Outback Odyssey 2019 - Adelaide to Burra

Day 1 - Arrival

The big day had arrived!

As someone who doesn't really like travel this might have been one of the most difficult days, at least mentally. Locking up the house and heading off knowing that I wasn't returning for over two weeks was a huge mental challenge for me. Not sure why, but it's super difficult for me.  Things were made a bit easier with all our preparation taken care of the night before and having a wonderful friend look after the place for us while we were away.

So, with the alarm going off at some crazy hour, we hopped up, got ourselves ready and headed out the door on our epic adventure.

The start of our journey!

Of course, we had to get to the start first. A nice gentle spin into the city to meet up with everyone at BikeSA, load up our luggage onto the truck and get ready to go. A light breakfast was provided which was very welcome.  Everyone around us was looking and sounding optimistic, though under the surface there were certainly some signs of nervousness as to be expected.

Lynskey and Marretta. Ready to roll

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Day 1 - Adelaide to Lobethal - 42 km

And suddenly, it was go time!!
To be honest, this was probably one of the least exciting days for me. Not that it wasn't a good ride, because it certainly is. Since much of it is on our backdoor everything about the ride was very familiar.

We started out with a police escort from the start onto Linear Park and then away we went. Having approximately 100 riders on Linear Park was kind of neat, and there was a lot of happy chatter about the place. For those in the know, there was also the uncomfortable knowledge that Stone Hut Road lay ahead.

V and I have done this climb a few times, so we knew what to expect. Others, especially some of the interstate riders, probably got a bit of a rude shock! There was a fair few people in struggle town over this short but steep stretch. I surprised myself on the climb, managing to ride the entire climb, albeit not continuously. Happy days.

How much fun is Stone Hut Road? This much!

Plenty more climbing after this sign.

The day was short and enjoyable, and served as an introduction to a day in the life of the Outback Odyssey and helped people get into the swing of things, chat with a few of their new ride buddies, looking for the trail markers and generally find their way. Today was also the first day that we experienced our "deluxe camping" option.  Ride into camp, find your tent and unpack. Awesome. Very much worth the extra expense.

Over dinner we met a couple from Mildura (Trish and Dave). Interesting Port Adelaide Cycling Club connection; Dave apparently purchased a bike (some time ago!) from PACC life member Pud Brooks. Also at our table was another Mildura racer Alison. Lots of racing talk at the table made us feel at home. 

The only negative for the whole day was a result of my own stupidity. While trying to charge my phone in low light conditions I managed to short out a brand new powerbank. Expensive mistake :(

Strava data

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Day 2 - Lobethal to Tanunda - 76 km

Today promised to be nice day out on the bikes. The course profile looked fairly sedate and the weather was good. We were also ending up at two wineries along the way. Sounds like a really good day out! 

The first part of todays ride was a section we had intended to check out as a training ride, but never got to it. Our loss, since the roads were really peaceful and nice and smooth to ride on. As we headed out of Lobethal we dropped in to our friends Rob and Jill who wished us well on our journey.  

After morning tea there was a short testing climb through Mount Crawford forest, surrounded by tall trees which was a nice way to break up the morning, though maybe not everyone appreciated the climbing aspect.

Miss V found a new friend at morning tea.

Nice ride through the tall trees.

Today marked our first ever flat tyre of any of our Outback Odyssey adventures. On removing the tube from V's bike and draining all the sealant from inside the tyre we discovered the cause: the edge of the tyre liner had sliced the tube. Hilariously, we had a whole bunch of Marshals flock to help us. We made the decision to remove the liner and Marshal Pete insisted on simply patching the tube. No problems. Something of concern was that we had three more tyre liners on the remaining wheels. We couldn't help but think that we were both sitting on a ticking time bombs.

After the minor disappointment of the flat tyre we were off again. Predominantly flat or slightly undulating roads led us to a massive wooden gate which marks the entrance to a tourist walk for some of the wineries around Tanunda. Fantastic views of the valley from this point.

Top of Steingarten Road

The awesome view from the top of Steingarten Road

After a fairly fast downhill stretch we arrived at Liebichwein. V and I are very familiar with this place since it's the same winery that V's dad sources his port from, and they catered the wine for the wedding of V's sister. They put on an amazing lunch for us, including a soup which was simply awesome. We were all super pleased to hear that the same group would be catering dinner tonight and tomorrows lunch!

A nice shady spot at morning tea

A short but fairly lumpy ride from Liebichwein led us into Tanunda and to our home for the night at the very fancy Chateau Tanunda.  Dinner was held in the Chateau and didn't disappoint. Over dinner we sat next to Kathy who we had ridden with in 2015 on our Mini-Mawson adventure and was part of our unofficial photography group at the back of the field. This was set to continue this time around.

Chateau Tanunda! We've arrived!

Strava data

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Day 3 - Tanunda to Riverton - 79 km

This was a bit of a known event for us, since we chose part of this section as one of our training rides. That said, we really enjoyed it last time, and we were looking forward to it this time, plus discovering the parts beyond Kapunda.

The day started poorly for me, with a flat front tyre less than 5 km into the day. The manner in which it deflated was suspiciously similar to a flat tyre that I had a few months ago. Suspecting a leaking valve, we simply pumped it up and made sure to close off the valve. It held for the remainder of the tour.

