Thistle and Rose

I got out of bed at the ungodly hour of 3:45am to get to the Thistle & Rose 200k ride from a fantastic base at the Drouin West Primary School. Ron McInnes and Frank Williams put on a great event that took in some wonderful country. The ride started at 8 am. The first 50k was a loop with some steep gradients on the way up to Neerim South, Jindivik and Labertouche. The second 50k went down to Drouin East, Lardner and back through Drouin. The 2nd half of the ride was out beyond Moe pretty much along the Old Sale Road with the 150k checkpoint at The Gippsland Heritage Park. The final 50k started back along the flat, but into the wind to Yarragon before heading for the hills again up the Darnum - Shady Creek Road.
Finishing at 5pm I was very pleased with my ride as I felt I had ridden quite strongly throughout the day.

Riders and organisers dig in

West fom Werribee into the Wild

Saturday 21 August 2010 saw the running of the Wild Wild West from Werribee. There were 200 and 300k options on offer. Organiser Merryn Rowlands was ably assisted by husband Stephen and Tim Taylor and once again put on a top ride.

Getting ready

I chose the 300k  option to get extra miles into the legs before PAP in early October. Something like 22 of the 35 starters on the day also chose the 300. WNW winds dominated the early part of the ride where I was accompanied by Leigh Johansen and Peter Curtis across to Anakie  and the first checkpoint. Just prior to turning into Slate Quarry Road on the second leg the fist rain squall blew across dropping the temperature and making the descent down to the Moorabool River a little treachorous. Through Meredith and heading towards Shelford and I found myself alone and travelling well. Leigh Paterson motored past after a longer stop at Anakie. Merryn served up baked potatoes and chilli beans at the checkpoint and they were the perfect nourishment in the cool conditions. Setting off I rode alone again to Moriac. The section along Barwon Park road was exceptionally tough with its continuous rise and a howling wind. Just before Moriac Leigh Paterson motored past after a longer stop at Shelford. Cards signed and refreshments consumed at the Moriac store and it was off toward St Leonards. From Ocean Grove to Point Lonsdale I chatted with another cyclist out for a training ride who said I was crazy to be riding such a distance. Just after turning onto the Queenscliff -Portarlington Road Leigh Paterson motored past after a longer stop at Moriac. Tim Taylor and Stephen had hot soup, warm rolls,  pasta and fruit salad on menu to satisfy hungry riders who they reported were strung out over a huge distance. Geelong was the next target and darkness set in at Drysdale. It was East Geelong before Leigh Paterson motored past after a longer stop at St Leonards. Catching Leigh at the traffic lights I was chasing him through Geelong when he suddenly turned south. I wondered where in the hell he was going. I caught him at traffic lights again and queried him. The 24 hour cafe he said. Yes Leigh I said but you've got the wrong 24 hour cafe! He was heading towards the cafe we had used as the start/finish of the Western Districts Wanderer 1000. Back on track we stopped at a pizza joint and bought coke had a little food then off together through North Geelong and North Shore. Leigh gradually pulled away then he stopped for a quick break. I rode on through Lara and on the road to Little River Leigh motored passed me for the last time. I rode on steadily through the cold of the evening to complete the ride around 9:30 pm

King Parrot Creek and to Yea again

Peter Martin again organised the King Parrot Creek Rides again this year. I took on the 200k ride with a little trepidation as I had managed to have a serious fall at work about 10 days earlier. Fortunately I didn't break anything but it has left me with significant soreness and a deep contusion of the right quadricep. The day was very cool and for much of the ride it was raining lightly.

I had travelled several of the roads on this ride on the Northern Hills ride a fortnight before. There are some challenging hills on this ride including Junction Hill and climbs up to Kinglake West. There was a lot of water on the roads to dodge along with tiny brachletts from bushfire affected trees. Much of the ride is in sheltered areas but in the more open areas partictularly between Flowerdale and Strath Creek the wind was a battle.

I certainly didn't set any PB's and still don't seem to have my normal zip. Maybe I worked a bit too hard early but I think the wet and cold conditions dampened enthusiasm as well. About a dozen riders did each of the 100 and 200k rides and they were really well supported by Peter and his team.

No photos, I took the camera but it was too wet and cold to take out.

Challenge of the Northern Hills

The last day of July saw the running of the Northern Hills 200 and 300k rides. Henry de Man has taken over the organising of this ride from Bob Bednarz who had successfully run the ride for many years. The routes that these rides follow put them amongst the more challenging on the calendar.

Briefing the riders

 I rode the 200 and my GPS recorded in excess of 2400m of climbing. The ride took in some well known climbs including up to Kinglake from St Andrews and Junction Hill on the Whittlesea-Yea Road. After the checkpoint at Yea the 200’s head towards Strath Creek along the King Parrot Creek Road from Kerrisdale and negotiate the climb of Murchison Gap on the way to Broadford. For the 300’s you can throw in some serious climbing in the Switzerland Ranges and in the Great Dividing Range that put that ride up to about 3700m of gain. The good thing is that all that climbing is rewarded with the equivalent amount of descending to even the score. The weather varied with some rain here and there but the majority of the day was cool and fine.

Along with a band of willing helpers Henry provided great support to the riders that almost numbered 40. This was Henry’s first go at organising a ride and he excelled. Adding a 200k option to the ride was a great move that certainly added to the numbers attending.

I had a day of feeling rather sluggish. I managed to do an extra 7k as I left the Yea checkpoint without my helmet so had to do a U-turn to retrieve it. I thereby wasted a good twenty minutes. My elapsed time for the ride was 9hr 17 mins so I finished before dark and the new Ay-ups didn't get a work out.