Mt Buller Weekend Part 2

So Sunday saw us all heading out to basically do the 25km loop that I had done the previous evening. The temp was about 3deg, and at the top of the mountain there was a strong freezing wind blowing. The mist was blowing in and out, so at some stages you had good visibility and at others next too nothing.


Davey enjoying using his Navman



This is the view from the top of the horse hill chairlift, looking down to the bottom of the Abom downhill, and where the downhill riders were getting their ride back to the top of the international course that they were riding.




These signposts make riding the new tracks easy at all the intersections along the way.


More decision making on which way to go, so many tracks so little time



This is by far the best way to see the outdoors, from behind a set of these


Yep this track is switchback after switchback, a great while to climb up the side of a mountain


5 secs before I took this shot you could see the whole of Buller village. One thing I learnt that when you are in an alpine area even in March the weather can change so quickly.


This is a shot of some sunshine, did not see much of it on the weekend.


Mt Stirling, from the Buller treatment plant


Bourke st without snow, Rob and I decided that we would ride straight up, just as it started hailing. Once at the top I knew that the rest of the ride would be downhill as we headed for the Klingsporn track again.


So it was down some familiar tracks and with the experience of the first time and some more appropriate tyres it was a much better descent.

So I will say it again, get up there and if you enjoy mountain biking do the Klingsporn, it is just a great track.

So that ends the weekend, we then had lunch at the cafe and were home for dinner. So we packed a great amount of fun and adventure in to our time away, and we all came away a little bit more balanced and refreshed to take on life's challenges again. Oh and already planning our next weekend away.

Klingsporn Video

I always believe in having a bit of a laugh, and this time it happens to be me, who provides the comedy.

"Hey Rob just film me railing this bit of track"





More of our Buller Adventures in a few days, you know life is getting in the way of blogging

Mt Buller Weekend Part 1

Saturday saw an early start as we loaded into the car for the drive to Mt Buller. JD, Leroy, Plumb, Rob and Myself were heading for a weekend of biking adventure. The weather forecast was for some average conditions, 21 and a few showers for Sat and 17 and windy for Sunday.

As we drove through the Yarra Valley and out through Dixons Creek and past turnoffs to Toolangi and Kinglake and past Castella the destruction to this most beautiful part of the country side has to be seen to be believed. The TV does not really show you how total the destruction was.

The actual weather for the drive was good and saw us at the base of the mountain at about 9am. The plan was then to drive to the top and get on the bikes by 10ish.

As we approached the top of the mountain the weather had certainly turned a bit nasty, there was an icy wind and the tower read 13deg.

We had planned to do a full day epic down to Howqua valley and along the river to Sheepyard flats and then back up the mountain. As we were going to be navigating of a 24 year topographic map and with the mountain at about 15meters visibility we changed our plans. We would ride down the infamous Klingsporn track and then back up the road for a bit of fitness work.

Rob was just a little excited to be out and about in the mountains

The weather did not look too bad at this stage, but as we would find out it could change very quickly

This track is rated highly by the guys at EPIX at no.1 on the search for the ultimate single track. It is a rocky track with plenty of loose ones and if you want to go fast you need to have concentration level set on high. As we blazed our way down Rob learn't that you cannot always launch off every jump if you don’t know what your landing is. So after a 10 minute stop for 1^st aid to be administered, lucky I packed that, we were off again. I said to Rob just take it easy for 5 mins as it was fairly deep cut on his knee, would have got 3 or 4 stitches if we had been near a doctor. So we got rolling again and it took me 5 minutes to catch the crazy fearless bastard. So much for taking it easy.

The views from Klingsporn track are 1st class



Once we rolled out of the bottom of Klingsporn with grins ear to ear wondering how can we do that again, we headed up the road. Rob had stashed his roadie at the base to make the climb more enjoyable, for him. The other boys were a few minutes behind and were going to start the climb after we did, with the hope we would pick them up half way up. I was keen to see how the new Virtue would handle the climb. So with a few extra PSI in the tyres we were off. I think we got about 200 meters up the road and the rain started, which is great for everything, and you will never hear me complain about it raining, and I don’t mind riding in the rain.


So the next 16kms saw us climb the road to Buller, which was enjoyable as we took it at an easy pace just trying to enjoy the scenery. It was a great ride. As we got near the summit, about 2 kms before the village the road steepens a bit and the wind picked up and it was really hard work. The rain was no longer a drizzle but a downpour.

I had to get close so this shot would come out

The photo shows the mist but does not show the driving rain and 50kmh winds

So after a change of clothes we headed back down to pick up the rest of the crew, and to the base to pick up Rob’s mountain bike. As we got to the base Rob realized he had left the key to the bike lock at the top of the mountain in his pack. So faced with a drive up, down and up again, he chose to cut the chain. The Mirambah cafe gladly handed over a hacksaw and he was away, and actually really quickly cut through the cable, not ideal but in our case handy.

At the top again and Rob was off to the medical centre to get his knee looked at. We were then planning on doing the 25km loop that they will be doing next weekend (link). JD, Leroy and Plumb had had enough of the rain and once showered and changed, were keen to hit the bar. Rob’s knee was ordered to rest for the night and also to try and keep it dry, so I was off solo.

Leaving in cold conditions with 4 layers on and all the things I might need for a 2 hour loop. The start of this loop takes in the Abom downhill track which in a word is awesome. Get up there and ride it. The new bike handled it with ease and now with the confidence of 130mm travel I was flying down the track. After a few navigational challenges I was heading down Corn Hill road towards the new single tracks that Glen Jacobs built. It was on arriving at this section of single track that the heavens opened and dumped 20mm in about 45 minutes, visibility was minimal but the riding was great, heaps of switchback climbs and fast flowing descents, the misty twisty track was a favourite.

