[SUBW-A] Trip Report - Mountain biking - Lindfield to Manly 2/6/02

[David Noble]

Trip Report - Mountain biking - Lindfield to Manly 2/6/02

Party - Richard Wood, Alex Debono, Dave Noble

The trip started well when we met up at 10am at Lindfield station and I 
spotted a bakery that was open. At the same time Alex noticed a tyre on 
his bike had gone flat - so he decided to change the tube over to his 
spare. A few minutes later we set off along roads down a hill to 
Lindfield Rocks climbing area. Here the singletrack began.

A few steps were negotiated and then Richard stopped to try and fix up 
his gears. His changer for his rear derailler had failed so he 
effectively only had three gears. Unfortunately, Richard was not able to 
get his gears working properly for the whole trip.

So we set off along a track that eventually led to Roseville Bridge. The 
riding was quite good along old fire trail, sewage access roads and bush 
tracks through what is now Garrigal National Park. We rode fast - but 
had time to pause and admire the luxuriant rainforest growth.

Once over Roseville bridge we continued along bush tracks that went 
towards Middle Harbour - and then went along roads for a short section 
through Killarney Heights. It was here that one of Richard's pedals fell 
off. Alex's pencil case came out again - and as it was full of tools, it 
was quite useful - but Richard's pedal was too badly jammed. While 
Richard attempted repairs we noticed a local resident who had got up to 
collect the paper and to exercise his dog by walking it across the road 
and back. He then stood in the middle of the road looking to see if the 
white line was still in the right place. We had more important things to 
do however, and we set off towards Forrestville in search of a bike 
shop. We found a small shopping centre - and it did indeed have a bike 
shop - but the owner was reluctant to try and fix ball bearings up - and 
as Richard's pedal had somehow started working again - we set off once 
more through the bush towards Wakehurst Parkway. After a detour to check 
out a girl guide hall we eventually joined up with the Manly Dam 
singletrack. This was great fun - and we continued at a great pace until 
we got to the streets of Manly. We then rode into the town centre where 
Richard was able to find another bike shop. He had now decided that 
preventative maintenance is best - so he bought a new chain.

It was the a short ride to the Ferry Terminal - and then a cruise back 
to the city.

Dave
--------------------------------------------------------
David Noble
dnoble at ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dnoble