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Century and Half Century Ride (2012)

History of the Century Ride
From a letter from Woodbridge historian and cyclist Ken White:

With Rowan Burns as bicycle coordinator for the five Councils boarding on the Derwent I was the organizer of the first Century Ride that tied in with The Century of Federation 2001,  The Australian mint, Canberra, gave us all a metal memento of the event.  I would have to look it up but we had something like 100 to 120 riders.  In 2001 we were knocked out by this support.  We had to get more mementos.

The route I planned in 2001 was just as flat one can get in this region.  In this instance, and at that time, it was a huge commitment to ride 100ks for about 90% of those riding that day.

The route was Salamanca to Richmond then Tea Tree to past Pontville and return via Brighton and the InterCity Bike Track.

Each rider was greeted on their return and the looks on their faces was our payment.  The greeting at the end of the ride is very important and as this happened on the recent BT ride it went a long way to its success.
The memento did no come with a keyboard:-) Along the top of the memento are the words, "The links in the chain."  In many parts of Australia century celebrations were enacted – hence another link in the chain of events.


2012 Feedback: How did it go?  Any suggestions for improving the event?

Great. 
It was my first event and found it to be be very well organised. I enjoyed the experience and will certainly participate in future rides.
How do you rate the ride Overall (1 to 5)? : 4.6

The event was great.  I was sick though.
Enjoyed ride, information regarding start times not clear...

"Weather perfect, beautiful still autumn day, what could be better? 
Not having joined in on an organised ride before I enjoyed it very much. I did, however, have no idea how long it would take. Nor that there would be a water and cake stop on the way. Some indication as to time (even though I know this varies greatly) to complete the ride would be handy in the pre-ride information. I went over prepared for a much longer day in the saddle. "


This is a great ride and I really like the course. The only area for improvement I can see is perhaps the use of a lead vehicle. At the head of the 100 km ride there is usually a large group of 20-40 riders that does not thin out very much until Back Tea Tree road or going over Grass Tree Hill. If other road users were aware that this is a special BT ride, or at least an organised ride, then they might be a little more accommodating about being stuck behind a large group.

"Enjoyed the new century course,except the cambridge to Malcolms hut rd
some very impatient drivers about!!"

Good ride, however felt a bit short changed with the 50km ride being less than 50

Good to see lots of people out enjoying themselves. Well organised and great fun.

It was a great day out on the bike.  Richmond fair made the traffic pretty heavy at times but I don't know if I would want the ride route changed

Excellent. Enough signs, good course, great weather. Tough enough course for me to know I had worked hard.

"Overall it was a very good ride. Course was very good , and marshalling was good for the first 2 thirds of ride (till Grasstree hill road). Was a bit confusing on the way back through Geilston bay/Rosny point , for people not familiar with the area. Thanks for organising , very happy with the day on the whole."

I really enjoyed the ride, thank you to all those involved in organising the event.

great, my first ride, really enjoyed it, I'll be back!

Generally well organised and a beautiful day for it - only downside was the lack of signs supporting the route through Gielston Bay.  

I thought it went very well, it was fun and a good way to publisise cycling.

All good

I rode the half century ride.  The drink stop was in a good position, plenty of climbs although the distance was only 42 ks.

"Loved it.
More signs would be good.  Big ones at significant intersections were good.  Smaller and more frequent indicators (even just a balloon every few km) to reassure me on unfamiliar roads would be wonderful.  Indicators should be more frequent when there are many intersections - eg the section from East Derwent Highway to Kangraroo Bay."

our group had  a good day.   Probably the route back through geilston bay is a bit average, but it's safe so that's a bonus.  

"I had a ball, thank you.
Not being from Hobart though, I did find navigation to be problematic, and offer the following suggestions:
  1. Make a Google maps image of the route, available months in advance. The schematic that was available early on was very helpful for a non-local, and the Google map that I eventually stumbled across closer to the event, didn't show the half century route.
  2. Larger, brighter directional signs, and much more of them. High vis A3 coreflute signs are quite affordable and could be used year after year.
It would have been nice to have finished with a sausage sizzle or something similar, to wind down and meet others.

Went well, partricularly the split start, a lot of similar 50k riders at 11.00 am

"Very well, I enjoyed the opportunity to ride on roads I would normally feel apprehensive about tackling.  Having a bunch of riders made it feel safer and more collegial.
I understand it is difficult, but it would be great if Tas Police could be convinced to at least close Grasstree Hill Rd. for a few hours, it would improve the enjoyment of that section immensely!  After all they close roads for Tugga Tasmania, why not a bicycle event?"


Any ideas for future events?