Smooth roads lead onto .....	.... sandy roads
This looks like fun!	Lynskey and Marretta at a photo stop.

Not too far out of Kapunda on a fairly quick downhill stretch Miss V had her second flat tyre. This was getting a little bit tiresome to be honest! On inspection, it became apparent that the patch from yesterday had failed. Easy decision to make to replace the tube and get on our way. Then, like a white knight galloping to our rescue, Lindsey the mechanic on the tour arrived and took over replacing and inflating the tube for us. Outstanding!

The roads during this section were generally pretty nice to ride on. A few undulations, but the surface was usually pretty nice. One thing that was very noticeable was just how bare and brown the region was. The impact of the lack of recent rain was quite stark.

Beautiful gravel roads

Historic bridge outside of Kapunda

Miss V enjoying the ride through the countryside.

Dinner tonight was a little bit special. The kids from the local high school prepared all the food and served us. Fantastic effort by all!

Strava data

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Day 4 - Riverton to Burra - 87 km

On paper this looked like it ought to be a fairly easy, albeit long, day. What we didn't account for was the energy sapping head wind that we encountered for much of the ride.

The first section was along the Riesling Trail, which, being an old rail line was relatively flat. Unfortunately it was also very exposed to the the wind which made things generally unpleasant. Perhaps those riding bikes around the Barossa Valley to the wineries might enjoy this trail, but for me it was pretty boring and uninspiring. There were a couple of places along here which were okay; mainly the tree lined cuttings through which the path travelled. Quite similar to sections on the Sea to Vines trail outside of MacLaren Vale. So it wasn't all bad, but I'm not sure it's somewhere that I would go out of my way to ride.

Riesling Trail. Some parts were ok.

Miss V on the Riesling trail, before the rain hit us.

Around the time we reached Clare the rain started. Initially fairly lightly, but then it started properly pouring. We weren't too far from lunch at this point with the promise of shelter in a kind farmer's hay shed.  By the time we got to the lunch stop, we were fully soaked with things made even worse with a freezing cold wind. Some lunch and shelter was much appreciated at this point.

Incoming rain at the lunch stop.

After lunch, we readied ourselves to leave the comparative comfort of the hay shed and to get back on the road. Just as we were about to roll off another heavy rain front passed through, so we waited that one out.  Once that had passed we rolled out to travel the final stretch to Burra.

What we hadn't noticed during lunch was that the wind had turned completely and was now in our back. A very pleasant surprise! We crested the Camel's Hump climb where we felt the full force of the wind. Holding my phone out to take a photo became an exercise in frustration as the phone acted like a sail and tried to pull you over. But I managed to get a few shots, because I'm stubborn. :D

Braving the elements on top of the Camel's Hump climb

The ride down the other side was, quite simply, amazing. For much of it we were travelling at the same speed as the wind at around 40km/h, and so the descent was dead quiet and very peaceful with nothing but the noise of the tyres on the dirt apparent. What had been a fairly ordinary ride throughout the morning had become sensational.

Approaching Burra, we were directed by the Mawson markers around a tricky and at times, rocky, little loop around the outskirts of the township, before heading into town along a river side trail not unlike Linear Park in Adelaide. After signing in we found our way to our rest day accommodation.

Home for the rest day. Lynskey and Marretta can't wait to get inside.

Strava data

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Day 5 - Rest day in Burra

Finally! Our first rest day had arrived. A rest day where all our pre-Odyssey preparation would pay off. Except it didn't quite work out the way we had planned.

We were staying in a lovely cozy cottage with big solid walls, a proper bed and heating (such luxury!). It also advertised that it had laundry facilities, except we were told that they weren't working when we checked in. So we spent much of our rest day hand washing clothes and having them strung up across the living room praying that they would dry in time. Not quite as relaxed as we had been hoping for. That said, it gave us an opportunity to disconnect, reset ourselves and prepare ourselves (and the bikes) for the next stretch.

Inside our cozy cottage. Home for the rest day

One unplanned thing that I did do was revisit my bike fit. I'd been getting a bit of lower back pain, and so I flipped my stem to raise the handlebars a bit. Easily reversible if it doesn't work out, but worth a shot if it makes the longer days more comfortable. We'll see how that pans out.


Continue to Part 3

Outback Odyssey 2019 - T minus 1 week

Welcome Back!

The original starting point for this (almost dormant) blog was to document Miss V and I taking on our BikeSA Mini Mawson 2 trail adventures all the way back in 2013.  Since we're about to take on the full Mawson Trail this time around (once again with BikeSA), it seems fitting that I resurrect the blog.

As we were in 2013. Outback Odyssey newbies

Only one week to go!

Holy crap! where has all the time gone? I don't think I can keep telling myself that there's plenty of time, because there really isn't. That said, I reckon we have most things sorted. We've learnt a whole bunch during our previous BikeSA Mawson adventures and Annual Tours, so (we reckon) we've got things sorted as far as making sure things run smoothly for ourselves. We're taking advantage of the deluxe camping option that BikeSA provide, plus we have even more deluxe accommodation booked for the scheduled rest days (solid walls and heating!). At this point, realistically, there's probably not much in the way of training that will make any difference to the outcome of the adventure, so it's probably all mental from here on.

