7 Peaks in 7 Days

On Sunday 30th of October, myself and some friends are planning to embark on a cycling trip like no other. We're calling it 7 Peaks in 7 Days.

The itinerary is listed below.

I'll be providing some updates, statistics from my GPS and maybe even a few photos here as we go.

Seven Peaks in Seven Days Itinerary

Day 1

• Date: Sunday 30th October
• Distance: 138km
• Start: Tanjil Bren
• Finish: Upper Yarra Reservoir
• Route: Tanjil Bren, Mt Baw Baw, Tanjil Bren, Noojee, Yarra Junction, Warburton, Reefton, Upper Yarra Reservoir

Day 2

• Date: Monday 31st October
• Distance: 161km
• Start: Upper Yarra Reservoir
• Finish: Jamieson
• Route: Upper Yarra Reservoir, Cambarville, Lake Mountain, Marysville, Buxton, Taggerty, Thornton, Jamieson
• Additional Notes:

The following route description is from Bonzle.com:

‘The Eildon-Jamieson Road is a sealed road in Victoria. It goes from near Snobs Creek to near Jamieson.

The Eildon-Jamieson Road's highest elevation along its length is 879m and the lowest point is at 222m.

For cyclists and those towing caravans, boats or heavy loads the Eildon-Jamieson Road is mountainous along its 47.6 km length, with about 14.5 km that is steeper in incline/grade than 5% (5.1 km is steeper in incline/grade than 10% and 3.2 km of that has an incline/grade more than 15%!). The total ascent / descent along the length of the Eildon-Jamieson Road is 1654 m / 1362 m.’

Day 3

• Date: Tuesday 1st November
• Distance: 175km
• Start: Jamieson
• Finish: Whitfield
• Route: Jamieson, Mt Buller, Mansfield, Tolmie, Whitfield

Day 4

• Date: Wednesday 2nd November
• Distance: 162km
• Start: Whitfield
• Finish: Bright
• Route: Whitfield, Oxley, Milawa, Myrtleford, Porepunkah, Mt Buffalo, Bright

Day 5

• Date: Thursday 3rd November
• Distance: 137km
• Start: Bright
• Finish: Omeo
• Route: Bright, Tawonga Gap, Mt Beauty, Falls Creek, Anglers Rest, Omeo

Day 6

• Date: Friday 4th November
• Distance: 111km
• Start: Omeo
• Finish: Bright
• Route: Omeo, Cobungra, Dinner Plain, Mt Hotham, Harrietville, Bright

Day 7

• Date: Saturday 5th November
• Distance: 111km
• Start: Bright
• Finish: Bright
• Route: Bright, Harrietville, Mt Hotham, Harrietville, Bright

Total Distance = 995km

That New Bike Feeling

I've just upgraded my mountain bike and road bike. My work is part sponsored by Specialized Australia and as an employee I get access to bikes at very good prices. This deal has been in the pipeline for a while now and just got approved, following which I promptly put in my order for an Epic Expert 29er and a Tarmac Expert.

Both are amazing machines...easily the nicest bikes I've had the fortune of owning. Every ride I find more reasons to love these bikes. Today I rode the Epic at Gap Creek in Brisbane and I just can't get over how smooth, how fast and how responsive it is. In two hours I rode every trail in the trail network and felt like I was riding like a pro. It climbs like a mountain goat and the big wheels just seem to eat up the bumps.

The roadie is also a blast. When you contrast it against the past two bikes I've been riding, you can see the difference is like night and day. The last road bike I owned was an Avanti Corsa which I bought from a mate. It had a carbon fork and carbon chain and seat stays, with an aluminium main triangle and full Ultegra componentry. I bought it second hand, and my friend estimated he had done about 8,000km on it. I put another 8,000km on it, at which time I discovered a crack in the left hand side chain stay, just behind the bottom bracket. This happened in July 2010.

Luckily my brother had a road bike I could borrow - a steel Jamis with 105 components, a carbon fork and some Mavic aftermarket wheels. It wasn't the lightest and latest thing, but it did the job while I waited on the new Specialized deal to come through.

So compared to these two, the new Tarmac is amazing - hell, it stands out on its own merits as the best road bike I've ever owned. It's really light, although certainly there are lighter bikes out there (possibly not many at this price point). It's comfortable and fast and it looks damn nice too. I haven't done any rides over 100km on it yet, but I hope too soon. I'll post some pictures of both bikes soon.

God is a Bike Rider

God has returned to earth and he rides a bike. I'm sure one of the blokes in these vid's must be God, cause no mortal man could do some of these things...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fohPU3pDpFU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw