Eildon Endurance

A change of mind saw me ride the Eildon Enduance 300k out of Shepparton on Saturday in lieu of doing the 100k Bah Humbug out of Wandong. I thought I would take advantage of the mild temperatures (mid 20's) that were forecast and get in another longer ride before the summer heat sets in. I find the really hot days take a toll on my riding performance and much perefer it cooler.  The 6am start from the Victoria Lake Caravan Park saw a dozen or so riders who were doing either the 300 or 400k option for this ride.

Prior to Eildon Endurance start

The course for the 300k ride is basically Shepparton, Violet Town, Euroa, Merton, Yarck, Alexandra, Eildon, Alexandra, Yarck, Terip Terip, Euroa, Shepparton. The 400K adds Euroa and back. The day although not hot was quite windy and combine that with the two crossings of the Strathbogie Ranges with some pretting serious climbs along with a few reasonable passes to negotiate near Alexandra meant it was a   reasonably challenging ride. I rode with Rodney, Ben and Kev  for a fair bit of the first half and a bit of the second half.

A short break at top of the Strathbogie Ranges

I had areasonably strong ride for the first half but found my performance tapering off significantly in the second half. I finshed the ride before 7 pm. Ride time of 11h 40m , total time around 12h 55m