Challenges

Something that is weighing heavily on the mind is whether or not my body is really up to the challenge. Our first attempt on the Mawson trail (Burra to Melrose) in 2013 resulted in my knees giving out and nearly having to give up. Our second attempt in 2015 (Melrose to Blinman) was more successful, though not without some serious aches and pains. So how will I cope this time around attempting the entire 900 or so kilometres from Adelaide to Blinman?

Training

This probably hasn't gone as well as planned. We've certainly being doing a lot more kilometres on the bikes (both indoors and outdoors) but generally we don't do big days in the saddle; and almost never multiple big days in succession. More recently we've been putting in a lot more effort to get out and ride the 29ers, including riding some of the more local sections of the Mawson Trail, so while the training that we wanted to do hasn't really happened, I think we're semi-comfortable that we're capable of making the distance. As mentioned above, at this point there's little in the way of training that will make a difference, so we've just been concentrating on ticking the legs over and keeping moving.

One of our training rides - Riding the trails outside of Tanunda

Bike Preparation

Coming along on the ride will be my beautiful Lynskey 29er that I built up before the last Mini Mawson trail ride in 2015. We've had a lot of fun adventures together between then and now, so I'm fairly confident that my ride won't let me down. Very few changes have been made to the setup of the bike since the last time, and those that have been made mainly come down to comfort. Frustratingly, I backed a suspension seat post on Kickstarter that was due to arrive last December, but the delivery has been pushed out past the finish of the Outback Odyssey. The most significant changes I've made are:

Tyres

Last time both Miss V and I were running Specialized "The Captain" tyres in 1.9" width. These were super tough, and rolled very nicely, though because of their narrow width tended to ride quite harshly. This time I've opted for a set of Michelin XC Force tyres in 2.25" width, allowing for a much more plush ride with lower pressures. If I'd got my act together earlier I'd set things up tubeless to help with dealing with punctures, but I didn't, so I'll be running Stans sealant in the tubes with a tyre liner. Fingers crossed that does the trick and keeps the puncture fairies at bay.

Grips

With a nice juicy $50 gift voucher that I won from Biomechanics, Cycles and Repairs (BMCR) at Christmas time, I was unsure what to get. Then it came to me on one of our training rides. I wondered what I could do to reduce the aching and numbness in my hands? New grips! :)   I picked up a set of Ergon GP1 grips and they felt immediately right.

Saddle

This is possibly the most radial change that I have made, and to be honest, I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it. Probably not ideal with 1 week to go.  I came to the realisation that perhaps the saddle that I had on the bike wasn't quite right for me, particularly for longer trail rides,  so I swapped out my Selle Italia SLR XC for a SQLabs ErgoWave Active. While I think it's an improvement on what I had on there, I'm still not convinced that it's perfect.  At this stage, I'm not sure if the saddle suits me, or if the setup isn't quite right.  I guess we'll find out in a few weeks time.

Lynskey is ready. Hopefully I am too.

General Preparation

Something that was clear from our previous Mini Mawson efforts was that having some sort of luggage organisation would likely be key to enjoying our trip. With limited time (and space) at each overnight location, know where to find stuff in our bags would (we felt) cut down the stress and hopefully avoid our tent being filled with the contents of our bags as we go searching for a particular item. So we've purchased a number of stuff sacks to keep ourselves and our luggage organised. Hopefully that works as intended!


Bring it on!


Continue to Part 2

Amy's Gran Fondo 2016

CLP and Miss V's Fifth Amy's Gran Fondo.

Our fifth Amy's Gran Fondo! Wow!  What started as a bit of an experiment for us seems to have become our regular getaway and escape. We love coming back to Lorne, not just for the cycling, but for the general atmosphere in the town which really seems to embrace the event and the buzz around the place.

Weather-wise, things were looking a bit grim. Weather forecasts leading up to the event seemed to indicate that our miraculous run of dry weather Gran Fondos was up. Most years we've had the threat of rain, but dry weather would magically appear on the Sunday for the ride. I don't think that any amount of wishing was going to deliver that outcome this time around!

Friday - Travel and arrival

We arrived in a fairly damp looking Lorne on the Friday night, checking in to our super luxury (for us!) apartment practically on the start finish straight. Weather forecasts indicated that it was likely that our 4 year good weather streak was likely to run out with showers forecast for both Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, we'd come prepared and had our wet weather gear at the ready. A walk up to Chopstix for our standard Friday night meal and we were set, and we'd truly arrived. We bumped into a bunch of familiar faces at Chopstix and had a bit of a chat as we waited. It's really amazing how many people from Adelaide we bump into here!

Saturday - Time to ride

Saturday morning was used for bike setup and checking. After a bit of breakfast and check of the weather, we decided to head out for a short shakedown ride along the coast. It was still pretty dry, but fairly breezy. If nothing else, it gave us an opportunity to practice keeping Miss V on my wheel to shelter from the wind.

Our Saturday ride was a bit shorter than we typically would do, primarily because Miss V was looking to save her legs a bit. For once, health leading into the event wasn't a problem. No colds, no sore backs, no sore knees.. nothing. We thought it best not to mess that up by over doing it now! So a simple 10km out, 10 km back was plenty to assess whether the bikes needed any attention. Fortunately, everything was running smoothly so there was nothing much to do. Even though the ride was short we were still able to take in some of the beautiful scenery along the coast.

