It's a bit late but better late than never. Here is my write up on the awesome cycling trip I had over the new year's break.
Some people like to ride along beach road, some people like to ride in the city, others like to ride in the hills but I like to ride in the mountains. As do two of my other good friends Rachel and Brendan. So over the new years weekend we travelled up to Porepunkah (just outside of Bright) where we embarked upon an epic alpine cycling adventure. We have all entered into a competition called the Seven Peak Challenge where by if you climb 7 of the peaks in the Victorian Alps you get 4 chances to win a trip for 2 to the Tour de France. How good is that!
The exact plans were still in the making on the long drive up from Melbourne. We were feeling pretty energetic and confident so made an ambitious plan to tackle Mt Buffalo, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek. That would tick off 3 out of the 7 in 1 trip which is not bad at all. The adventure started on a hot Friday afternoon. At 5pm we set out to ascend Mt Buffalo. I was feeling pretty solid and kept up a good rhythm for the first 1 hour of the climb. Fatigue then started to set in and the pace dropped off a bit as I tried to recover my form. We got some relief towards the top before the last tough 3km on gravel road. After 31km and 1:45 of climbing I reached the horn feeling pretty tired. After waiting for the others to arrive we all descended back into town. The only thing on our minds was food and where to get it. Eventually, lights went out around 11:30pm and we needed all the sleep we could get for the next morning as Mt Hotham awaited us.
We awoke to another beautiful morning in the Victorian Alps. The legs felt a little heavy but generally speaking were not too bad. With breakfast in the belly we set out for another challenging day. Given the previous days effort we decided to start out from Smoko which I think in hindsight was a very good idea. The climb up Mt Hotham is arguably the toughest in the Alps. The first 10km's has a pretty steep gradient. I found a good rhythm and seemed to make good progress early on. The next section is rather flat but for some reason that's how I started feeling. I had an energy gell just over half way and that seemed to help because when I reached 10km to go I started feeling more energised. The last third of the climb is just magnificent. You come out of the tree line where a 360 degree view of the alps comes into view. With lots of cyclists in front of me on the road I had flash backs to this years Tour de France and the battle between Cadel and Andy Schlek. I was almost in the red zone by the time I reached the 1km to go mark. Granny gear was now unavoidable and as I made my way around the last corner the summit ski lift came into view and relief started to flow through the veins. After 30km and 1:44 of climbing I finally reached the finishing line. Brendan had again gone back to ride with Rach and they rocked up not far behind me. It was a pretty good feeling getting to the top especially considering this was one of the hardest climbs you can do in Australia. The descent down was rather fun except for the 2 short but rather steep climbs at the start. Lunch awaited us in Bright but not before a quick dip in the Ovens river. The rest of our new year's eve was spent chilling back at the motel followed by a BBQ on the back deck looking out over the Oven's river with the sun setting behind Mt Buffalo in the background. Awesome!
The new year had arrived and what a way to start with a morning ride in the Alps. My plan was to head out to Tawonga Gap and back. The other two were planning on continuing on for another 60km. Crazy! By the time we got to Tawonga, about a 9km climb, Rach had decided to head back with me. Brendan on the other hand powered on for what ended up to be a 110km ride. Super effort from him. With Brendan still on the road Rach and I headed into town to get us all lunch. We had chicken and salad sandwiches in mind. We didn't have any sharp knifes with us so needed someone to cut up a chicken for us. Thankfully the lovely staff at the Bright Woolworths cut up a fresh and hot BBQ chicken for us. We were very impressed with their service and so decided to make the effort and tell the store manger what a great job his staff were doing. We figured people are very good at complaining but not so good at rewarding. Once again we sat out on the back deck having a well earned meal.
The final day in our epic adventure started at Mt Beauty. We met up with some other cycling friends and so the 5 of us set out to tackle Falls Creek. This would arguably be the easiest of all the climbs which is just as well given it was the last one. We stayed together for the first 13km and the pace was nice and easy. Once we arrived at the steeper part of the climb it was on for young and old. Brendan as usual took the lead and I just tried to keep up. After 3 days of some intense cycling I was feeling pretty good and quickly found a decent rythm. I could see Brendan in the distance and slowly started catching him before he then pulled away in the last 5kms. After 30kms and 1:31 of climbing I reached the top.
And so after 4 days and 4 climbs our adventure had come to an end. Rach and I ended up doing 280kms over the 4 days and Brendan did 325kms. I've always enjoyed climbing hills on the bike but this trip just took that enjoyment to a new level. Thanks to Rach and Brendan for a great trip. You guys rock.
