Staying clean and dry at the Otway

Unlike Josh, I decided to keep as clean as possible over the weekend whilst riding 150km through the Otway ranges.

The Otway Classic took us from Torquay, out the back of the ranges, and then over the ranges, along the great ocean road back into Torquay. The weather was perfect, and Will and I were really looking forward to a fantastic day in the saddle. After a couple of hot cross buns each, we were off.

Apparently 2,500 riders took part this year, and to tell you the truth it certainly felt as though this was the case in the initial 50 km's of the ride. It was Chaotic! It was as though every man and his dog had hoped on a bike to take part. There were riders everywhere!

As we began to encounter some wind and a couple of rolling hills, the bunch began to thin out and the riding became most enjoyable. Will and I took to the front of a pretty good bunch of riders and punched out a solid pace into our pit stop at the 70km mark in Deans Marsh.

We were both feeling strong and had no need to stop for any longer than 10 minutes. The next section of the ride took us through the Otway Rangers where we had a steady 12km/s of climbing. The scenery was just amazing although I'm not sure if many riders had the chance to enjoy it? Most of the guys I passed had their heads down and were fighting with their handlebars as they climbed to the summit. I felt proud as punch wearing my TDC kit passing most riders with ease. At this point I had confirmed that my preparation for the tour was on track.

The decent from the summit into Lorne (8 km's) was a hell of a lot of fun. There were some great corners and very little traffic that made for exciting riding.

The last 50 km's took us from Lorne, along the great ocean road back into Torquay. For those who have not ridden the great ocean road, I would strongly suggest that you do. Words don't do the scenery any justice, so I hope that TDC may take this path on it's way to Adelaide next year so you all can see what Victoria has to offer.

I picked up the pace back to Torquay and managed to finish the ride in just under 4 hours and 30 minutes. I averaged a pace of 34 km/h which I was quite please about. I would be lying if I told you that my legs weren't a bit saw at the end of the day, but I put this down to 'having a crack'.

Really looking forward to hoping on the bike with the crew in 2 weeks time. Bring on the Tour!!

Steamboat