Strava data

Pinny and Red Flash resting at Mt Defiance

Selfie time!

We arrived back in town as the course was being setup for the Womens Criterium. Back to the room, showered and changed, we headed to the event village to redeem vouchers, and purchase items we felt needed a home ;) We hung around to watch the criterium, and then Amy's Wall before heading back to the room for dinner and to prepare the bikes for the big ride (attaching the multitude of stickers required mainly!).

Womens criterium - super tough racing.

Sunday - The big day

Sunday morning arrived and it was dry! Cold, but dry. That said, we suspected that it wouldn't stay that way. We've also done enough of these rides to know that the temperature can drop a number of degrees as soon as you enter the rain forest areas, so we dressed and prepared appropriately. Our initial concerns were the first cut off time, which seemed stupidly tight for the recreational riders. We assumed, and were shown to be correct, that they'd almost ignore that cut off.

As we waited for the start we caught up with Denis Safe and had a bit of a chat. It's always good to catch up with Mary and Denis, though this time around, sadly, we didn't manage to bump into Mary.

Miss V waiting at the start.

Large crowd covering Mountjoy Parade

As we were doing the course in reverse compared to normal, the ride started with a 10 km climb. A nice way to wake the legs up. The climb itself wasn't too bad, with very few steep bits. I did more than half in the big chain ring, before I thought that I'd best not tempt knee issues later in the ride! The "descent" from the first climb was more of a roller coaster ride, with a number of undulations along the way. We reach the first cut off 5 minutes over time, but they were letting everyone through, and encouraging people not to stop too long.

Miss V on the climb out of Lorne.

Looking up the climb, mist in the distance.

The next bit through Barwon Downs was generally pleasant, with a few bits heading into a strong headwind, but manageable nevertheless. One feature of doing the course in the reverse direction was that the undulations present in this stretch felt easier gradient-wise. We reached the town of Forrest about 20 minutes ahead of the cut off so we could afford to stop and have a small break and a quick snack. Refuelled, we rolled out towards the KOM.

Out of Forrest, the road started heading upwards fairly quickly. I must have read the rider guide incorrectly, as I was expecting a 10 km KOM climb. Once the KOM start sign came into view, I figured 10 km of climbing.. except there wasn't. About 4 km I think it actually was. A bit of a disappointment as far as climbs go in my opinion. Another minor disappointment was that there was no individual timing for the climb itself as they have done in previous years, rather just an overall time to get to the KOM point.

Miss V riding out of Forrest towards the KOM.	Miss V cresting the KOM point.

One fun thing was there was a "Wiggle corner" just before the KOM where a bunch of people dressed in orange, supporting a certain online retailer were making a huge amount of noise encouraging people to push hard to the summit. A nice touch. A regroup with Miss V at the KOM and we headed own the hill to the coast. The descent down Skenes Creek road was billed as being safer, but I'm not entirely convinced, especially when it was raining. That said, most of these roads are likely to be a bit sketchy in damp conditions. We got to the end of the descent and started our much anticipated 40km ride along the Great Ocean Road back into Lorne.

CLP at Wiggle corner

Miss V at Wiggle corner

It was absolutely beautiful riding along the Great Ocean Road as usual. We had a few showers during the final stretch, but nothing to be too concerned about, and certainly nothing that would dampen our spirits or enjoyment. We just kept a steady pace and crossed the line under the arch together on the main street of Lorne. Job done!  :)

We rolled into the event village for a well deserved bowl of pasta, and then decided to go the extra mile and treat ourselves to some food from a couple of  local vendors that we discovered on Saturday. A couple of pulled pork sliders from Naturally Otway, washed down with some beer from Prickly Moses were just thing we needed.

Miss V enjoying the Great Ocean Road.

Misty rain on the Great Ocean Road.

Strava Data

Job Done! 

CLP post-ride. Happy smiles! :D 

Wrap Up

As usual, a brilliant event and weekend. While doing the reverse direction was an interesting change, I really hope they go back to the original travel direction next year. I think that makes for a much more fun event.

As per usual.. if anyone is reading this sitting on the fence about signing up to do it next year. Stop sitting on the fence and do it! Hopefully we'll see you there!  :)

Let's get Down and Dirty!

Oh Yeeeah! :)

So for the last few weeks our minds have been on little else but preparation for the BikeSA Dirty Weekend, a 24 hour mountain bike race at the Fox Creek trails outside of Cudlee Creek. Many an odd look was cast our way at work when casually discussing our up and coming Dirty Weekend, much to our amusement! :D

This idea was born about a year ago when Miss V and myself headed to the Dirty Weekend to have a bit of a look and take some photos. Looking at the atmosphere and the event in general we thought that it seemed like a bit of a lark and that we should give this a bit of a shot. With such a long lead time between coming up with the crazy idea and implementing the crazy idea, it gave us some time (and motivation) to learn how to mountain bike a bit better! And there was plenty of learning to do. In the months leading up to the Dirty Weekend we were regular visitors to Fox Creek, trying to improve our skills and overall mountain biking fitness.  By the time the event arrived, we felt ready; not fast, but not dangerously under prepared either. As a bonus, we were able to rope in two other awesome people into our craziness; our ex colleague Anthony and our current colleague Meg.

Team Educated Guesswork secret training. 

