This is an early announcement and date claimer for next year's event.  Please note Sunday 14th April for the best run cycling event in South East Queensland.  Now into its 13th year the Ipswich100 is once again offering fully supported 100mile Imperial Challenge, 100km Classic & 50km Standard rides to satisfy all tastes.  Details on facebook now & on website ( www.ipswich100.com.au ) next week . 

Am in the US mid feb til 21 march but have put it in my diary to enter when I get home - will do them both - hopefully will improve in the meantime and 5 weeks off the bike will not be the death of me - not to worry - its all good fun...

I'm looking forward to the Ipswich100 next year as I think I'll be ready to do the 100km after doing the 50km ride for the last 3 years.  Going to bump up the commuting as well to try to hit 4000km on the bikes for 2013. 

I am a newbie to road biking (riding reg over the past 3 months or so) but I am very keen on doing the Ipswich Classic 50km in mid April and then the 85km at Noosa later in April.  I currently ride 30km twice a week and a longer ride on the weekend of about 45-55km (working on a training program that gradually increases the distances each week)

I have never ridden in big group rides before so am certainly going to be on a steep learning curve.  I am going to use the Ipi 50km as a taste tester for Noosa (which I have always dreamt about entering......it used to be 100km, but this year they have dropped to a 85km shortned version). 

Has anyone ever ridden either of the above rides, if so, can you give me any tips?  Are there any massive ascents?  Or anything else I should have a heads up on?  My average speed is only about 21km/hr so I am glad they are just social events and not races, or I could be in big trouble! 

The are a series of routes to choose from starting at 100km from Landsborough, 65km from Caboolture, 25km from Redcliffe, 10km from Boondall and 2km from Chermside with all finishing at 7th Brigade Park, Chermside (Next to the Kids Space playground).  There will be rest/water points at Landsborough, Caboolture, Clontarf, North Boondall Railway Station and at the finish.  The detailed route map can be found here and a basic route map can be found here.  For those starting at Caboolture 65km and Landsborough 100km Queensland Rail are providing one free one-way chartered train to nearby starting points (starting points are next their respective stations).  Instead of driving all the way there only to go back again to pick up your car consider parking at Roma Street or Carseldine railway stations (Carseldine station is about a 10 minute ride from the finish line - I can provide videos of different routes between the two if requested) and jumping on the shuttle train provided which will run express to Caboolture and Landsborough.  The train will only be stopping at 4 stations to pick up and drop off cyclists and officials.  There will be people at the stations and on the train to assist in boarding and answer any questions.  You can board the train at Roma Street, Carseldine and Caboolture railway stations.  This train will not stop at any other stations to pick up and drop off cyclists/officials.  Its best to arrive at the station 15-20 minutes before the departure time as the train may run early and wouldn't be stopped at the stations for very long.  If you miss this free train the next service will be a regular all stations train and regular Translink fares and timetabling apply accordingly. 

For those who enter to start at the 10km mark there are trains to the starting point at North Boondall Railway station but theses are regular all stations trains on the Shorncliffe railway line and regular Translink fares and timetabling apply accordingly.  There are no free trains to the 10km starting point at North Boondall Railway station. 

The are a series of routes to choose from starting at 100km from Landsborough, 65km from Caboolture, 25km from Redcliffe, 10km from Boondall and 2km from Chermside with all finishing at 7th Brigade Park, Chermside (Next to the Kids Space playground).  There will be rest/water points at Landsborough, Caboolture, Clontarf, North Boondall Railway Station and at the finish.  The detailed route map can be found here and a basic route map can be found here.  For those starting at Caboolture 65km and Landsborough 100km Queensland Rail are providing one free one-way chartered train to nearby starting points (starting points are next their respective stations).  Instead of driving all the way there only to go back again to pick up your car consider parking at Roma Street or Carseldine railway stations (Carseldine station is about a 10 minute ride from the finish line - I can provide videos of different routes between the two if requested) and jumping on the shuttle train provided which will run express to Caboolture and Landsborough.  The train will only be stopping at 4 stations to pick up and drop off cyclists and officials.  There will be people at the stations and on the train to assist in boarding and answer any questions.  You can board the train at Roma Street, Carseldine and Caboolture railway stations.  This train will not stop at any other stations to pick up and drop off cyclists/officials.  Its best to arrive at the station 15-20 minutes before the departure time as the train may run early and wouldn't be stopped at the stations for very long.  If you miss this free train the next service will be a regular all stations train and regular Translink fares and timetabling apply accordingly. 

