Dinner Plain

So the road to Dinner Plain drops about 300 meters in elevation from Hotham but the road rolls up and down a bit over the 12 kms.


So my timings were starting to tighten and I realised that dropping all the way to Omeo would be a long slog and would be more like 170kms than 150 so as I flew past many of these signs





I pulled the brakes on at Cobungra, which was about 20kms down from Dinner Plain, this left me with 30kms to climb back up to Hotham and then the 30kms of downhill on the other side, and lunch. I knew I was getting tired as I was thinking about lunch alot and I could not eat another Recovery bar, normally the mint does the job but not now.

Cattle grazing at 1400 mts, reminds me of a movie I saw as a little tacker.



Almost done 12kms of work left and then some downhill to enjoy.


Looking back to Dinner Plain as I arrived back at Hotham.


The view to Mt Feathertop the highest peak in Victoria.

So now for 30kms of downhill which I knocked off in about 40mins. Saw a few riders at the base starting their day and was glad mine was over.

Got back to the car and had a lie down in the Ovens river which was cold but really refreshed me up for the drive home.

The day was 120kms with 2600mts of vertical, to make the two day total 232kms with 5300mts of vertical.

It was a fantastic experience and one that I will definitely repeat as the riding is just awesome.

Hotham

So after alot of food for dinner and a restless nights sleep it was an early start as I had a bit of riding to do. The plan was Harrietville to Omeo and back roughly about 150kms.

I took this photo on the way down as I was not sure where I was heading but this is Hotham in the distance.





It was a cool start and I was well rugged up with a merino singlet, my jersey, wind vest and a rain jacket. No rain just needed it for warmth. The ride started sharply as I had 300mts of flat then bang straight into the climb. The legs were heavy from the 2700mts of vertical the day before.

Yep the road is steep!!!!!!!!!

The climb up Hotham is steady climbing at the bottom, then you hit "the meg" and then after the meg is flattens out a bit and is a false flat for about 3 or 4 kms. It then points skywards and has a few pinches like CRB Hill which was tough.







The views from the road on the way up were awesome, and it was cool in the shade and at the top not much better in the sun as there was a breeze that was cold. It was about 8 deg at the top at 8am when I got there.

So it took 2 hours to climb up to Hotham with about 1500 mts gained. It was now the "mental side" of the ride continuing to ride to Dinner Plain and then down the mountain to Omeo all the while knowing that it was a U turn at Omeo and back up to Hotham.

Falls Creek Ride 2 Day 1

So after a quick lunch and a drive from Bright over to Mt Beauty it was time to tackle Falls Creek.

In some weird twist of coincidence the two riders I saw that had just come down Buffallo when I started going up were coming down Falls as I was going up, did not think anyone would be out doing the same 2 mountains as I was, but there you go.

Falls is an interesting climb as about 3 or 4 kms in the road flattens and its up and down, which I enjoyed at the time as the legs were heavy after Buffallo. But on the other hand I knew that I would have to work on the descent on the way home.




This creek signifies that start of the last 14kms to the summit of constant climbing. I kept waiting for the road to steepen but it never really does. I overtook one rider towards the summit when it does get a little steeper, but she was about 65 and had double front and rear panniers, that is what I call hard core.


I noticed that all the resorts had work going on as I guess there are only so many months when you can work on things before the snow comes.


There is quite alot of evidence of the fires from 2007 that went through this area and alot of the trees have just now grown back. In alot of areas there are new trees but the burnt trees have no new growth on them.


So at the end of this ride I had clocked up 112kms for the day with 2700mts of climbing. I guess I will have a big dinner and a solid nights rest before I attempt the 150kms I have planned for tomorrow.

Buffallo Day 1 ride 1

So as most of your slaved away at work I headed out to Bright early in the morning, left home at 6am for 2 days of riding. As it was midweek it was a solo mission as all my friends have jobs.



So today was going to be warm about 32 desgress but cool at the top of the mountain about 10-12 degrees, which meant I headed off like a pack horse with all the gear I would need as it got colder.





THe day was clear and the views stunning, being my first time up Buffallo I had no idea where I was going but figured the high rocky thing on my right would be it. The Buffallo climb is a gentle gradient and it never really gets steep just consistent. There are some large areas of huge rocks and rocky escarpments, including the summit.


My buddy was just as happy as I was to make it too the top.


I think that is Hotham on the right, the high point, that is 25 miles as the crow flies and that would be tommorrows target but there was work to be done before then



Just enjoying the top and the abseilers in the background having there fun.

