Great Ocean Road 200k - A brilliant ride!

A week of feeling lethargic after a 600 in the worst weather conditions for some time had me concerned about how my body would perform on the ride this weekend. The climb from Deans Marsh to Benwerrin and the constant undulations along the Great Ocean Road are testing, and had me thinking a bit, but at least they are quite familar to me so I just needed to adjust accordingly.

Peter Donnan modified the route this year to start from Angelsea rather than Grovedale and I must say what a great decision. I chose the no lights 8am start, 11 hour time limit option and the plan was to ride within myself due to the residual tiredness I seemed to be carrying. In no time we were off in the chilly air and I immediately let the quickies pull away from the first climb out of Angelsea.

 In no time we were off

It wasn't long before Ian George and I settled in to a similar pace and we found ourselves swapping turns at the front on the way to Moriac.On to Cape Otway Road and we were making good time but I felt I was pushing a little too hard. I said to Ian I was going to back off a little. Once I turned into the Winchelsea-Lorne Road I stopped to shed the wind-breaker as the temperature was beginning to climb just as I would be every soon. Up to Bambra and then on to Deans Marsh before the steeper grades to Benwerrin at an elevation of about 430m then 10k of all downhill into Lorne - wheeeee! The controle was the usual bakery where the brevet card was signed and a hot cross bun gratefully received. That was 82 k in about 3 hrs which was pleasing.
One really good aspect of this ride now is that Apollo Bay controle and turn around now comes at the 128k point which is well over half way. As usual Peter, Eileen and Peter's sister were at Apollo Bay with oodles of great food to fuel the riders for the return leg.

 Apollo Bay controle

There had been a slight tailwind on the way out so the slight headwind on the way back certainly slowed my pace but by the same token kept me cool and relaxed on a beautiful sunny day. The ocean looked a magnificent greeny blue and some nice little rolling waves had quite a few surfers out at the popular spots along the way. The traffic generally behaved itself and was not too bad in terms of volume. A stop at the Lorne bakery again broke up the return leg nicely. Food and drink and I was topped up for a 4:35 pm finish and a riding time of a touch over 7hrs 45 mins. Some good conversation after the ride at a beautiful finishing point on the Angelsea River helped make this another one to remember. Yes it was a brilliant ride!

Beautiful finishing point on the Angelsea River

A 600k to remember

For the past 3 years I had ridden either 400 or 600k at Heywood in SW Victoria on this long weekend but with the cancellation of the Southern Series Merryn and Stephen Rowlands kindly filled the breach by running "You Would Have to be Crazy" from Lancefield.

I chose the 600k as this would complete a super series for me this Audax season and I felt I need the longer ride to put me into the right shape and mindset for my first 1000k event next month

A group of about 25 riders set off on various distances at 7am on Saturday morning. My plan was again to ride conservatively and this was how I set off. A bit towards the back of the field on the way out of Lancefield but slowly moving forward. Eventually a reasonable size group formed as we headed through Carlsruhe and in through Kyneton. Things split up a bit on the way out of town and I seemed to be between two groups so I  pushed a little harder to catch the front group. This eventually broke up and for the next 40 to 50k to Bendigo I yo-yoed with Kathryn Temby, Peter Curtis and Peter Martin. Spending minimum time at the Bendigo controle I set off in the rising humidity. The afternoon was warm on the return leg to Lancefield and as I reduced my effort a number of riders passed me but that was fine as most of them were riding a lesser distance. I topped up my water bottles at a Kyneton servo and just around Carlsruhe the first rain began. On with the wet top when it got heavier but 5 minutes later the rain had stopped. I arrived at Lancefield around 3pm and then the first serious rain began with some decent sized hail to boot. After eating some lovely soup I then set off in light drizzle that proceeded to get heavier as I climbed into the range just out of town. This cleared soon after for the ride through Kilmore then Wallan. Once on the road to Wandong the heavans opened up - big time! It rained torrentially for more than 20 minutes. I made it into a servo to escape the deluge, and took a break, but they had water gushing through the roof as well.  Once it eased to normal rain I set off again and 10 minutes later the sun came out. The rain top was on  and off several times for the rest of the leg back to Lancefield. The enthusiasm was now waning a little for it was now wet and dark. The leg out to Riddells Creek wasn't that much fun in these conditions and with a reasonable amount of traffic on the road. My plan to ride through the night went out the window as I was having lighting troubles and it was wet and it was cold. After 350k I decided to grab some food, baked beans on toast, and  some sleep and see what Sunday morning would bring.
Not feeling like eating I headed off at 5:45am and it was still raining for the ride to Woodend and the grind to Trentham. I stopped at Trentham and had a homemade pie and cappuchino that really hit the spot. A further stop at Kyneton for a flavoured milk and I felt like I was now fuelling appropriately for the day ahead. I arrived at the Lancefield controle about 11 am and had some lovely pumpkin soup.

 450 of 600k completed

The next leg was again warm and humid and very hilly as I worked my way to Pyalong and on to Tallarook. Cold drinks and a toasted sandwich and the knowledge I had less than 100k to go boosted my confidence. Climbing out of Pyalong on the return it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then it just pelted down with lightning and cracks of thunder close by. As I was descending approaching Lancefield the wind was stripping bark off nearby trees and moving the bike a half metre at a time. I was pleased to get to the shelter of the final controle which had moved from the tennis clubhouse to the Lancefield caravan park where I was greeted by my wife Carol, daughter Kelly and Stephen. Two bowls of pumpkin soup warmed me up and when I finally hit the road for the last 35k it was still raining and a bit of lightning was still around. I was initially quite cold and shivering was causing my steering to wobble but I soon warmed up and rode strongly to finish before dark. Thanks Merryn and Stephen for organising the series of rides, all the work they put in to the club, and thanks to the other helpers over the weekend