Bright Camp 2013

As usual I've neglected my cycling over winter, as I usually wait for the warmer weather before logging the big miles on the bike. However my riding form seems to be a little down on previous years, or maybe the other club members have just been improving. Heading to Bright for 3 days of cycling in the Victorian Alps, I believed I would struggle more than I did on the same camp last year.

Mt Buffalo

Friday afternoon and the first ride is up Mt Buffalo. The round trip is 70kms that includes a 20km climb up the mountain at mostly around 6% gradient (a small false flat in the middle brings the overal gradient down to 5.6%). Last year everybody headed off for the Buffalo ride together and I stayed with the group for the first half (10km) of the climb. This year lots of riders took off early and the main pack was much smaller.

The good climbers in the group were Robin and Brent, but they had compact cranks which meant they could hold a comfortable rhythm at slower speeds. With my lowest gear being a 39-25 (as opposed to a 34-28), I needed to go faster to hold a cadence of 90rpm, so I took off alone about 3km into the climb.

I figured it would take about 1 hour to climb 20km, so equilavent to the bike leg of an Olympic Distance triathlon. Therefore a heart rate of 160bpm seemed a good way to pace my ride (my Power Meter was on my Tri bike at home). Halfway up the climb I started experiencing cramps in my calf muscle, not a good sign seeing as I still had 10km to go to the summit. Dropping my heart rate back closer to 150bpm and using less heel drop as I pedalled, I managed to make it to the top. Not quite the Time Trial like experience I was planning, but still managed a 41 sec PB for the climb which was a promising sign for the weekend (those who have read my previous blog post will remember that Elaine posted an 8 min PB for the climb).

At the top it was 2.5 degrees celsius (according to my Garmin) and felt even colder. I'd carried up a vest, arm warmers and long fingered gloves in preparation for the descent, but it was still an uncomfortably cold ride back down. Mt Buffalo is not my favourite descent at the best of times, but being cold, stiff and sore made the experience far worse. I also didn't appreciate the numerous sections of very bumpy road, usually just before a blind corner.

RoseWhite and Tawonga Gap

The second day encompasses the longest ride of the camp. I act as coach for the slower group and we do the shorter 110km ride that goes over the RoseWhite hill and Tawonga Gap (longer ride options are 140 and 170km). As coach I ride sedately with the group making sure everyone is OK. This means I can't really go for PBs up the mountains, but in truth it gives me a good excuse to go easy. With my lack of riding preparation, the 110km in itself (equivalent to around 130km on the flat) is challenging enough and I'm very happy to just clock up the miles (especially when Mt Hotham awaits the next day).

Mt Hotham

Last year Mt Hotham mentally defeated me. I used to arrogantly thing I could climb any mountain on my bike. But Hotham left mental scars and I now shudder any time I hear mention of a climb containing sections with a 20% gradient. Maybe Hotham just brought me back to reality. I wasn't confident that things would change this time around.

A lot of the riders headed off from our camp in Bright to ride the 30km to the base of the climb in Harrietville. This flat warmup didn't interest me. Instead I organised a small group that would drive to Harrietville and take on the mountain fresh. The climb up Hotham is 30km long, add the descent and you have a 60km ride - enough for me (especially since my bum was killing me from the last 2 days of riding).

The Hotham climb is split into 3 parts - each part is 10km long. First 10km is a lovely climb that contains two nasty pinches. The initial pinch is the very first 500m out of Harrietville. Once you survive that you have another 5km of around 5% gradient before you reach the dreaded section called 'The Meg'. After 'The Meg' it settles back to around 5% gradient until the 10km mark where you reach the false flat. This is 10 kilometres of boring frustration that must be endured before you reach the Ticket Office. This last 10km starts with a bang and then just keeps on hitting you. Last year I finished this section a broken man.

With fear and trepidation (and other cliches) I held back for the first 10km and tried to hold my heart rate around 150bpm. It popped up to 160bpm going up 'The Meg', but quickly dropped back down. As I reached the false flat I could see Griff, Swanny and Robin up ahead. I pushed the pace a little to catch up and then enjoyed a nice tow in their draft all the way to the Ticket Office. Robin is an ex-pro triathlete and he regaled us with stories of some of the legends of our sport which took away the boredom of the false flat. Knowing what lay ahead, I made a conscious effort to take on as much nutrition as possible during this section. By the time the Ticket Office appeared, I was fully fueled and feeling good.

Last year the first pinch from the Ticket Office took me by surprise and almost stopped me dead. This time I was ready and even had enough energy for a small surge to get the steep section out of the way quickly. Next comes the infamous 'CRB Hill'. This is extremely steep and keeps disappearing (but not ending) around corners. No surges here, instead in the lowest gear and alternating between sitting and standing - this section was simply survival mode. Last year I was already broken by this stage, this year I was still feeling great. Confidence was returning and I didn't even bother using my lowest gear for the next few hills. Then finally the last hill of the climb - not super steep, but quite long, and made more difficult due to a far bit of fatigue in the legs. I could now feel the effects of past efforts in my legs, but seeing 29km on my Garmin gave me a mental edge and I actually enjoyed pushing up the last kilometre in my lowest gear. End Result, from Base to Summit in 1h40m - a 14 minute improvement over last year.