Audax Alpine Classic 2012 - ACE250

It didn't seem that crazy at the time but maybe it should have. It was 4am in Bright and I was standing around with more than 300 cyclists about to start on the longest ride of my life. Somehow Michael managed to find me amongst the crowd. I wouldn't see him again until I was having a beer over 15 hours later.

4:00am Bright 0km: We're off. Its a long snaking trail of headlights, tailights and flouro vests. It's a time to be very cautious and I settled in with a reasonable bunch. I soon realised
a) Don't look over your shoulder. Modern bike lights are *very* bright. Ayups seem to be the light of choice (I think Jumbo Jets use them).
b) White bar tape reflects a lot of light. Very distracting.

4:53am Harrietville 24km 53mins riding. The road heads up towards Mt Hotham. My strategy is to spin my way up the hills so I can finish the day. The crowd has now spread out a bit. The lights of people climbing behind me are swaying side to side - I'm feeling "seasick". The Meg seems easier than New Years Day (less champagne on board). Looking back down the mountain is a slow moving line of lights - a memorable sight. As the darkness lifts - birds are singing and the Alpine views are very speccy. I have my first break after 2 hours of riding. Back on the bike - past the ticketbox and the Dargo turnoff - it's the snowline and a change of scenery. The early morning views over Mt Hotham make any complaints about the ridiculously early start invalid! I'm working pretty hard up CRB Hill, huffing and puffing, and there's 2 guys chatting behind me like they're standing at the bar enjoying a drink! That's just not fair.

7:10am Mt Hotham 53km 3h10m (+2m stopped). Have to take a picture. Wow.

It's the first downhill - I'm doing 60km/h rather than 11km/h. Hooray.

7:35am Dinner Plain 66km 3h33m (+4m stopped) The first food stop. It's a 10 minute break for checkin, banana's, bread with jam and a coffee. I grab an extra banana to take with me. The road to Omeo is generally downhill. I set my max speed for the day down into the Cobungra Valley - 86.8km/h.

9:15am Omeo 110km 5h02m (+15m stopped) Lunch stop. Yummy food - a salad roll, banana's, orange quarters, plunger coffee and an icy pole. I fill my water bottles up and apply some sunscreen. It's hotter now - so I remove my undershirt. The flouro vests also seem to trap some heat in. It's all new for me out of Omeo. There are volunteers at a plank bridge over the Bingo Munjie Creek. The organisation and volunteer effort is *amazing*. I take my time on the first climb out of town. Then it's a delightful flat section running next to the Mitta Mitta River. There are pockets of people camping out for the long weekend.

10:55am Anglers Rest 140km 6h23m (+34m stopped). Great spot for another quick break. There's a pub but I order a soft drink. In retrospect, I probably needed something stronger - anabolic steriods!!

11:32am Bogong Hill Plains Rd turnoff 150km 6h52m (+42m stopped). Whisky Tango Foxtrot Hill (ok, let's call it by it's real name "What The Fcuk Hill". Yep, that's exactly what you say when you see it. I had ridden easy just to get up the next 8-10km. It was hot and tough but I got up the first 1.5km to the water stop. A quick break to fill the water bottles - then up we go. For about 1.5km before my temperature went way up. I looked for some shade and stopped and sat on the guard rail for a few minutes. Time to move on - this time 500m before the shade looked to good to pass by. I took my flouro vest off, poured water over myself and sat on the guard rail considering my options. The was another guy 30m up the road. I walked my bike up and sat with him. He kindly offered my a lolly. May as well sit and eat. A short walk around the corner (too avoid the steeper bit) and away we go...for 350m. Based on this effort - I'll still be here next week. And I'll be cooked like a chicken. It's damn hot.

12:12am Somewhere in Hell 154km 7h18m (+46m stopped). Time for a long walk. Even walking isn't easy - but 3.5km/h is better than stopped. Holy shit - thats another 2 hours on this stinking hill. WTF is wrong with me - cyclists are crazy - who would want to race on something like this!! A water tank!! Audax think of everything. Fill my bottles and squirt some water over my head. St Johns Ambulance rolls up next to me.
Ambos:"You OK?".
Me:"Got a bike rack on this thing?"
Ambos:"Nope. Need anything else - water?"
Me:"Any Ice?"
Ambos:"No ice but we have icy water."
Me:"Yes please". It was one of the most delightful things I had all day.
Off again - 2km this time before a stop and a soaking from my water bottles. Then another 3km ticked off. I'm starting to weave all over the road (on purpose) because it really does help lessen the gradient. Also there seems to be a bit more tree cover now and without the direct sun I'm no longing "roasting". Woohoo - some down hill - back to my natural environment. But, it's the work of the devil - WTFH2 is just around the corner!! No way I can climb that. Add another 400m to my walking total :(

1:46pm Raspberry Hill Water Stop 170km 8h43m (+1h05m stopped). So 20km took me 1h51m riding/walking + 23m stopped = 2h14m. Audax have been doing this for a long time and they know some tricks. A volunteer with a garden sprayer sprayed my face with water to remove the salt. It was cool and refreshing to say the least. More bananas and some lollies. "It's just undulating from here and once you can see the water, it's all downhill". I assumed he didn't mean the Pacific Ocean. It was also cooler on the Bogong High Plains. I have never seen this part of the world. One day, I'll *drive* back for a better look.

2:45pm Falls Creek 187km 9h34m (+1h13m stopped). A couch. I made another mistake and sat in it. Comfy..in the shade...cool...feeling tired. If it wasn't for the coming downhill - I might have stayed.

3:51pm Mt Beauty 218km 10h26m (+1h27 stopped). If it was on the other side of Tawonga Gap, I'd rename it "Mt Fcuking Beauty". But it's on the "wrong" side so I decided to have a rest, a coke and some gatorade before hitting the hill.

4:30pm Tawonga Gap with 6km to climb 222km 10h48m (1h44m stopped). It's extremely hot again. More water over the head.

4:38pm Tawonga Gap with 4km to climb 224km 11h05m (1h45m stopped). The Audax water stop with *ice*!!! Extraordinary *ice*. Lovely *ice*. Cold *ice*. Gotta have some of that *ice*. PLUS the garden spray was out again - this time with *ice* water. It's hard to explain how great it was.

5:20pm Tawonga Gap 228km 11h27m (+1h55m stopped) The climbing is all done. I'm off downhill. Catching a few on the descent - I know I can make it. My legs are enjoying the change and it felt great to finish "strongly".

5:50pm Bright 248km 11h57m (+1h55m stopped) Total Time: 13hours 52 minutes.

Cathy was at the end with a great big hug. What a supporter. Thanks.

7:00pm Bright Hotel. The MDBC crew was together again. Michael Gass had a great ride (His 18th Alpine Classic - he's forgotten more than I know), Andy and John also completed the 250 (much faster than me). Michael Burmeister broke 8hours for the 200 and Steve Rath completed the 200 on a single speed and just missed 8 hours (I still can't believe he does that!!). There were many others (RobV, RobP, PaulF, GrahamP ++) who completed their rides on a day when just finishing was something extraordinary. Congratulations.

I'll say this again - the organisation and support provided by Audax and the volunteers is absolutely amazing. We could not do it without you. Thanks so much.