Race Start and Lap 1 - 4

Team Educated Guesswork - Race day 

Race weekend arrived and everyone in our team, Team Educated Guesswork, were filled with nerves. We were joined at race start by Rob and Jill, who provided us with much needed support and a bit of informal management which was very much appreciated. We had decided to send out Anthony, our most experienced mountain biker, first from the start. From there the basic rotation was going to be Miss V, me and then Meg. I think from that point the nerves settled a bit. Camp was set up, the race was underway and the basic procedures for the race were known to us all. So it was just a case of getting out on course at the correct time, not injuring ourselves and basically enjoying things. Too easy.

Anthony on the first lap

We were all anxiously awaiting Anthony's arrival back at the transition zone to find out what the course conditions were like. When he arrived, everything sounded pretty positive. Two of the difficult parts that we'd practised in the previous weeks had been simplified which made everyone a little bit happier. Anthony tagged Miss V and she was away for her first lap. Anthony's lap time was faster than expected too, at a shade under 50 minutes, so he set the standard early on.

Miss V leaving the transition zone

With Miss V out on course I headed back to the tent to get myself organised. I was feeling strangely calm about the whole thing. I suspect because I knew the course and the conditions were pretty much perfect. I rolled down to the transition area and waited to see Miss V roll in. A few words in my ear about the state of the course and I was away!

By now the field had spread out and I was mostly by myself. As I reached the top of the first technical section I let a few riders go past to save them the hassle of trying to get past me on much narrower bits of the track. The first few corners of Drop Bear were a bit sketchy as I don't think I had quite got my eye in, but after that I felt really good. Lynskey seemed to be soaking up the trails, and I felt really smooth on the corners.  As I came up to the outcrops I had to tell myself not to get carried away and give it the respect it deserves as I know it's all too easy for me to lose it. I rode through them safely and without too much trouble, though definitely not setting any speed records. For the most part, the rest of the lap didn't give me too much trouble. The rains during the week had taken care of the dust that had been present on our reconnaissance rides in the previous weeks, and the trail maintenance crew had removed some of the more dangerous aspects of the course. By the time I was ascending the final couple of rises at the end of the lap, I think I was more than ready to hand over the reins to our next team mate Meg. The sight of the transition zone was more than welcome, where I tagged Meg and away she went, into the fading light as sunset fast approached.

CLP Lap 1 Strava Data

On coming off the track, I was greeted by Cathy and David who had come to check out the event and take a few photos. Awesome stuff. After a bit of a chat I rolled back to camp and enjoyed a fantastic sunset overlooking the city of Adelaide. As beautiful and dramatic as the view was, the clouds were closing in ominously, setting the stage for later drama.

Stunning sunset on Saturday night.

Saturday Night - Laps 5 - 8 

Meg pulled into the transition zone, looking fairly stoked with her ride as Anthony headed off for his second lap. With nightfall, the event village started taking on a bit of party atmosphere with lot of people milling about and checking out the action eating pizza and generally enjoying themselves. The predicted bad weather appeared to be holding off, which, I'll admit, had me thinking (somewhat optimistically) that it might miss us completely.

As Anthony arrived back in transition and Miss V headed back out the predicted bad weather appeared to be closing in. Within 10 minutes of the start of her lap there were the first signs of lightning in the far distance. That said, we couldn't hear any thunder so the lightning must have been some distance away. There was a little bit of light rain every now and again, which I wasn't too fussed about as it would help to keep the dust down. To be honest, I think I was more worried about Miss V stressing about the lightning! That concern extended a bit as Miss V hadn't arrived back in transition at the expected time.  As the minutes ticked by, I was wondering whether the conditions were a little trickier elsewhere on the course.  We soon found out as Miss V emerged from the darkness. A flat tyre.  Well, I guess that would slow things down a fraction.

With that mystery solved I headed out a little apprehensively on the first of my night laps, semi expecting things to get a bit wet and wild. Surprisingly, while the course was a little damp from the earlier showers, it seemed to help the surface become a little bit grippy. I reckon I found a bit of confidence in my riding during this lap, attacking a few of the corners harder than I would normally. That said, the lap time showed that I was slower overall than my first lap. I think this was partly due to fatigue in the legs, and partly because I was taking it a bit more cautiously due to the reduced night time visibility. Ten minutes slower on this lap than my last, which was still within reasonable bounds for me.

CLP Lap 2 Strava Data

After my second lap. Me smiling.
Photo c/ V. Riches

Meg was awaiting my arrival in transition. From memory, the only information I passed on was that the course was pretty awesome right now. And with that she burned off into the distance.

From this point on the general plan had changed a bit from what we originally planned. With the bad weather closing in there was general support to calling it a night and getting some rest.  Initially I was keen to keep going throughout the night, but my mind was fairly quickly swayed. Anthony mentioned that he was be keen to do one more night lap, so I thought that I might as well follow that example. The team plan was that we'd get up early and get a few laps in before the 12 and 6 hour riders got going in the morning.

Late Saturday Night, Early Sunday Morning - Laps 9 - 11 

Meg arrived back in transition and pulled off the course ready for a well earned rest as Anthony took off for his final lap of the night. At this point things were still reasonably dry, so I headed back to the tent and got myself ready to take over after Anthony had finished his lap.  As I was waiting the rain came, and then went. Repeatedly. Sometimes it was just a light shower, others a little bit harder. I'll admit to feeling like it might be a bad idea to ride out there again, but in the back of my mind I was thinking "How bad could it be?".