I gave this climb an 8/10 the weather did make it enjoyable, the descent was a bit sketchy as they had re done the road and the top 8 or 9 kms had lost of small loose stones over it which you don't need at 50kmh heading into a bend. I will definetley do Buffallo again.

Alpine Ascent Challenge - Lake Mountain

After starting the Alpine Ascent Challenge last year and only completing two of the climbs, it was time to start again and at least get one done prior to Christmas. So we, being Jase, Rob and I started with the closest climb, lake mountain. Not wanting to load the bikes in a car Jase and I decided the order of the day would be an early start, so we rolled out at 6am with 100km until we reached the top of the mountain.

It was smiles all round as we headed towards Yarra Glen



Passing a four legged Sheppard looking after his flock, he did not like the look of us!!!!


Rob was meeting us at Healsville and too our surprise passed us before we got to Yarra Glen, I guess he was keen to get off four wheels and onto two. He joined us just out of Healsville, so that would cut our ride home by 50kms.



This was the first time for all of us to ride over the black spur. There were not too many cars which was good and the scenery was as good as it gets. The road is not too steep so we tapped out a nice pace and managed to catch a couple of other early morning riders. Jase tried to convince them to do lake mountain but funnily enough they declined





The theme of the day was "we are along way from home", and yep we were. At this turnoff we were about 90 kms from Melbourne. As we hit the climb through the cutting heading into Marysville the ride got hard. This climb is 2.5kms and has an average gradient of 10%, short but tough. I misjudged how many turns and cuttings there were and blew up halfway up and limped across the top. We hit speeds of 80km coming home down this stretch of road.


As we climbed up from Marysville the fog and cloud closed in and reduced visibility. The first 4 kms out of Marysville are the steepest and proved to be, Jase rolled off into the fog and I punctured, it was a really slow leak. This was three punctures in three rides after not having one for 12 months. Jase disputed the puncture so a bet was had, the loser to wash the others bike. So after winning the unloseable bet I was feeling good knowing that the Jase would be busy later washing 2 bikes. That was until he offered me about 30 extra psi in the form of a co2 canister, in lieu of washing the bike. With still 18kms to the top and another 50 after that back to the car I gave up the free wash and took the psi. That hurt, but made the climb more bearable with a harder front tube.





After a bit fog, some sunshine for about 3 minutes a bit of the Foo Fighters we reached the summit.


It must be said that I have never drank a coffee in my life and towards the end of the climb I was contemplating starting. It appears I was still contemplating in the resort cafe, staring at Jase's coffee.


Nup just joking!!!!!!!


So we made the climb got our passports stamped, and headed back down.


It was a PB for me today clocking up 146km and 2800mts of climbing. Rob started suffering some cramps about 500mts down the mountain so he knocked down some Endura, Gels and Jase even gave him some coke. It took about 20 minutes but he came good and we managed to get up the few hills between Marysville and Healsville, and enjoyed the descent down the black spur.


All in all it was a good day spent in the saddle with two good mates on some great country roads and up into the Victorian Alpine Country.

1 down 6 to go!

Alpine Ascent Challenge Baw Baw

Alpine Ascent Challenge

So I thought that I would challenge myself and see if I could complete the alpine ascent challenge. This is where you tackle the 7 peaks (you have to complete 4) by a certain date and you enter to win the competition. See more details here .

So I thought I would tackle the hardest one first. I had just received my new road bike, its a year old but looks new and after riding a 2005 OCR1 is just a sweet ride. Its my new Felt F1





So here is where I started its maiden voyage for me. 14 kms out of Noojee on the way to Baw Baw. It was going to be a hot day 35 deg so I got out early and started riding at just after 7am. The book says that Baw Baw is the second hardest climb in the world of cycling with an average gradient of 13% and a max of 20%.

I'll be up the top of that soon.

The ride out to the base of the mountain and the last 6 kms had plenty of climbing. I had done 800mts of climbing in just under 1.5 hrs of riding as I approached the gates to mountain. I had 6km to go and 718m to go up. The alpine ascent passport said the climb should take 35mins.

So 45 mins of pain later I saw this



The resort management office was open but all lights were still off as it was just before 9am, the lady stamped my passport and offered to shout me a powerade as I could not find my money, then I realized I had secured it in my shoe.

So after enduring the 45 minutes of pain and zig zagging over the road just to keep moving forward, I was down in 8 minutes.

Towards the end after 3hrs 30 mins and 2000 mts of vertical I took a photo of what I had just gone up.


and then realised

what a SMILE can do.