More mountain biking events. There are apparently a lot of lesser known trails around (the Tip Top Trail is one I've heard of), and I'd love to know where they are!  Or just a group ride from the Domain to the North-South Track and back would be fine. 

More information provided on details of ride.

have more!

when you say 50 make it 50

Different routes in different years.  

More rides like this would be great, maybe bimonthly century and half century rides. 

It would be great to have a regular event to train for and look forward to every month or so.

In previous years there has been some after-ride refreshments provided and that's been seen as a good thing - people hang about and chat afterwards.  As it was, there was nothing at the finish so we rode back over to town and went for coffee but that limits the broader socialising

Would appreciate the opportunity for a post ride coffee, would any of the mobile vans be interested for a few hours ?

"Be good to have more of an opportunity to chat to the other cyclists off the bike. Perhaps a BBQ at the end or something along those lines?

Regatta Ground to Bidgewater down East Derwent Hwy over Bowen Bridge through Goodwood to Derwent Park Rd, Down Brooker to Risdon Road, along Queens walk to bike track, then onto RegattaGround
River Derwent Loop

Hobart to New Norfolk one side then cross and down other.

I like the sound of the ride down the channel planned for November. 

"If the same route is to be maintained, as above, suggest that the 50km event go into Richmond town so that the event actually is closer to 50km, rather than 40km.

My preference would be for a different route though, as didnt really enjoy coming back through the Clarence foreshore trail.  I understand previous events have started on Western shore, gone over the Tasman bridge, and come back along Bowen Bridge and the Bike Track, which sounds better."

Have another one  soon !

Something at the finish to keep riders about for a while perhaps so some social interaction/meeting of new riders can happen. My wife and I are keen riders but find it hard to meet likewise riders just by riding the streets. There doesn't seem to be many posts on social rides or group rides unless you are a club member ...   Participation and the get together after is most important along with meeting other riders.  We need to make sure everybody is well behaved because the public perception of riders is terrible. This needs to be remedied.

A b-b-q to finish (on a good day!) would be good - either by charging or incorporating that into the registration fee.  People rode and went - so socialising was limited to chats during the ride. 

"More options at food stops eg bannanas (they are cheap again now) Watermelon (very cheap)

Bring back the picnic boxes or bbq at the end of the ride."

Maybe a imperial century? 

"Charge $25 or $30 to cover the purchase of the electrolyte powder.
Rotary rides charge $35:00 entry. This covers entry as well as a lunch pack at the conclusion of the ride. eg. sandwich, fruit and a fruit drink.Just an idea!"

"A little better signage perhaps, especially over the section from East Derwent Highway to Kangaroo Bay - I appreciate the route was altered at the last minute and this may have been difficult to organise -so locking in the route earlier would be good!
More food at end

Where was the media to record the numbers involved?"

"Great all round day with great weather!
Though, I had no idea where I was going riding back through the Eastern Shore once off the main road. On a couple of occasions I missed the signs and had to double back. Maybe more predominant signs would of helped? "

"We enjoyed the ride and the comoradory.
Unfortunate that it clashed with the Richmond Fair, which added significant traffic to Richmond Road"

"Absolutely loved it.  Must say I was a little hestitant about participating in this event as I'm not an experienced rider.  However, after completing the Half Century Ride an eager to do more.  I felt safe and gained alot of confidence.

Well done on the organisation side - fantastic effort."

I would suggest giving out numbers to riders that have paid to enter the event. Some riders rode in the event without paying any fees. I am of the beloef that some of the entry fee goed to charity or helping out Cycling South. It doesn't seem fair that some do not pay. Numbers would help this. They only have to be pinned to rear of jerseys. Make the start and finish a bit more official - for some, riding this distance is a big mile stone. Organise an official person to start the event for you.

The weather was great which certainly makes it more enjoyable - not that you have any control over that. I think it is probabaly quite a challenging ride which deter a few people. The traffic along Richmond Road was a concern. I think perhaps more warning signs as to our presence would be good. At the time I rode out there was a large tractor also holding up the traffic. 

"My first group ride and I did enjoy it.  
Main negative was the 50k event wasnt really 50km, but more like just over 40km (41.5km by my bike computer).  The easy solution would seem to have been to extend the 50km event into Richmond town and back out - imagine that would have got it close to 50km +/- 2km or so. Signage for turns after the Derwent Ave turn off would have been useful, as the route gets a bit more confusing at that point."

It went very well, but the route could be extended to nearer 50kms by continuing along Richmond Rd to Grasstree Hill Rd.
  1. Have the council atleast fill the road works, the bit at the bottom of Grasstree could have been dangerous had a big bunch arrived on it without seing it.
  2. Have a drinks pit at Richmond as well.
  3. Charge a bit more and put on a BBQ or simular at the end. "
was disappointed the half century was only a touch over 40km.  otherwise, excellent

" Being my first event ride I really enjoyed it. Right from the comprehensive briefing,  (e.g.signs were out, bike stands at the ""watering holes"", even fruit cake). Whilst the day was organised very professionally it made for and was a fun filled and relaxing time.

