbo

We got to sleep in this morning, as the scheduled start wasn't until 7.00am.  The ride today was broken up into five sections, with short scheduled stops at Cumnock and Yeoval, before we all re-grouped at Little River Bridge for the "King of the Mountain" sprint.  Most of the 32 riders stopped for the break at Cumnock, as we waited for the late comers, with Andrew Kearins wondering why they had hung a perfectly good bike up in a tree in the main Street.  Finally the late bunch came into town, only to give yell and keep going on.  Everyone then mounted up and gave chase.  This caused more splitting up of the group, but we all finally arrived at Yeoval for a short coffee break.

When we got to Little River most people kept going to the top of the hill to get a good view of the King of the Mountain sprint.   About a dozen people decided to try their luck, with Anthony Lloyd Jones just beating Mark Rotunno by the smallest margin.  Another short break to recover,  and we were all on our way to Wambangalang for morning tea.  Maureen McKay and her sister Rose Marie Perry had prepared a wonderful feast of fruit and cakes with tea and coffee to wash it all down.  We also had a bunch of about 20 bike riders from Dubbo waiting for us at Wambangalang.

Remembering that a group of people, including the Mayor of Dubbo, Greg Matthews, would be waiting for us at the Zoo at 1.30pm, most of us headed off on schedule at 12.00pm.  We then re-grouped at Morris Park Speedway so that we could all ride as a group into the zoo.

We finally got to the zoo, and rode around the entire circuit of the zoo before going on a special tour of the Tassie Devil breeding enclosure.  This area is not normally open to the public, but we all got a special tour from the local keepers, as we rode to raise money for the breeding program.

All the riders then went to the picnic area for a Dubbo council provided BBQ.  The Mayor thanked all the riders for their efforts and presented them certificates of appreciation.

The riders and family who were staying in Dubbo for the night, met up at the West Dubbo Bowling Club for Dinner.   Peter McGee held the compulsory "Kangaroo Court", with people being fined for being too fast or too slow, wearing cycling shoes or not wearing cycling shoes, having a beard or not and so on.  A great night,  and a great ride.  All ready looking forward to 2009.

Sydney's Tarongs Zoo 2 Dubbo Western Plains Zoo

Thursday 16^th October 2008 – The traditional pre-Zoo2Zoo dinner occured at the Buena Vista Hotel in Mosman. It was an opportunity to put faces to names and hand out the excellent Zoo2Zoo riding shirts designed by Steve Foster. During the evening, you got the feeling it was going to be a great weekend.

Day 1: Friday 17^th October 2008 - Sydney to Mount Victoria

After a few photos at about 5.30am and some last minute checks, we were off. At this time of the morning, the traffic is quite good and we made good pace over the first 50km, where we had a regroup at the Light Horse interchange. After a 20 minute stop, we continued onto Glenbrook, where Andrew McKay, ABC radio and Kathy Furney from the Wagga ride, had a 3 way conversation. It was excellent to hear the Wagga ride was going well.

After refueling at Glenbrook, we continued to Wentworth Falls, where lunch awaited. The ride was getting progressively harder, with constant gradients and warm weather taking its' toll. Apparently it was work committments that meant Greg Burke had to leave us and head back to Mudgee. From then on he was referred to as "Zoo2WentworthFalls", but has promised he will make to at least Leura in 2009.

Andrew McKay then had a radio interview with John Morrison on ABC Statewide at 2.30pm, which provided great coverage for the ride.

After lunch we progressed to Mount Victoria and called it a day. As we were quite hydrated, the call went out for "First Beer in Gear", which everyone adhered to. After a few drinks and a shower, we had a team dinner. The highlight was Cameron Whiteside's wife Donna, and sons Jock and Henry joining us, who had driven over from Mudgee to see their Dad. They asked if they could ride the last 10km with us on Sunday, which we said was great, as long as they were wearing a Zoo2Zoo riding shirt. We then presented them with one each, which they still use around Mudgee.

The riders on this option were, Elise Aldworth, Andrew McKay, Andrew Back, Phil Godbee, Paul Stanley, Cameron Whiteside, Nathan Whiteside, Greg Levey, Greg Burke, Andrew Ellis, Jim Scollon, Anthony Lloyd-Jones, Grant Hittmann, Brett Medland, Steve Foster, Wayne Leathem and Ken Ooi. Our support crew was Patrick Crick, Janet Nagly, Andrew Whiteside, Joe Ortenzi and Amanda Clegg.

Total Distance today was 135kms

Day 2: Mount Victoria to Molong

A 7am start faced the riders and support crew. It was a brisk morning, which meant going down Victoria Pass was quite chilly. We had a brief stop at Mount Lambie, then continued on to Bathurst, where morning tea awaited. It was decided to have lunch at the top of "Rock Creek Hill", which is a hill, just outside Bathurst that goes for the best part of 10km and passes "Rock Creek" no less than 5 times! Anyway, we all make it and had an excellent 45min break.

The ride into Orange was very pleasant, and after a quick break, we continued to Molong, where we met up the Wagga riders. 

Total distance for the day 175kms. 

Day 3:   Molong to Dubbo

We got to sleep in this morning, as the scheduled start wasn't until 7.00am.  The ride today was broken up into five sections, with short scheduled stops at Cumnock and Yeoval, before we all re-grouped at Little River Bridge for the "King of the Mountain" sprint.  Most of the 32 riders stopped for the break at Cumnock, as we waited for the late comers, with Andrew Kearins wondering why they had hung a perfectly good bike up in a tree in the main Street.  Finally the late bunch came into town, only to give yell and keep going on.  Everyone then mounted up and gave chase.  This caused more splitting up of the group, but we all finally arrived at Yeoval for a short coffee break.

When we got to Little River most people kept going to the top of the hill to get a good view of the King of the Mountain sprint.   About a dozen people decided to try their luck, with Anthony Lloyd Jones just beating Mark Rotunno by the smallest margin.  Another short break to recover,  and we were all on our way to Wambangalang for morning tea.  Maureen McKay and her sister Rose Marie Perry had prepared a wonderful feast of fruit and cakes with tea and coffee to wash it all down.  We also had a bunch of about 20 bike riders from Dubbo waiting for us at Wambangalang.

Remembering that a group of people, including the Mayor of Dubbo, Greg Matthews, would be waiting for us at the Zoo at 1.30pm, most of us headed off on schedule at 12.00pm.  We then re-grouped at Morris Park Speedway so that we could all ride as a group into the zoo.

We finally got to the zoo, and rode around the entire circuit of the zoo before going on a special tour of the Tassie Devil breeding enclosure.  This area is not normally open to the public, but we all got a special tour from the local keepers, as we rode to raise money for the breeding program.

All the riders then went to the picnic area for a Dubbo council provided BBQ.  The Mayor thanked all the riders for their efforts and presented them certificates of appreciation.

The riders and family who were staying in Dubbo for the night, met up at the West Dubbo Bowling Club for Dinner.   Peter McGee held the compulsory "Kangaroo Court", with people being fined for being too fast or too slow, wearing cycling shoes or not wearing cycling shoes, having a beard or not and so on.  A great night,  and a great ride.  All ready looking forward to 2009.