Tour de Jamberoo 2005

Dear Fellow Cyclists,

SBS lost a great friend following the passing of Johnny Warren on November 6, 2004. As a tribute to an Australian sporting icon and the warm welcome he gave the cyclists who completed the inaugural ride from Sydney to Jamberoo in November of 2003, the decision was made to start a cycling tradition in Johnny's honour. After much consideration, the social ride scheduled for Sunday, November 21 went ahead as planned.
In 2004, it was re-named The Johnny Warren Jamberoo Classic with the view to raising funds for Cancer Research so the invitation is open for all cyclists to join us for the trek to Johnny's hometown on the NSW south coast. Highlights of the ride will be screened on SBS' Cycling Central – more importantly, it's the memory of Johnny Warren that will hold pride and place.

Michael Tomalaris
SBS Television

The 3rd Johnny Warren Jamberoo Classic for Cancer will be held on Sunday, December 18, 2005. (see SBS story here..............

Click here for a pictorial glimpse back to the inaugural 2003 "Tour de Jamberoo"

The ride is open to all cyclists experienced in riding in a bunch. We hope to get as many of Randwick Botany members that we can and hopefully we will have many of the newly formed FRF COURIERS-CARAVELLO Continental team.

Many of us who live in the Eastern Suburbs will be meeting at 6am at the Randwick gates of Centennial Park and then proceeding to Sutherland for the 7.30am official start of the Jamberoo Valley Cycle Classic. Wear your Club kit as Mike Tomalaris has once again arranged for this classic event to be filmed and telecast on "Cycling Central" This year we don't want to see anyone trying to out do Andy Matthews's infamous, "collide and summersault in the back of the camera car at 60kph", trick.

The Peloton will be leaving Waratah Park in Sutherland and continuing through the Royal National Park and along the NSW south coast crossing the newly-constructed bridge at Coalcliff and on to Wollongong and Albion Park before reaching Jamberoo.

It's a total distance of 110 kilometres leaving at 7.30am.

We're trying to persuade celebrity cyclists of all walks of sporting life to join in on the social event.

And of course we're going to shoot it for an edition of CYCLING CENTRAL so come along and join in on the fun.

The Tour Director has decided to stick to the same course (Click here for course details). We may be fortunate to again have a Sag Wagon (courtesy of Frank Fortuna and the FRF Couriers Team) and a camera car from SBS (to transport Mike to the finish line).

The official start is at Waratah Park Sutherland. From the start to Jamberoo finish is 110kms... plus whatever kms you cover getting to the start. There are a myriad of options to transport yourself and your bike to Sutherland – pedal, drive or catch a train. Your choice, just be there on time! If we get away at 7.30 am... should be at Jamberoo by 12.30 pm. Our hosts at the Jamberoo Pub will put on a bus & trailer to transport bodies and bikes back to the Albion Park railway station. Alternatively, make it a family day. A few of the riders are having their Wives, family, girlfriends, boyfriends (whatever) drive down to the Jamberoo Pub to enjoy a lovely lunch in the beautiful gardens out the back whilst the kookaburras laugh at us from the trees above. Having been suitably re-hydrated, carbo-loaded, fed & rested, most of us will then throw the bikes in/on the vehicles and enjoy a pleasant DRIVE home. For those die-hards who just have to do 200km or else die, they can turn around and ride home...your choice.

Remember this is a fun ride, but expect the size to be a little larger than last year's peloton of 30 especially given that this year Tommo has advertised it on Cycling Central.

Once again the official charity for the The Johnny Warren Jamberoo Classic - is the Sydney Cancer Foundation. As some may know, Johnny Warren was a patron of the Foundation and the link to Jamberoo, where he was the unofficial King of the Valley. We will expect a donation of $10 per rider which will amount to an appropriate donation to the Sydney Cancer Foundation.

Get those cranks turning on your training rides.

Good luck