Mass Pasta

York Lane bar is again offering a mass pasta meal before the ride. Picture big long trestle tables, your bike propped against the wall inside, elbow to elbow with other riders. The deal is $12 a head for a vegetarian pasta meal. It’s a great chance to meet other riders and to fuel up for the ride ahead.

Before committing to the dinner we need to get a minimum level of interest, are there 2o riders who are keen for a pre meal? If so please email us before Friday (31/10) at.

Newcastleovernight@gmail.com

Registrations are still flooding in, over 100 now !

Things to Reflect on (or with)

So the entries are flooding in, over 75 already and there are still 3 weeks to go !

We have amassed a small collection of rear reflectors, complete with a variety of mounting brackets, so if you’re missing one don’t despair.

If you’re worried that it’s just too far then the addition of a reflector won’t change that, but there are some options to bail out that you might reflect upon:

172km is a long way to ride, it’s by no means impossible but bikes (and spirits) can break. Bikes can be repaired and if you can’t fix it hopefully someone who can will stop and help. Bodies can also conk out, but respond well to rest, food drink and companionship. If it’s really a lost cause there are a few bail out options along the way. As far as the Hawksebury River (50km) the route closely follows the train line and as far as Hornsby (23km) there are regular services back to Central until midnight. Once you are past Hornsby the trains thin out a lot. The last train leaves Hawksebury River (Brooklyn) at 23:38. You would need to average 20km/hr to make it to here in time (assuming you leave at 9pm) If you make it this far you get the really great run downhill from Cowan to the river. If it looks like you might miss the train then you can catch the same train at Cowan at 23:48, or Berowra 23:54, or Mt Colah at a minute past midnight ! This train gets into Central at 12:45am.

If you make it past The Hawkesbury the next option is Gosford (76km) the only problem here is that the first train that will get you back to Sydney doesn’t leave till 3:00am.

Once you pass Gosford you leave the train line for good until Charlestown, and from Charlestown you could crawl to the finish !

There are stations between Gosford and Charlestown but the train line is a long way West of our Route, the stations can be found of course, but you will need a map, not many locals will be up and about at 3am to help.

Registrations are still open.

Registration Open

It is with a great deal of excitement that we can formally announce that registration for Newcastle Overnight 2014 is officially open.

We have endeavoured to maintain the somewhat anarchic spirit of the ride while working with an organisation which could provide insurance cover for both participants and ride organisers. We hope it doesn’t put anyone off the event (as the two blokes behind the event, we will still lose money running Newcastle Overnight, just this way neither of us will lose our house).

Thankfully, the Audax Club of Australia has been generous in incorporating the Newcastle Overnight Ride into their calendar of events. They are best know for the Audax Alpine Classic, but organise long-distance non-competitive cycling events around Australia year-round.

This does make some changes to the event format from previous years, which are listed as follows.

1. Participants are required to register pre-ride and, as in previous years, sign a waiver. There is a small fee associated with this, $6 for Cycling Australia or Audax Club Members or $16 for non-members (which includes the cost of a temporary membership).

2. Riders must satisfy a quick lighting check prior to the ride at Observatory Hill.

The lighting requirements are very basic:

(a) two independent front lights and two independent rear lights must be available for use (i.e. attached to the bicycle or carried);
(b) one of each must be fixed to the bicycle or to a secure accessory (e.g., a rack or saddle bag);
(c) at night or at times of low visibility at least one front light (of fixed beam) and one rear light must be illuminated;
(d) a rear red reflector must be permanently fixed to the bicycle; and
(e) a reflective vest (or equivalent for a rider of a recumbent) must be carried and must be worn at night or at times low visibility.

Other than above, the ride remains essentially unchanged. It is still not a race, we encourage riders of all ages and abilities and steadfastly believe that riding 180km through the night is not really such a strange thing to do.

Tea stops run by our wonderful volunteers will likely remain unchanged, one at Mt. White, one just past the Entrance.

We will likely also run another pre-dinner and drinks at York Lane but details to be confirmed.

Prizes from Omafiets Dutch Bicycles, Cheeky Transport, Treadly Bike Magazine and Metro Cycles Newcastle, to be announced this week and will no doubt be wonderful.