The rain appeared to clear as Anthony arrived back in transition which I took as a good omen for the lap ahead. I probably shouldn't have been so optimistic! Anthony mentioned that the trail wasn't too bad, though it was a bit slippery in places. With that, I headed out on my final lap of the night. Within a minute of me setting off the rain started bucketing down. There were thoughts about now about just pulling the pin on this lap and heading back to the warm, dry tent. However, I decided that I shouldn't let this put me off and kept going. With so few people out on course, it was actually quite peaceful and enjoyable.  The first part of the lap wasn't too bad as the tree cover sheltered the trail from much of the direct rain, but the second part of the lap was where things were getting a bit interesting. Small rivers appeared to be forming in the middle of many of the trails and traction appeared to be diminishing rapidly. I came to the conclusion that my skill level wasn't sufficient for the conditions and that I was way over my head so I essentially tip-toed my way around the remainder of the course, hoping that I wouldn't damage myself or the bike in the process.  Soon the transition zone came into view and the lap was done. By far my slowest lap, but realistically it didn't really matter.  I hung around the village area for a bit to wind down, before heading off for a snooze.

CLP Lap 3 Strava Data

Aftermath of my late night lap.

Sunday morning - Laps 12 and 13

In reality, I didn't get much sleep at all. The wild weather kept me awake for most of it, though I managed to doze off here and there before being woken by the tent walls slapping into me. The team plan was that Meg would be up at 5am to continue. I planned to message Meg to suggest to her not to ride if the weather was still awful, except I forgot.  In a bit of a daze, I noticed lights outside the tent, which had me thinking "someone's pretty keen to be heading out in these conditions". Only too late did I realise that it was Meg heading off.  Some frantic messaging and racing down to the transition area, but it was too late as Meg was already out on her lap. A few more messages and we agreed that we'd wait until the weather cleared a bit before heading out.  I made sure to meet Meg after her lap so she'd know no one was coming out to take over. When she finally arrived, it looked like she'd had a pretty epic lap.

Things were still pretty muddy during Meg's lap

The team gathered and watched as other competitors continued lapping in the early morning, all the while keeping an eye on the trail to see if it had dried sufficiently to go for another lap. On the whole, I think we all weren't super keen to get out there. Meg reckoned she was done for the day and both Miss V and myself were fairly comfortable sitting out for  a while.  Anthony decided to start another lap just before 8am. On his return we grilled him for information about the trail conditions. Despite a fairly positive report, both Miss V and I stayed put, content to watch other riders as they negotiated the outcrops section and making ourselves useful by loaning out our track pump to riders as they punctured on the outcrops.

Sunday Afternoon - A final fling - Laps 13 and 14

With about 2 hours remaining in the race, I decided to get out and have another go. I was a bit hesitant, but I'm really glad I did as it was pretty enjoyable run. My second fastest lap, with none of the fear inducing conditions that I faced the night before. So it felt like I was finishing my weekend on a high note.

CLP Lap 4 Strava Data

Miss V was waiting in transition for me all kitted up. She had decided that she'd do another lap dependent on a favourable trail report from me. My report: Hell yes it was good! get out there!   And with that the final lap for Team Educated Guesswork was started.

Miss V bringing it home for the team.

Wrap up 

For a team of Dirty Weekend newbies and in some cases, mountain biking novices, I think the event was initially quite overwhelming. however we all got into the swing of things and really enjoyed ourselves. Not everything went to plan, primarily the weather, however that's really just part of the event. Our team did a total of 14 laps, last in our category, finishing a mere 3 minutes behind our nearest rival. To put our effort into perspective, the winning team in our category did a massive 34 laps, and the winner of the solo male category did an incredible 29 laps. So, we weren't fast, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves.

Will we be back?  If I was a betting man, I would put money on it ;)

Amy's Gran Fondo 2015

Leadup

Having bid farewell to what, in truth, was a bloody awful winter, we arrived at September, full of hope and anticipation for our trip to Lorne for our fourth Amy's Gran Fondo. Both Miss V and I had battled through a horror cold and flu season and survived. From memory, we were ill no less than four times within three months. This really took a toll on not just our training but our mental strength.  We did manage to squeeze in a few last minute training rides through the Adelaide Hills which helped ease our minds that we were both up to the challenge of the Gran Fondo.  Alas, in the final week before heading off Miss V started struggling with a bad back. Maybe one day we'll both arrive in Lorne 100% fit! Unfortunately, it wasn't this year though!

Friday

We drove over on the Friday as usual, feeling surprisingly relaxed about the trip. Unusually, the weather on the way over was warm, clear and pretty close to perfect! Maybe this contributed to our higher than usual spirits. Every other year we've travelled through rain and storms, so much nicer this time. The weather forecast indicated that the entire weekend would have perfect weather, which once again seemed outside the norms that we'd come to expect from this trip.

