Amy's Gran Fondo 2013 - Sunday - The Main Event

The alarm went off obnoxiously early again, though in reality we were pretty much awake already. This ride has a weird buzz about it that's difficult to appreciate. It's both a race and a community ride, so prior to the event it has the tension that you'd expect from a race and the overall buzz you get from a large community event. With our hotel being a stones throw from the start line we pretty much just had to get dressed and roll over there.

Peeking out the window showed that we were in for a nice day. Nice, but still fairly cool. Unlike last year there seemed to be little threat of rain during the event. That said, with a few days of rain leading up to the event, there was likely to be plenty of wet patches present on the course.Remembering last year, I banked on the climb and subsequent descent through the rain forest being pretty cold, so we dressed warm, even though we felt inappropriately rugged up while waiting on the start line.

CLP and Miss V waiting for the start.

The start procedure was the same as last year, with groups of 200 being released. As a result of us lying on our registration, we started much closer to the front than we did last year. Also in our start group were the Smudge Monkees! :)   Nice!  Pre-ride, Miss V had a plan..  sub 6 hours. What wasn't specified was whether this was just over the 110km timed section, or the entire ride. Either way, there was a general thinking that we should try to push a little harder if we could.

On the Start Line looking forward.
This many riders were behind us also!

At 8am the first riders were let loose on the course. We waited patiently while the ten or so groups were started before us..  and then it was our turn! Woot! :D

The first run is spectacular, taking in approximately 40 kilometres of the Great Ocean Road. There's a few surprisingly sharp undulations along the way, but it's essentially flat and is a great opening section to the ride. Compared to last year, we were about six minutes faster, but significantly, well ahead of the 10:17am cut off time. This meant that we could settle in a enjoy the ride a bit more than last year.

It's a tough life having to cycle in these conditions.
Miss V on The Great Ocean Road

After that first 40 kilometres, the really fun stuff starts! Right turn onto Skenes Creek road for a 9.4 kilometre climb. I was hoping to complete this faster than last year, But looking at the official timing it looks like I was about eight seconds slower. Sigh.  I crested the climb absolutely soaked and with legs feeling like jelly, so I'm not sure I had much more to give. Miss V appeared just over ten minutes later having knocked about five minutes off her time from last year. Fantastic effort!  After a few minutes break to catch our breath we rolled down to the aid station where we stopped for a few minutes more.

Heading towards Forrest

Back on the road, and we where headed down the descent from the KOM to Forrest. Surrounded by rainforest, this is super tranquil, and yet super fast. There's also the occasional damp patch on the corners so there's an element of danger to be wary of. We took it fairly easy and arrived safely in Forrest, well ahead of the expected arrival time. In this sense, the ride was much more enjoyable than last year. While we pushed when we felt like it, there was no fear of missing a cut off if we decided to back it off a bit.   Adding to the enjoyment was that we would bump into the Smudge Monkee crew and have a bit of a chat before setting out again. Luxuries we didn't really have last year with the sag wagon stalking us!

From Forrest we pushed a little, trying to reach the final cut off at Deans Marsh with plenty of time to spare. That said, we made sure to enjoy the beautiful scenery in and around Barwon Downs which consisted of surprisingly smooth country lanes on gentle rolling hills.  As the day continued the weather just seemed to be getting better and better. There was always a bit of a cool breeze, but nothing to really slow us down a whole lot. Arriving in Deans Marsh, we knew we had but one climb to go, and a bundle of time up our sleeve, so we waited to see the Smudge Monkees roll in. Some of the Monkees seemed to be doing it tougher than others, however the overall enthusiasm seemed to still be there.

Happy and Relieved!
Finished Amy's Gran Fondo 2013

After topping up on fluids, we headed up the final climb to the finish. The climb to the finish isn't too bad for the most part as it's split into a few segments. There are flat, and in parts, downhill sections to give the legs a slight rest. The final part of the climb kicks up a bit, but nothing too bad and the sign boards telling you how far until the finish help dull the burning sensation in the legs. I passed a heap of people going up here as my legs were feeling really good.  After finishing I waited at the top to watch as Miss V and the Smudge Monkees come through.

Very proud of Miss V for battling (yet again!) a poor lead up to the event and pushing her limits to complete the event. I felt fortunate to be able to watch, one by one, all the Smudge Monkees roll over the line to complete their epic adventures.

A fun untimed 10 kilometre descent back into Lorne (think Montecute road, except through thick forest) rounded out the event as we all met back at the event village to finish off the ride.

We were absolutely starving by the time we got back, so we decided to forego the provided pasta meal and grabbed a late lunch from Pizza Pizza. This time a salami calzone..  a taste sensation.  We eased into a hot spa bath and tried to relax the muscles with varying degrees of success.

Still hungry, we later wandered over to Mexican Republic for some Nachos and Burritos, topped off with a Negra Modelo beer. Very delicious :D

Finally, back to the room to pack everything up and get an early night in preparation for an early start to head home via Melton to visit Miss V's sister and her new niece.

Wrap up
Once again, a sensational event put on by by the Amy Gillett Foundation, awesome weather and even better company.  Definitely worth the trip over, and we're already thinking forward to next year. Hopefully we can encourage a few more to make the trip over from Adelaide to take part next year!

My new bike performed flawlessly and was an absolute pleasure to ride. I'm slowly getting to grips with the quirks of electronic gears, primarily the lack of feedback that a shift has occurred! Even so, the consistency of each gear shift is just so awesome..

Strava data for those that are interested
http://www.strava.com/activities/82803361