For those who enter to start at the 10km mark there are trains to the starting point at North Boondall Railway station but theses are regular all stations trains on the Shorncliffe railway line and regular Translink fares and timetabling apply accordingly.  There are no free trains to the 10km starting point at North Boondall Railway station. 

Website: http://www.brisbane2ipswich.com.au/Entry Prices: $55 per rider/$100 per family (2 Adults & up to 4 Children Under 16.  Children under 16 are free when accompanied by an adult).Start: Reddacliff Place, Brisbane (66km route start)/ Robelle Domain, Springfield Central (27km route start).Finish: Queens Park, Ipswich. 

There will be a track closure on the Ipswich railway line between Corinda and Roma Street.  This will affect those travelling by trains on the Ipswich and Richlands/Springfield line to the starting point and those from the finish back to Brisbane on the Ipswich line.  At the moment trains will still be operating between Ipswich station to Corinda station.  At the moment all other lines will still be operating excluding Doomben (No sunday services on the Doomben Line).  There is a possability that all Ipswich line trains will still be running Ipswich-Brisbane but with a modified stopping pattern.  It will stop all stations to Corinda and then depart as schedulled but instead of travelling Corinda, Sherwood, Chelmer, Graceville, Indooroopilly, Taringa, Toowong, Auchenflower, Milton stations and arriving Roma Street station it will divert onto the Tennyson loop onto the Beenleigh line where it will go Corinda running express past Tennyson, Yeerongpilly, Yeronga, Fairfield, Dutton Park, Park Road, South Bank, South Brisbane and then stopping at Roma Street before resuming its trip to Caboolture.  So please check the Queensland Rail and Translink websites leading up to the event to see if this will be indeed be available.  More info in the getting back section. 

There are two routes to chose from.  The main one being the ~66km Brisbane to Ipswich route starting at Reddacliff Place in the Brisbane CBD (next to the Treasury Casino) and the shorter 27km route starting from the second rest point at Robelle Domain in Springfield Central.  The detailed route map can be found on their website and last years ride can be found on Strava.  There are 3 rest points during the ride with the first at the Brisbane Lions Club (just south of Richlands Railway Station) the second at the 27km starting point at Robelle Domain and the third at the roundabout to Ripley (IIRC the roads from it don't go anywhere) along with facilities to grab some food, coffee, refill water bottles, sit down for a chat and some entertainment being provided at the finishing area at Queens Park in Ipswich.  There are no chartered trains to or from the event so normal translink timetabling and fares apply to those wishing to use public transport to and from the event.  The departing time for the event is at 6.30am on a Sunday in which case some trains might not arrive there before the event starts ie Gold Coast trains so please check Translink to see if your closest train station has a service to get you there on time.  For people using Beenleigh/Gold Coast/Cleveland line trains the closest train station to the Brisbane starting point is South Brisbane station.  For those on Caboolture, Ipswich and Richlands (there is a track closure on this weekend between Roma Street - Corinda so another route has to be sourced by those), Ferny Grove and Shorncliffe line trains the closest station is Central or Roma Street - Roma Street is close but street layout to get there isn't the best so its up to the rider to decide what station they'd like to use. 

As I said earlier there is entertainment, food, drinks, toilets, coffee vendors etc etc etc at the finish.  There are two nearby train stations being Ipswich and East Ipswich being the closest.  Despite East Ipswich station being closer I'd recommend using Ipswich station as the station is under cover, has more seating, toilets available, can source more information from station staff such as timetables and information about the track closure between Corinda-Roma Street.  There is a track closure so please check the Queensland Rail and Translink websites to be sure of your options to get home.  There is a possability that all Ipswich line trains could run all stations as schedulled to Corinda station and then divert onto the Beenleigh line via the Tennyson loop to run express Corinda to Roma Street.  This might not be a possibility so other arrangments might have to be made or considered to be picked up from Corinda station/Ipswich or find another way back to Brisbane such as another bike ride along the Brisbane River, riding the short distance to Yeerongpilly station on the Beenleigh line for a train to the city.  There will be shuttle buses running Corinda-Roma Street along the Ipswich line for those living in between/express service to Roma Street however there might be restrictions on how many bikes that driver can accept at once or if they are able to be stored underneath.  Last year there were about 600-800 riders over the whole route and the train back only had about 15-25 cyclists onboard as some chose to ride back to Brisbane/lived locally/close by. 

Last edited by Lukeyboy on Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total. 

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