We rolled into Lorne late on Friday night, and found our accommodation. This year we were unable to get our usual accommodation, so we tried somewhere a little different. Our little courtyard was pretty much overlooking the Gran Fondo start line; Handy! The people running the place were fantastic, ringing us up as we were driving over to find out what sort of wine we like so that they could leave a couple of bottles in the room for us. Unpacked and settled in, we did our yearly pilgrimage to Chopstix to get some late night noodles and rice. We bumped into Smudge Monkee Tim while we were there, which was a pleasant surprise since we had no idea any of the other Smudge Monkees would be there. While waiting for our food and chatting to Tim we also caught up with Gran Fondo first timers Brett and Karen.

Saturday

Saturday morning in Lorne can mean only one thing! Breakfast at the Lick and Sip Cafe!  Much like our Friday night dinner at Chopstix, this has been our traditional go-to place for breakfast. Sitting and watching the build up in the town and seeing multitudes of cyclists cruising by while digging into a big breakfast seems to snap the brain into holiday mode. It's also a nice way to sit and plan the day. Naturally, a bit of spin on the bikes was in order, but also a look about the shops and the Gran Fondo village. The weather was warm and sunny, though there was a bit of breeze about the place. Fortunately this year the safety briefings could be done online, so we didn't have to organise around those.

Picture perfect in Lorne. View from our motel room.

With breakfast done and dusted, we headed back to our room and got ourselves ready to ride. There was a bit of concern as to how far Miss V would be able to ride today given her sore back, but she was determined to get out, even if if was just for a little while to make sure her bike was running smoothly.  I had been hoping during the year that we might head in the opposite direction to usual and head towards Anglesea, but with Miss V not 100% we decided that the tried and trusted route was the order of the day. As is usual for the Gran Fondo Saturday, cyclists or all sorts were out enjoying the sensational cycling that is available along the Great Ocean Road.

We made it to just past Mount Defiance which, in truth, was further than I thought we'd go this morning. This either meant that Miss V's back was all happy, or that she'd pushed herself beyond what she ought to. I was desperately hoping that it was the former.  We stopped to take advantage of the beautiful clear skies to take some photos before we headed back to Lorne.  Since Miss V was in her PACC of Bobs kit, I thought it would be cool to get a shot of her riding on the Great Ocean Road with the beautiful blue sea and sky in the background. Easier said than done it should be noted!

Red Flash and Pinny take a break

CLP and Miss V on the Great Ocean Road

PACC of Bobs on the Great Ocean Road.

One aspect of our different accommodation this year was a fairly steep hill to get home. When I say steep, I mean the same steep hill that they hold the Amy's Wall competition on! Of course, having arrived back in Lorne I decided to ride past our accommodation and ride the entire Amy's Wall section. It took me a little over a minute to cover the 100 metre stretch, compared to ~14 seconds for the top competitors. I think with a little training I might be able to take out the competition ;)

Strava Data

After a short rest we wandered around the shops of Lorne before gravitating towards the Gran Fondo village. During our brief walk about we were fortunate enough to bump into two of the most lovely people you're ever likely to meet, Mary and Denis Safe, parents of Amy Gillett. We chatted for a while about the event and the weekend and found that it'd be Denis' first time riding in the event. Great stuff!

A new event on the schedule for this Gran Fondo weekend was a Womens NRS criterium along the main drag of Lorne. This was terrific, and got a lot of crowd support. The course simple, and yet was deceptively difficult with a small climb each lap which quickly blew the field apart. I hope this event comes back next year! Shortly after the criterium was the second running on the Amy's Wall hill climb event. Great atmosphere around this one, especially with all the cool lighting effects running along the side of the course.

Amy's Wall. Great atmosphere!

Dinner for the evening was from a new (to us) Japanese place (Umisango) which had some delicious looking dishes on offer. Miss V and I opted for a bento box each, along with some fried dumplings and a seaweed salad. Undoubtedly the perfect fuel for the big ride on Sunday.

As is our Gran Fondo Saturday night ritual, the bikes and equipment were prepared, with numbers and all the various required stickers applied,  ready for the big ride in the morning; and then off to bed.

Ready to roll in the morning.

Sunday

The big day!
Being so close to the start line, we awoke to the sound of the PA test and the announcements for the Womens Road Race that starts before the Gran Fondo.  After a fairly relaxed start we rolled down the hill to the start location. We found our start group and waited for the start.

The weather for this Gran Fondo has been perfect; with this one being the first one that Miss V and I have done minus a full compliment of arm and leg warmers.

A common theme for this trip was bumping into fellow Adelaideans in Lorne. On the start line was no exception and we had a chat to our friend and Gran Fondo first timer, Peter, as we waited.

Miss V on the start line, possibly hiding some
doubts about finishing.

Soon we were hearing the groups in front being given their starting orders. First the age group category riders, and then eventually the recreational riders, which included us. This is probably the most frustrating thing about this (and to be fair, other) community rides, waiting to get going. Unfortunately, there's probably no realistic way to get about 5000 people off the line any quicker! However, once you're out on the Great Ocean Road, locals coming out to greet you as you go past, then all that frustration vanishes and you can settle in and enjoy yourself. As mentioned previously, this has been the fourth time that we've done this event and I have to say, the scenery along here feels just as spectacular as the first time we headed along here.

View from the Great Ocean Road.

