The great catch-up

Yeah I know, it's been ages since I last wrote on here. Almost a month probably, but I'm here to rectify that. It's only 3 days until ATB and I thought I would recount all of the rides I have done since I last wrote. I can't remember the dates of any of the rides but they are in chronological order.

Route: Eltham to Watsons Creek return
Distance: 28km

I don't know what it is about the rode to Yarra Glen but it just doesn't seem to get any easier. Those first couple climbs all the way to Kangaroo Ground are an absolute killer and on this day I really struggled, turning back at the bottom of the hill into Watsons Creek. Not a whole lot of fun.

Route: Braidwood to Denhams Beach
Distance: 72km

Yeah I know, it's not exactly Eltham to Yarra Glen. My bros, Dad and I headed up to Batemans Bay for a week in the sun and for me, plenty of bike riding. From the moment I knew we were going to BB I wanted to ride down the hill from Braidwood which is basically a ride over the Great Dividing Range. Some of the corners down the hill are seriously tight especially when you are doing 70km and your brakes just aren't slowing you down. I made it to Denhams Beach in one piece but I was relying on the lights that I had recently attached to the bike and they weren't very helpful. Overall it was a good solid ride but it was overshadowed by epic miscommunication which resulted in Dad and the bros driving back up to Braidwood to try to find me after it got dark and they hadn't heard from me. Not fun.

Route: Denhams Beach to Moruya return
Distance: 65km

The first 10-15km from Denhams Beach to Moruya was fairly undulating, going up and down more times than seemed necessary but after a while the road flattened out and the bro and I were in a good rhythm. There were some lovely views during the ride due to the fact that the road hugs the coastline for much of the distance and overall it was a good solid and enjoyable ride.

Route: Denhams Beach to Batemans Bay return
Distance: 17km

This was more of a time filling exercise. Determined to do as many kays on the holiday as I could I rode into town and back. All good except for the idiot driving a four wheel drive and pulling a caravan who thought that it would be a good idea to pull out in front of me while I was doing 45kph into town. Good work.

Route: Denhams Beach to Ulladulla return
Distance: 119km

This was the big one. The longest ride that either myself or my bro had done, and it took a bit out of us. We picked the hottest day of the holiday - 35 degrees - and it showed. By the time we reached Ulladulla we were both dehydrated, exhausted, starving and wondering how on earth we were going to make the 60km return trip. Just a brief aside, what we saw of Ulladulla was less than appealing what with the industrial area and all. Mind you we didn't venture down to the water as we were trying to get home by a certain time.
Well we didn't get back in time, struggling miserably for the first 20km home before I managed to find a rhythm for the last 40. The bro battled all day long and couldn't find any energy but we both got there in the end I guess.
We rode on the Princess Hwy the whole way and drivers were really good for the most part but it's just such a frustrating road to ride on. The surface was really coarse and the road never stayed flat for more than a couple hundred meters before it would go up then down, up then down etc.
Besides that, a good feeling when we got back knowing that we had broken the 100km barrier for the first time. Mind you, the ever present thought was 'we have to do almost double that for ATB'.

Route: Eltham to Yarra Glen return
Distance: 56km
Skyline Rd climb time: 12m30s

Man I hate this road. I used to love the way in just meanders through the bush to Yarra Glen but I am starting to hate it with a passion. As if the steep hills in KG weren't enough, add to that an almost painfully coarse road surface, idiot drivers who feel the need to come within 10cm of me, and on this particular day a need to be home in order to get to work on time. Also add to that a bandage that decided to untie itself with 20km to go in the ride and after I decided not to reapply it, I was in pain by the time I got home. Great. Needless to say I didn't have a whole lot of fun on this ride, and I was glad to be home.

Route: Eltham to Olinda return (inc. 1 in 20)
Distance: 87km
1 in 20 time: 20m50s

This was last Sunday, a week before ATB. A perfect day for bike riding, not much wind and about 23 degrees. I met the bro at our Mum's place in Ringwood East before we headed out to the Basin for some 1 in 20 action. I didn't feel overly strong at the start but as I climbed further I thought I was a chance to break that elusive 20 minute mark. Going slow at the start obviously didn't help and I was 50 seconds later to the top than I wanted to be. Oh well. After a short break we headed up to Olinda at a leisurely pace, before pushing ourselves up to Sky High for a coffee and cake. The ride back to Ringwood East was awesome, down the Mt Dandenong Tourist Road to Canterbury Rd and along that at a fair clip. The bro bade me farewell at Ringy East and I continued on to Eltham, feeling awesome when I got home. An awesome day of riding tarnished only by my lack of coordination at one set of traffic lights on Doncaster Rd. I do love falling off my bike in front of lots of people. Oh well! No pain during this ride either, due to a combination of strapping tape and the PattStrap - the setup I will use for ATB.

So there you have it, up to date at last. I wonder if I will be able to fit in a ride tomorrow. I don't see why not.

3 days to go.