Some people like to ride along beach road, some people like to ride in the city, others like to ride in the hills but I like to ride in the mountains. As do two of my other good friends Rachel and Brendan. So over the new years weekend we travelled up to Porepunkah (just outside of Bright) where we embarked upon an epic alpine cycling adventure. We have all entered into a competition called the Seven Peak Challenge where by if you climb 7 of the peaks in the Victorian Alps you get 4 chances to win a trip for 2 to the Tour de France. How good is that!
The exact plans were still in the making on the long drive up from Melbourne. We were feeling pretty energetic and confident so made an ambitious plan to tackle Mt Buffalo, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek. That would tick off 3 out of the 7 in 1 trip which is not bad at all. The adventure started on a hot Friday afternoon. At 5pm we set out to ascend Mt Buffalo. I was feeling pretty solid and kept up a good rhythm for the first 1 hour of the climb. Fatigue then started to set in and the pace dropped off a bit as I tried to recover my form. We got some relief towards the top before the last tough 3km on gravel road. After 31km and 1:45 of climbing I reached the horn feeling pretty tired. After waiting for the others to arrive we all descended back into town. The only thing on our minds was food and where to get it. Eventually, lights went out around 11:30pm and we needed all the sleep we could get for the next morning as Mt Hotham awaited us.
We awoke to another beautiful morning in the Victorian Alps. The legs felt a little heavy but generally speaking were not too bad. With breakfast in the belly we set out for another challenging day. Given the previous days effort we decided to start out from Smoko which I think in hindsight was a very good idea. The climb up Mt Hotham is arguably the toughest in the Alps. The first 10km's has a pretty steep gradient. I found a good rhythm and seemed to make good progress early on. The next section is rather flat but for some reason that's how I started feeling. I had an energy gell just over half way and that seemed to help because when I reached 10km to go I started feeling more energised. The last third of the climb is just magnificent. You come out of the tree line where a 360 degree view of the alps comes into view. With lots of cyclists in front of me on the road I had flash backs to this years Tour de France and the battle between Cadel and Andy Schlek. I was almost in the red zone by the time I reached the 1km to go mark. Granny gear was now unavoidable and as I made my way around the last corner the summit ski lift came into view and relief started to flow through the veins. After 30km and 1:44 of climbing I finally reached the finishing line. Brendan had again gone back to ride with Rach and they rocked up not far behind me. It was a pretty good feeling getting to the top especially considering this was one of the hardest climbs you can do in Australia. The descent down was rather fun except for the 2 short but rather steep climbs at the start. Lunch awaited us in Bright but not before a quick dip in the Ovens river. The rest of our new year's eve was spent chilling back at the motel followed by a BBQ on the back deck looking out over the Oven's river with the sun setting behind Mt Buffalo in the background. Awesome!
The new year had arrived and what a way to start with a morning ride in the Alps. My plan was to head out to Tawonga Gap and back. The other two were planning on continuing on for another 60km. Crazy! By the time we got to Tawonga, about a 9km climb, Rach had decided to head back with me. Brendan on the other hand powered on for what ended up to be a 110km ride. Super effort from him. With Brendan still on the road Rach and I headed into town to get us all lunch. We had chicken and salad sandwiches in mind. We didn't have any sharp knifes with us so needed someone to cut up a chicken for us. Thankfully the lovely staff at the Bright Woolworths cut up a fresh and hot BBQ chicken for us. We were very impressed with their service and so decided to make the effort and tell the store manger what a great job his staff were doing. We figured people are very good at complaining but not so good at rewarding. Once again we sat out on the back deck having a well earned meal.
The final day in our epic adventure started at Mt Beauty. We met up with some other cycling friends and so the 5 of us set out to tackle Falls Creek. This would arguably be the easiest of all the climbs which is just as well given it was the last one. We stayed together for the first 13km and the pace was nice and easy. Once we arrived at the steeper part of the climb it was on for young and old. Brendan as usual took the lead and I just tried to keep up. After 3 days of some intense cycling I was feeling pretty good and quickly found a decent rythm. I could see Brendan in the distance and slowly started catching him before he then pulled away in the last 5kms. After 30kms and 1:31 of climbing I reached the top.
And so after 4 days and 4 climbs our adventure had come to an end. Rach and I ended up doing 280kms over the 4 days and Brendan did 325kms. I've always enjoyed climbing hills on the bike but this trip just took that enjoyment to a new level. Thanks to Rach and Brendan for a great trip. You guys rock.
