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! :)