What a great day!  Thank you to staff  Bicycle Tasmania, and   to all assisted making it a great day. I look forward to becoming a member of Bicycle Tasmania."

"More on course marshals. Larger signage.
A ""finish"" line, rather than just rolling into the car park.
Rehydration at the finish, some sort of cold drink and a little bag of energy, nothing major...but something to fuel the ride home, back across the bridge again. Maybe this was there, but was all gone by the time I finished....
Last minute route changes are problematic, but easily solved by suggestion 1.
An enjoyable route, for the century. Very friendly staff at drinks station."

"I really enjoyed the ride.
Change of course particulary along Eastern shore from Lindisfarne was a bit confusing. Maybe updated course changes could be put on the web site a day or two before the event.The ride  coincided with an event at Richmond which meant a lot of traffic. Maybe dates could be checked so there wasn't an obvious clash."

"My first century ride.  Very good experience overall, the BT volunteers were great and there was an overall friendly atmosphere.
My suggestions for improving the event relate to:
  • A personal preference for going around the Tea Tree loop in the other direction so the climbs are generally more gradual, but longer
  • Finding the direction markers a little indistinct at times
  • Additional route markers from Lindisfarne to the finish would have been very helpful.  We eventually found we needed to improvise to get back to the finish
  • I'm unclear why the direction of the Seven Mile section was reversed, this resulted in riders needing to negotiate the majority of the busy airport roundabout
  • It would be nice if BT could ask local councils to sweep the road shoulders of the course, would encourage bikes to get out of the lanes where possible"
"I did the half century ride. It was a good ride, although I would have liked it to have actually been 50km! I reckon that going from the drink station out to Richmond and back again would just about bring it up to 50km. 
The last bit along the foreshore probably needed more signage; luckily I was following someone who knew where they were going, but I reckon I woudl have struggled to find the way myself."

Great ride Thanks

"A couple of incidents. First was up Tunnel hill with a 4 wheel drive being too eager to pass and too close to riders, with one rider a bit agressive by thumping the side of the vehicle , I think this was uncalled for.  With the new starting place riders did not have time to disperse and the amount of riders bunched up did not auger well for much passing manouvers for cars at all up Tunnel Hill.
I was almost cleaned up at the intersection of EDH and the Risdon Vale on ramp coming downhill to Geilston Bay. Driver didn,t look and came out almost beside me. She got an abusive shout from me then proceede to pull over and abuse me back.  Beware bike rider sign at these major intersection maybe? "

Excellent - couldn't have ordered a better day for it!  Perhaps slightly larger road signs?

"weather was fantastic, the route was good. Found the foodstops a little lacking, thankfully I had packed my own bananas, as I don't eat fruitcake and a couple of lollies were not enough to get me through 100kms.
Finishing was a real let down, last year picnic boxes were on offer and everyone stayed around socialising. This year I arrived back to...nothing, there was not even any water to be had at the finish. Surely you could set up a bbq at the finish to top off a great morning riding. 2 weeks previous we did the Amy Gillet ride in horrid wearther but the atmosphere at the end of the ride was fantastic, there was a bbq, prizes and everyone stayed around cheering riders as they completed the rides."

unable to attend due to health issue very disappointed!! looking forward to next year thank you for organising these rides

"Ride went well thanks.

Bananas at the food stop would be good.

Some real food at the end would be good. eg Salad roles, apples, milk or fruit drink to aid recovery. After all,t was lunch time when most people finished the century ride.  "

It went well, good orginisation given small number of volunteers (that were visible).  Not a fan of the Tasman bridge so happy that route was entirely eastern shore.

"An enjoyable but hard ride, compounded by the fact that I tried to keep with the fast blokes. I was thankful for the respite at the start of grass tree hill.  Perhaps some electrolyte powder eg. staminade to mix with water in the drink bottles would be most beneficial, in preventing cramps over the 100kms distance.
 "

Make sure road authorities know event is on to try and avoid unsealed dig-outs along the route (ie, Grass Tree Hill Road)

"Great - I was impressed with my ride.
The route etc was better this year - without the bridge crossing whihc with a group - unless closed off by police can be a bit choatic and dnagerous.

I would have appreciated a sandwich or fruit at end of ride - I think previous years more food was provided"

Great! It's a lovely ride and very well-organised thanks. Bigger signs at the traffic lights on the East Derwent Hwy would be good. I liked the new route better than the previous one.