The 5th annual High Country Cycle Challenge has just been and gone. This one had a new format that I believe set a new direction and standard for the event - better rides, easier logistics and better entertainment on the Saturday night.
For those that know nothing about the event, it is run by a company called Bike Events (www.bikevents.com.au). It is on in March and is based around Mansfield and Mt Buller in Victoria's north east. It's a participation ride rather than a race, although they do give out prizes for the King and Queen of the Mountain - i.e. the man and woman that complete the 16km climb from Mirimbah to Mt Buller village in the shortest time.
Good friends of mine run the event, so I've been involved with every one. I volunteered the first two years and I've ridden for the past three (my wife Erin on the other hand has volunteered at all five I think).
As mentioned, they changed the format this year so that all rides started and finished in Mansfield. This meant that most people could stay Friday and Saturday night in the same location in Mansfield, and make the most of the pubs and restaurants in town.
There were many different ride options available. I chose to ride Option B on Saturday, approximately 90km from Mansfield to Mt Buller and back again. Weather was perfect as we rolled out at 9am and it stayed that way all weekend - cool crisp mornings and mid twenties maximums later.
My friend Craig and I rode with the front group as far as Merrijig, where the road enters the foothills and starts to climb. Between Merrijig and Mirimbah there are a series of rolling hills that usually throw the bunch into disarray, stringing riders out as the group surges up each rise. Craig and I backed off the tempo and road our own pace through to Mirmibah where the Buller climb starts in earnest.
I'm no stranger to this climb, having worked at Buller for many, many years (over seven winters and nearly six summers at last count). My fastest time is 55 minutes. Simon Gerrans has ridden it in 38 minutes. On the weekend, the King and Queen did it in 43 and 48 minutes respectively.
Its actually a great climb. It climbs about 1000m over the 16km distance and is generally not too steep, maybe 5-10% at a guess. The last kilometre up to the village is the hardest.
I started out going pretty easy. I was determined not to blow myself up like previous years, so I kept one eye on the heart rate monitor, with the aim of keeping the heart rate around 160bpm and definitely under 170bpm. By about the halfway point I was actually feeling pretty good so started to up the tempo slightly and began to pull back a few other riders that had passed me earlier. I crossed the finish line at the top in 1:03 - not my best time, but not a bad time considering I'd already been on the bike for an hour.
The ride back to Mansfield is pretty easy and I think Craig and I covered it in just over an hour.
Saturday afternoon was the Aviva Investors Tour de Flavour Criterium in the main street of Mansfield. I raced C grade and had an interesting race. I knew going into the race that my preparation hadn't been ideal - I'm not that fit that I can ride 100km including a significant mountain and be back in top form four hours later - but I was keen to have a go anyway.
The race started fast and I soon found myself struggling to hold position mid pack. After every turn the leaders would stand up and sprint, spreading the bunch out further and further. The tight course made passing tricky but I slowly clawed my way towards the front and stayed near the front for the next ten minutes or so. Every so often a small break would go off the front or a gap would open in the field, and I seemed to find myself continually cycling defensively to get back to the front or close a gap. About two thirds of the way through the race, my friend Bruce (one of the two Bike Events Directors) had a crash right in front of me. With only some minor grazes he took the allowed one lap out and then rejoined the group. Not long after he rejoined the bunch, a group of four, including Bruce, got free off the front and opened up a gap. Knowing that the race would be decided in that group, I decided to try to get across the gap. I launched myself into the chase, sprinting along the straights and cornering as fast as I dared. After three agonising laps at 110% I bridged the gap, but I'd given too much. I was only able to hold them for one lap before my legs completely gave in on me, and I started to go backwards and was soon caught and passed by the rest of the bunch. The commissaires rang the bell indicating three laps to go, by which stage I had dropped completely off the back of the main bunch, where I stayed for the last three lonely laps.
Still, it wasn't all bad. Yes, I came last, but I know that if I'd been fresh that I could have been competitive. I reckon I worked as hard as anyone in the bunch and I know I was a key rider in closing some gaps and chasing down breaks. I don't have a great short sprint, but over thirty minutes of hard fast riding, I figure that at times I rode as fast as anyone in that group.
The vibe on the course was amazing. The support from all my friends in the crowd was incredible, especially when I was stuck in no man's land trying to chase down that lead group. Even the commentator got behind me, although I think was struggling to pronounce my name.
On Saturday night we watched Mark Seymour play live at the pub. I was pleasantly surprised. I think I'd underestimated him, but he's an awesome performer who has written some of Australia's most enduring songs.
The ride planned for Sunday was a 120km, out-and-back ride to Whitfield in the King Valley. This is an awesome road - quiet, scenic, hilly and twisty. Everything you could ask for in a road ride. The highest point of the ride is located exactly halfway between Mansfield and Whitfield, meaning that the ride is basically 30km up, then 30km down, in both directions.
Craig and I rode together again, and were joined by a few others, including a Mansfield local, Tim. We reached Whitfield in about 2 hours and 10 minutes, with only one or two others arriving before us (of those that started at the official time of 9am anyway). We scoffed down some excellent wood-fired pizza made by the local primary school (this is the King Valley after all) and then started back. As we began the steep climb back up I realised how good I was feeling and decided to increase the tempo. I soon pulled away from Craig and Tim and before too long I couldn't even see them behind me on the road anymore. I was on a mission. Every five minutes or so I'd stand up and blast away on the pedals, surging forward up the hill, stroke by stroke. I think that is one of the best climbs I've ever done. I reached the high point of the ride in about an hour and then settled in for the fast ride back to Mansfield, pushing hard to beat a return time of two hours. I didn't quite make it though. I rode into Mansfield exactly 2 hours and 10 minutes after leaving Whitfield and was the first rider to make it back. All in all, a fantastic weekend of riding. I'd recommend the event to anyone.
