Day One - Mt Buffalo
After spending most of Friday morning driving to Bright (4 hour drive), we headed off on a ride up Mt Buffalo at 3:30pm. From our accommodation to the base of Mt Buffalo is about 15km of relatively flat roads. The climb itself is 18.5km at an average gradient of 5.4%. Most cyclists will then continue riding to either the Chalet or Dingo Dell (an extra 4 or 5km), our group went to Dingo Dell. All up the ride ended up being 75km long.
I like the Mt Buffalo climb. The gradient is reasonably consistent, so you can get into a nice rhythm and maintain the same intensity all the way to summit. It is similar to the 1 in 20 in the Dandenongs, except it is steeper, the roads are a little rougher and it is nearly 3 times as long. The Summit is around 1500m high (you climb just over 1000m) and air is noticeably thinner and colder near the top. It was warm and sunny in Bright when we headed off, so some riders neglected to take arm warmers, vest and warm gloves - they greatly regretted these decisions on the descent.
Elaine had intended to ride for time and turn before the Mt Buffalo Summit to make sure she'd be back well before dark (and before it got too cold). Unfortunately there was another group of cyclists who climbed the mountain 30 minutes or so before us. When she saw them descending, she mistook them for our group and turned early. But she still managed to have a decent ride and it was a good way for her to start the camp.
Day Two - Rosewhite and Tawonga Gap (plus a run)
We headed off at 7am the next day. It was about 4 degrees (Celcius) when we left, so nobody made the mistake of not taking enough warm clothes. This ride was a loop that contained a small hill in Rosewhite, an optional ride to Bogong and then returning via Tawonga Gap which would be the biggest climb of the day. The short ride that skipped Bogong would be 110km and the full ride 145km. I was coaching the short ride so had no choice over the distances, but I think I would have selected the shorter version anyway. Not having the mileage in her legs (and being a looped course), Elaine skipped this ride and instead enjoyed a nice morning exploring the delights of Bright.
It was very cold for the first hour, not helped by having a tail wind that meant very little energy was being exerted. But the sun peaked out from over the mountain tops just as the road started to rise and we quickly warmed up. The Rosewhite climb was 4.3km at 4.2% gradient on reasonably smooth roads - a very enjoyable climb. This was my only opportunity to put in an effort, as after the climb the 2 groups separated and I looked after the cyclists doing the shorter ride. After the initial descent, the roads between Rosewhite and Tawonga were flat, but extraordinarily scenic as we rode along the valley between the mountains.
The turn off for Tawonga Gap (the actual sign says Bright) is between the town of Tawonga and Mount Beauty and the ascent begins straight away, 7.5km of climbing at an average gradient of 6.3%. Unlike Buffalo and Rosewhite, the climb is not consistent. Instead you have steep sections up to 8% gradient that last for 800m or so which are then followed by 200m of easier gradient (around 3%). Due to my coaching I spent the climb riding back and forth between the different riders. According to my GPS, I rode an extra 1.5km on this hill and finished the ride with the slowest rider, so my time for the climb was quite slow.
Descending Tawonga Gap (the Bright side) is a lot of fun. The road surface is reasonable and the sharper turns are well sign posted. I rode this section as fast as I could (not very fast) and then waited for the other riders at the bottom.
All up the ride ended up being 115km for me, easily my longest for the season. Going easy up Tawonga Gap would hopefully mean I had left something in the tank for the big climb (Mt Hotham) the next day.
Later in the afternoon we went for a run (Elaine joined in for this session). It was just a short, easy run (7.5km) and I was happy to discover my legs felt OK.
Day Three - Mt Hotham
A lot had been said about Mt Hotham during the camp - mostly that it was really hard. People were throwing around terms such as 'The Meg' and 'CRB' like old sailors might have referred to their encounters with the White Whale (Moby Dick reference). Mt Hotham is a 30km climb (yes that is very long) and consists of 3 distinct sections. The first 10km is a steep climb, the middle 10km is more like a false flat and the last 10km is another steep climb.