Not long into the ride Brett caught up to us from his position near the back of the start line. Nice work!   As there's a cut off time to arrive at Skenes Creek it's fairly important to keep the speed up. This obviously isn't set up as a tourist ride where you can stop and take photos along the way.  Also, the more time you make up along this fast section, the more time you have up your sleeve later in the day to meet the later cut off times.

Brett and Miss V rolling along the Great Ocean Road

Brett looking like he's enjoying his Gran Fondo experience

 Brett catching up to us worked pretty well for all three of us since we could organise ourselves into a mini paceline and keep the speed up. To top things off we had a sensational tail wind for most of the run into Skenes Creek which meant that the Great Ocean Road stretch was fairly relaxed since we weren't fighting nature to get there! Unfortunately during this stretch we came across a few crashes. Given the outstanding safety record prior to this year, it was a bit disappointing seeing so many riders on the ground this year.

Skenes Creek Climb

We arrived at Skenes Creek in pretty reasonable time. Not a PB, but a pretty reasonable average speed and with ample time to spare.  From here Miss V and I (and Brett this time!) did what we have always done and take it at our own pace and meet at the top. Of interest would be to see how Brett's first time up Skenes Creek Road would go. It's not a super steep climb, so I had no doubt that he'd make it up there; but it's fairly long so it's easy to put yourself in a world of hurt early on and never really recover. Even more so if you're not familiar with the climb. Miss V on the other hand; I know she's fully capable of smashing herself up this climb, though I was a little worried that she might over do it and struggle for the rest of the ride given that her preparation for the event hasn't been ideal. I didn't feel super quick on the climb myself, but much to my surprise I managed a PB, knocking nearly a minute off my best.

Having got to the top I waited to see some familiar faces crest the KOM point. A weary looking Brett was the first to appear, while not too long after that Miss V crested the hill. She looked like she'd kept a little in the tank and not gone all out which was good to see. We headed downhill to the post-KOM rest stop at Mount Sabine to stock up on water and have a bit of a breather. Sadly, there were no bagpipe players this year, but there was water and food which was frustratingly absent last year by the time we got there.

Miss V at the KOM point

Mount Sabine to Forrest

After the rest stop we rolled out and headed towards the next stop at Forrest.  This bit is predominantly downhill, though there's a few small climbs to negotiate. Having told Brett that it's "all downhill to Forrest" I was reminded of the inaccuracy of that statement a few times when the road started heading upwards. Fair enough too I guess. I'm sure Brett learned his lesson and won't listen to me any more :D

It's all downhill from here Brett, trust me! 

Forrest to Deans Marsh

The section through Barwon Downs after Forrest is pretty and undulating, but can be a bit of a drag is there's a bit of wind about. Unfortunately we did have a bit of a breeze, though not quite as bad as in previous years. By this time Miss V seemed to be reaching the end of her energy reserves and was starting to struggle a little. Brett had shot up a ahead a bit though was still within reach.

Our overall pace had slowed a fair bit compared to earlier in the day and our time gains were slowly being whittled away. I'll admit to being a little concerned that we might be pulled from the course at the final rest stop, so I jumped in front in the hope that I could shield Miss V from the wind a bit and tow her to the final rest stop. Fortunately Miss V has ample experience in following a wheel from all her cyclosportif and racing experience and so she jumped in behind me and hung on for dear life. We made it to the last rest stop before the final time cutoff which was a massive relief. Huge effort from Miss V!

Deans Marsh to Benwerrin

The final climb of the day is really two climbs with a short downhill in between them. Fortunately I knew to leave a little in reserve for the final effort as it usually catches people unawares. So many people seem to push themselves so hard at the beginning and find themselves walking the last 500 metres.  As is usual Miss V and I went at our own respective paces. I think I went reasonably quickly out of the blocks, but then wound it back a little to make sure I got to the end in reasonable shape. I didn't feel like I had a PB in me at that time after pushing into the wind earlier, so there seemed little point trying to get one!

I got to the finish to find a Wiggle tent handing out muffins and assorted cakes, so I grabbed an apple crumble. Very delicious. I was hoping to take photos of Brett and Miss V as they finished, but sadly Brett arrived too quickly and I still had a handful of apple crumble rather than camera as he crossed the line. I think the last climb really took it out of him as he seemed to be slumped over his handlebars for some time. Alternatively Brett really likes looking closely at his stem. Not too long after, the familiar figure of the awesome Miss V came into view powering up the final climb.

POW! Job done! Miss V being awesome!

CLP and Miss V at the finish. Good times!

After a bit of a breather we headed back down the hill into Lorne to meet up with Karen at the Gran Fondo village and to refuel with the provided pasta meal.  A full 10km descent is always just the perfect way to end the ride and wind down. We sat around on the grassed area of the event village and recounted the days activities, and watched as other riders made their way to the village; each and every one with a smile after a fantastic day out on the bike.

Strava data

Post Ride

Sadly the spa in our hotel room wasn't working, but we did finish the evening with a delicious pizza from Pizza Pizza, gelati and a bottle of wine. This too is pretty much our go-to meal post Gran Fondo, and it's pretty much hard to beat when the legs are feeling pretty smashed!

So that pretty much wrapped up the fourth edition of CLP and Miss V's Gran Fondo adventure. Apparently if we sign up for our fifth event we get VIP entry. Do we think we'll be back?  damn straight!  Hopefully we'll run into even more Adelaide friends next time!

Thanks for reading! :)