Cloudride and Tinderry Trail Angels
CLOUDRIDE UPDATE
PROLOGUE 500 Starts: Saturday 7 March
With just a week to go registrations remain open and riders can still enter. Overnight Paul Brodie added his name to the start list. Paul rode his CX bike to an impressive 4th place last year under doctors orders to 'keep off the mountain bike' while his broken collarbone healed.
Also 2019 Cloudride and 2018 Prologue finisher Michael Moore has signed on ....we await news of his threatened Seychelles circumnavigation.
Once you declare a FINAL.gpx of the route it almost guarantees there will be changes …. and so it came to pass. The revised FINAL.V2 is now being prepared.
Reports from a rider out scoping the race route found the Cooma-Braidwood road closed. Chainsaws and crews in action cleaning up the road corridor. This road was re-opened a couple of weeks ago after being closed for six weeks or so. Seems it went from Snowy Shire [who reopened it on the NSW Roads Alert app] to Palerang Shire who closed it without notice to anyone and still have no notification of the closure on their website. I’m informed by the Shire it will be closed for another month.
So, the re-route will now be north along Peak View, Jerangle, Wild Cattle Flat, Rocky Pic, Main Range roads where you rejoin the race route just above Rossi. Pretty similar k’s and you win a few extra Vm.
CLOUDRIDE 1000 Starts: Friday 10 April
Still a long way to go with the 2020 race route.
The major obstacles are access across Tooma Road and Elliott Way for the crossing down to Batlow. It would be great to be able to support this little community who were close to oblivion with the fires completely surrounding the whole town and orchards. It seems they are now even more isolated.
Much of Kosciuzsco NP remains closed and there is no cross park route at this time. The simple and logical options are Happy Jacks and Long Plain, both structured hard packed mostly treeless service roads. They remain closed. Tooma Road I’m informed has trees down, rock falls and collapsed road slides and won’t reopen in 2020. Elliott Way is listed as closed until May 2021 and in a similar situation.
Assuming a cross park route opens up by Easter a possible route into Talbingo and on to Batlow may eventuate though Yellowfin and Snubba Roads are both closed for logging operations. All NSW State Forests in the Batlow/Tumut area remain closed … ‘dangerous’. Frankly riding on the Snowy Mtn H’way at Easter [to Talbingo] is a vastly more life threatening prospect than a falling tree in a State Forest.
Tindery Trail Angels
Over past years I haven’t allowed riders to register under a nom de plume but in the interests of a good cause and an opportunity to give something back to the rural communities along the byways and backroads the Cloudride passes through I’ve hatched a plan to support Tinderry Trail Angel Karen Foat who’s entered this years Prologue for a fundraising project to support her local Anembo RSF volunteer community. There are a few past years Cloudriders who might still be out there had they not stumbled upon a Trail Angel cache along the Jerangle Road in the closing hours of their ride. Karen was the that trail angel. In last years Prologue the Kelly Family on the Tinderry Road also provided a surprise water top-up and encouragement for riders and later in the full Cloudride picking up the crumpled bruised and skinned Eric Mtb after he crashed in the closing hours.
Karen’s ride buddy from last years pre Prologue course scouting ride Emma Woollaston has now also entered the Prologue and I’m allowing them to ride as a pair as the “Tinderry Trail Angels” they will be fundraising for the Anembo Rural Fire Brigade that riders will pass on the corner of the Jerangle and Tinderry Roads. This will also be a water top up opp for riders …. and maybe an early easter egg to energise the final hours of their Prologue ride.
Karen’s Story ….
This year I and fellow Tinderry local, Emma Woollaston are tackling the Cloudride Prologue and as a part of these efforts, I'd like to fund raise for the Anembo Rural Fire Brigade. We also hope to tackle the full Cloudride but that is TBC post the Prologue!
The Anembo brigade covers a huge but isolated area and so has a small membership and a small capacity to fund raise. Recently members of the brigade have put in countless hours assisting at fires at neighbouring brigade districts such as the Good Good fire and closer to home the Calabash fire. It has been a long season with members working tirelessly. A number of homes were lost in a fire in the district 10 years ago and some of the same (rebuilt) homes were once again under threat this year but were fortunately protected.
If you are interested in making a tax deductible donation, please follow the below link, select to donate to a local brigade, type in Anembo and select 'Anembo Rural Fire Brigade 2621'.
Of course, donations to the RFS more broadly are welcome and we are grateful for any contribution, but I am seeking to raise funds specifically for this small brigade where some of the cloudride trail angels and their families reside. :)
Thanks for your support
Karen
Breathtaking Events has kicked off the fundraising with a donation, including the $200 Prologue Registration Fees from Karen and Emma.
Karen has also set up a Facebook Page for the Anembo RFS