From our accommodation it was a 25km ride to the base of Mt Hotham in Harrietville - this would mean a 110km round trip. After two significant rides in two days, my saddle sores were in full force (I don't have a Cobb saddle on my road bike), so another 100+km ride was not really an option. Talking to the other riders on Saturday night, it turned out nobody was planning to ride the full 110km. The cyclists riding from Bright were only going to tackle the bottom 10km of the Mt Hotham climb (a total ride of 70km). The rest were going to drive to Harrietville and then just do Mt Hotham (60km return trip) - I chose the driving option.
I didn't think Elaine was up to climbing Mt Hotham, so I suggested she climb Tawonga Gap instead. She had heard lots of bad stories about Tawonga Gap and was quite fearful of this climb, but I had complete faith in her, especially after her efforts in the Dandenongs the week before. I drove her over the climb in the car so she would know where to go and see first hand what she was in for - seeing it made her even more nervous. However her fears were misplaced as she climbed it without any problems. Around 7km at a 6.6% gradient, it was still a tough climb, but I think she underestimated how much she has improved with the recent rides under her belt (Kinglake, the Dandenongs and part of Buffalo). Needless to say she was extremely happy with her achievements.
Meanwhile I was making my way up Mt Hotham. A group of us parked in Harrietville less than 1 kilometre before the base of the climb. Our original intention was to do a 5km warmup in the opposite direction first, but it was quite cold and we figured the quickest way to warm up was to start climbing a mountain. The main road in Harrietville takes a sharp left turn and heads straight up the mountain (up being the operative word). The first 400m or so is quite steep (around 8%) and you start to wonder how you are going to manage 30km of this, but it soon evens out to a more reasonable gradient (around 5%) and some confidence is restored. For the next 10km the steepness ranges from around 4 to 7% with one small section called 'The Meg' that is closer to 10%. Overall I found this first 10km of the climb quite enjoyable and not nearly as bad as the stories I had heard the previous day. Whilst still difficult, I am confident Elaine could have managed this portion of the ride.
Despite having great views, the middle 10km is quite boring, being a false flat averaging 2 to 3% gradient. This section is very easy, but in truth it is just annoying. At this stage you are eager to keep climbing and this section is just tiring you out a little without gaining much elevation. However this section stops with a bang.
Once you reach the pay gate (the start of the last 10km) the road starts to rise at around 8%. There are small sections of false flat to recover on, but they seemed to be followed each time by even steeper sections. Several times these difficult sections were split by steep descents, very annoying because you knew this meant you had even more climbing in store. A lot of the steep climbing was on winding roads. You would convince yourself that the gradient would ease off around the corner, but sometimes it took 6 or 7 corners to do this. The statistics from Strava show a section named 'CRB Hill' being 14% for 1.6km. There were other named sections that seemed just as steep, but with 90% of the body's blood now redirected to my legs, the mind had lost its ability to perform tasks as difficult as remembering names. In contrast to the first and second 10km sections of the climb that were surrounded by beautiful forest, the final 10km soon rises onto moonscape like surroundings. There are occasional leafless trees, but mostly just rock and occasional patches of snow. This uninviting landscape seems to match the brutishness of the climb.
There was more than one occasion where I just didn't believe I was going to make it. Yet everyone who attempted the full climb made it all the way to the summit, including the 3 girls I coached on the shorter ride the day before. On the summit, I was talking to one of the riders called Brent who has climbed the majority of the mountains from the Tour de France and he said it was the equal of any mountain he had climbed. It may have been that it was the third day of camp and we were tired from 3 days of riding, but it is far and away the hardest climb I have ever attempted.
The picture on the right is Brent and I with our warm gear back on getting ready for the descent.
Although it has nothing to do with our camp, the following link has some good photos of the Mt Hotham climb (based upon the presence of more green and less snow, I think they did their climb in Summer).
Edit: How ironic that Strava claims there was no achievement on my Mt Hotham ride.
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