The weather as I left was fine, cold but fine, 1 hour later it was dumping down

It was on the way back to Corn Hill road for the climb back to Buller that I flatted, and then the pump failed, won’t be buying a Kathmandu pump again. So I had to ring in for a lift, not my proudest moment, and basically run down the last single track descent to Corn Hill road where Rob had come down to pick me up. The weather change’s on this ride were phenomenal. When I set out the mountain was clear, really cold but clear and windy, 45 minutes later it was clouded over and 10 minutes later it was pouring with rain.

If you ever see this sign go down misty twisty, it is a sweet track with over 30 bermed corners on the way down


You should take your mountain bike to a moutain every now and then.


This track was so much fun

I think Mt Buller is that way, but I couldn't really see much, luckily the trails were well marked and I din't get lost

So for me it was a good full day of riding, ticked off, Klingsporn, Buller Road Climb, Abom, Corn Hill and Misty Twisty. It was then back to the Arlberg for a Parma and a few beers to end the day. So apart from the weather closing out on us it was a great day, and we all celebrated that we were not camping like we had planned too, as the forecast was for 2 deg overnight and a high of 7 for Sunday. But that’s a whole other story.

Mondays Philosophies

The gradual destruction of planet Earth is because I use its resources and disturb its systems. Forests are disappearing because I use paper, houses and farmland. Fisheries are depleted because I eat fish. The atmosphere is deteriorating because I use cars, planes, fridges, air conditioning and foam cups. Fresh water supplies are diminishing because I use buy products from industries that pump wastes into streams; I use sewerage systems that are yet to be made environmentally friendly. Plants and animals are dying because I disturb their ecosystems. Don't think it is someone else's problem. Living in Australia, living in a developed country, I contribute to global degradation more than I realise. It's up to me to act.

What did you do this weekend?

This is what got up to. More photos and some detail of our adventures to come.

My New Bike

Today I took my new addition to the bike family out on its first ride. It is a 2008 Felt Team Virtue. After a few minor seat adjustments I was flying along the track like I had been riding the bike for years. Still getting used to the SRAM gripshift. This bike is going to make this weekend even more enjoyable.





So with only an hour of free time tonight, as we had lots to do and kids to get to bed, I visited my favorite local track, which is only a short ride from my door. Makes you glad you live in such a great area with so many local tracks nearby.



So if anyone is interested in a 2007 Trance 1, drop me a line via comments and I can send you some photos.

Lazy Paddle on the Bay

So after driving around Rye for 3 days with the boat on the roof I thought I should get it off and into the water. It was a great day for it sunny no wind and crystal clear waters. So I did what can only be described as a lazy paddle towards Sorrento with no real destination in mind. There was a pod of dolphins about 100meters away so I drifted along watching them.


I am sure these beach boxes are not worth as much as the Brighton ones but I know which water I would prefer to swim in.



These guys just go up and back as fast as they can, I guess I cant knock it until I have tried it, but I could not wait in the queue to get the thing on the water.


So once I got near Sorrento I turned around and headed back and lazed on the beach with the kids for the rest of the afternoon.

Plans for this weekend in are in full swing, and I should have an exciting post (for me) tomorrow.

Mondays Philosophies

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

Wednesday Night Fat Tyre Flyers Ride

So Tuesday morning saw me going for a run around Princess Park, in the rain no less. This made it about 1 month between running efforts, so I took it easy so I would not hurt too much. That didn't work, and had very sore quads all day Wed.

I have decided that I either need to run weekly or not at all.

Anyway Wed saw a quick turnaround from work to play, I was home for all of 15 minutes and Jas and I were out on the MTB's heading for the Fat Tyre Flyers Wed night ride. This ride will certainly improve your skills as its either going throttle or paused waiting for the back markers. So after about 1km of bitumen we hit the mullum mullum trails and followed dirt for the next hour and a bit arriving at the start of the ride at 6.30pm.

After some really good and overdue rain the tracks were in great condition, tonights ride would head away from the city towards Hans loop on the East side of Fitzsimmons Lane. On completion of this loop we had been going for about an hour and a half at full throttle and my legs were toast, so I impelled Jas to ride home from Templestowe instead of back to Ivanhoe and then home.

So we headed East as the Fatties ride continued back West to Ivanhoe. We managed to stick to dirt almost the entire way back to North Ringwood. We had a minor detour as we came to our normal spot to rock hop across the creek and found a raging current, so we had to backtrack and hop a couple of electric fences, cut through a paddock to get around the creek.

Once we have climbed Craig's road, which is always a killer after a long ride, we coasted home. So we had racked up about 4hrs of saddle time and really enjoyed the mud and rain.

The Family is heading off to Rye this weekend so hopefully there will some fun to be had on the water, if its not too cold!

The Sting Trail

So Sat saw a few of us have a very respectable start time of 7.30am at the base of the Dandenongs. The plan was to basically repeat the ride Jas and I did a few weeks earlier. So as we headed out surprisingly the trail went up and up and up until we had finally got to the top of the Dandenongs, popping out onto the road at Olinda and amongst the roadies. This is always fun, however they all disappeared at Sassafras leaving just the MTB's on the road.

It was at this point that there was a route change and we headed down a new trail, and whilst it was in no means hardtail territory it was still great riding. It headed south east from Sassafras and took us most of the way to Belgrave, where we turned around and headed back, so we could be back at the cars by 10am.

So a bit of a road section saw us on top of Mt Dandenong again at the TV tower, where it was all downhill to the cars.

Check out The Felt Epix site who have a few photos up of the ride.

So more single track has been added to the memory in the Dandenongs, soon we will be able to ride around there all day without going near the bitumen.

Mondays Philosophies

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand -
strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally
worn out and screaming "WOOHOO - What a Ride!"

Mavis Leyrer