Capsule summary: Well organized and supported, friendly people !!, moderate difficulty, nice scenery but nothing breathtaking, recognizable culture but different enough to add to the interest level, polite drivers, good road surfaces, quiet roads for the most part but a few busy sections, different flora and fauna - (you won't see kangaroos anywhere else !) — bottom line, well worth doing but then again I say that about most, if not all, of these rides.
From a weather perspective, three of the days were tough - 1,2,&4 - due to headwinds. Day 3 featured tailwinds but became difficult for some riders since late starters that day encountered more rain and cold and produced a number of DNF's. Speaking of which, the finish rate was around 50%, which is low. Much of that was due to cold at night, e.g. 8C, which isn't extreme but you have to be prepared for it. I only experienced a couple of hours of rain late on Day 3. Others weren't so lucky.
The kilometer breakdown was fairly typical - (in round numbers) - 375, 325, 300, 200. The 5am start on the first day meant a later finish that day, but at least it was "only" 375k.
Climbing ? - the first 275 kms of Day 1 to Nanup was almost flat, which of course made the headwinds that much more noticeable. 2500 meters of climbing that day was heavily weighted to the last 100k. On the other hand, 3600 meters on Day 2 to Albany, over a shorter distance, made that the highest climbing day. About 2300 meters on Day 3 and 1200 on Day 4 brought the total to a fairly typical 10-11,000 meters. Grades were mostly moderate, 8% being pretty much the max.
Accommodation featured mats on days 1 & 3 and individual dorm rooms on day 2 in Albany. Food was provided at the overnights and a couple of other Controls. A choice of good comfort food for dinner plus eggs for breakfast made for pure luxury.
The ride was well staffed by volunteers, some 2 dozen. Wayne Hickman, the ride organizer, lamented that he didn't have as many as the last edition which meant that he couldn't staff all the Controls but for a newbie rider on this event, the combination of overnight staffing, great food and open Controls was as much as I could have asked for.
As usual on these rides, I was quickly the lanterne rouge. Flat and headwinds kept me there for a while but I gradually made up ground with quick turnaround at the Controls. Many riders were able to take advantage of small groups, drafting in the wind, but I was dropped early on. I finished the day at 12:30 am, later than I'd hoped but not too bad considering. I rolled out again at 5am the next morning and at roughly the same time on days 3 & 4. However, I finished Day 2 around 11:30 and Day 3 by 10pm, so I got progressively more sleep.
Mark Thomas and I had booked rooms for days 1 & 3, opting to sleep in real beds. He had done his research and booking and I followed his lead. Thanks Mark ! The B&B on day 1 picked up and brought back my drop bag. That was a delight, especially when I discovered that the 1/2 km driveway to that B&B was up a winding steep climb ! Wayne helped us get to the 3rd overnight motel and we rode back in the morning carrying our drop bags. I never saw Mark that first night. He arrived before me and left before me. I only saw his bike in the lobby. He had ridden by himself part of Day 1 and all of Day 2. In Albany, however, we were at breakfast together, headed out together and finished the day together. We were together part of Day 4 but at one point he jumped in with a fast moving group but, naturally, that group took longer at lunch and suffered through a few flats and I finished a little ahead with Rus Hamilton, who I had met on the Sunshine 1200k that I ran in Florida.
For me, the highlights of the ride were on Day 1, approaching dusk, seeing all the white flowers -- like Easter Lilies -- covering the floor of the forest. These lilies aren't native and they had taken advantage of a wet winter. On Day 2, after dawn, there were many kangaroos and at one point on Day 3 with Mark and Rus, a big roo bouncing down the road ahead of us for quite a while until he found a break in the fence. There were no dramatic views, no snow capped mountains, but the different vegetation and birds especially made it very interesting, even having ridden Sydney Melbourne last year. Cover your head ... magpies ! Yes, they dive-bomb you !
I don't want to understate the cultural experience, though, as that's a key part of international rides. The people are about the friendliest that I've ever encountered, whether the volunteers or convenience store & restaurant staff.
I think about the last couple of months, from Japan to Michigan to Australia ... wow. I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to have these experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment