Monday, November 5, 2012

The Great Southern – Volunteers Ride


There were three volunteers who chose to undertake the long rides of the GSR this time.
Tim Taylor and I rode the 1200k and Peter Donnan rode the 1000k option.
Tim and I set off from Angelsea at 6pm on Thursday 18th October. Peter left at 8am on the next day. This meant our rides were synchronised and operating on a timetable matching the event itself. Carol and my daughter Kelly provided excellent support for me at overnight stops that I had determined as optimum for the pace I planned to ride. Tim and Peter were able to take some advantage of this. Tim catching some sleep at Port Fairy, Dunkeld and Apollo Bay with us while Peter had arranged a motel room at Hamilton. Both Tim and Peter also had a bite to eat with us at both Halls Gap and Dunkeld.
I rode with Tim for the first 175k but after Torquay I let him pull away and I wouldn’t see him again till Port Fairy. I chose to take a sleep at the 200k at Angelsea. Arriving at 3:15am and leaving at 7am.
I had developed a conservative schedule for this ride. I was not looking for a sub 80hr ride but rather looking to enjoy a pleasant roll through some spectacular Victorian countryside.
I enjoyed the leg from Apollo Bay through the lovely Otway National Park and the two climbs seemed to go nicely and I reached Port Campbell (367k) at 5pm just ahead of my schedule.

 Through the Otway National Park
I had friends in the trees
 
Progress was slow but steady against an annoying headwind on my way past Hopkins Falls and on to Port Fairy. A text message from good mate Steve Xerri broke the monotony as I rode on to a sleep stop at Port Fairy arriving at 11:40pm.  I had friends in the trees as well. A koala had been croossing the road when caught in the beam of my ayups. It was hard to get him to pose for the camera
I left Port Fairy around 3am to get to Macarthur a few minutes inside the closing time.
 Macarthur a few minutes inside the closing time
Similarly i timed my arrival at Dunkeld with a 10 minute buffer and this rounded out the first 600k.
Dunkeld
I felt in good shape with two good sleeps under my belt as I made my way on to Halls Gap where Carol informed me that Tim and Peter had just left following a nice feed of soup. Tim also had kindly bought some ice cream and that went down well as the morning and early afternoon had been reasonably warm.
Mount Abrupt
I passed Tim and Peter on the return through Halls Gap and arrived at our cabin at 9pm with the others pulling in for a break at around 9:30pm. I took 6 hours at this checkpoint and got another good nights sleep.
Most of the following day was very unsettled with gusting and swirling winds making it impossible to find a good rhythm. Just prior to arriving at Port Campbell in the late afternoon I was hit by a violent storm that bought cold lashing rain that certainly dampened my spirits a little. I caught up with Tim at Port Campbell . He had left Dunkeld earlier but had taken an extended break as a bite on his leg was causing considerable swelling and discomfort for him. I rode with Tim as he battled his condition through the climbs of the Otways.
Tim
 
Near Hordern Vale we were separated and it wasn’t until Apollo Bay that we caught up with each other. After a sleep Tim left early to ensure his leg would not prevent a successful finish. I again had a good nights sleep and left Apollo bay at 6am. I reached Angelsea to be greeted by Tim and Carol at 9:37am. The ride took me 87 hours 37 minutes to complete.
The finish

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