great vic done and dusted in style

I arrived at sunny Halls Gap on the Saturday afternoon.  The weatherman had promised good weather until the Wednesday... it was fingers crossed.

People were arriving in cars and bus loads... the bikes were transported by cattle trucks!  I was amazed the first time I went on a GVBR at how well the whole thing is run and once again I was in awe of the way the volunteers managed to co ordinate the whole shebang.

 Our first morning was freezing cold so out came the long fingered gloves... As I put them on I realised that I had one of mine and one of my hubby's! lucky for me I had a pair and not 2 left gloves.

 Every morning we would set off under the start banner to the cheers of the volunteers.
Day one was Halls Gap to Dunkeld.  72km with a nice little climb about halfway.
Day two Dunkeld to Mortlake.   89km.

 The CWA ladies had cooked up a feast of biscuits, we bought a bunch of them at sat in the shade and munched our way through them.
Day 3 was the longest day 100km  mortlake to the 12 apostles just outside Port Campbell.  I enjoyed this day as I had driven along these roads many years ago when I used to take the girls on holidays to Port Campbell.

 We arrived in Port to sunshine and a nice little treat at the foreshore of icy poles and snacks before we did our hill challenge up the road to our campsite.

 The campsite although i was really windy had the most amazing view across towards the actual 12 apostles.  We had been really lucky with the weather at this point with warm days but very chilly nights and mornings.

 day 5 12 apostles to Apollo Bay 85km.  this was the most challenging day for the whole event.  We tackled the famed Lavers Hill.  my friends said to me its fine, you have done bigger and longer hills.  So off we went.... The hills went on and on and on!  You would get to the top of one pinch only to find another one.  The climbs were great but by the time I got to Apollo Bay I was really thankful to flop in my tent for a while.

 Day 6 was the rest day!  time to get coffee and recharge the batteries! I can highly recommend the fish and chips at the co op!

 This was the view of part of our campsite.  We camped on both sides of the road and could hear the waves crashing as we fell asleep.  The worst bit about the rest day is the school kids have too much energy and don't go to sleep by 10pm and we also have the 3 day riders join us and they are pretty excited and also don't know the 'routine'.

 day 7 Apollo bay to Bellbrae 80km.  This was my favourite day of the entire event.  We had closed roads along the great ocean road to Lorne. Beautiful views with rolling hills and no cars trying to pass us or zooming towards us on the windy roads.

 We had a rest stop at Kennett River... I rolled in and could see King parrots.... A school boy gave me a handful of seed and within moments I had them all over me.... I was called the bird lady (and for days afterward people would ask me.. are you that bird lady?!).

 We did get some light rain that morning, but the parrots didn't seem to mind and they certainly helped keep my mind off getting damp.

 This cheeky one sat on the wheel of this bike with a piece of my peanut butter and honey sandwich.  Then he decided my head was even better and sat on my helmet and continued to share my snacks.

 From Lorne we had to share the road with on coming traffic, but I didn't hear of any issues with motorists.. we had a huge support crew of Marshall's on motorbikes, police on motorbikes and in cars as well as medical support and the SAG wagon to pick up the cyclists who found they couldn't quite finish the ride that day.

 Day 8 Bellbrae to Queenscliff  53km  the shortest day took us past Bells beach and other surfing meccas.... I think some surfers who came up to their cars were a bit startled to see so many cyclists in the car park.  There was over 4000 of us!

 Day 9 Queenscliffe to Geelong  62km  the last day.  We had been blessed with the best weather and the final day promised to be a scorcher.
The traffic picked up as we got closer to our final destination and the riders all seemed to take their time not wanting their journey to finish.

I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed my GV this year, with many factors making it so enjoyable from the people I rode with to the weather and good food. 527kms done and dusted.
Next years ride is starting at Wilsons Promontory  down Gippsland way and finishing in Trafalgar. 517kms

Great Vic bike ride

 I'm off on Saturday for my 2nd great Vic adventure!

 what more could a woman want?  hahah...   the hardest choice i have is what to wear each day.

Its all about me...... no one else to worry about for 9 days!  and I get to ride every day!

my great victorian bike ride journey

 Day 1  of 9 days of riding and camping.  we claimed our sleep easy tent, hung the bunting and parked our bikes.

 I was gobsmacked to see cattle trucks arriving in the campsite.... the people that came up from Melbourne in buses... this was how their bikes came up!

 Queuing became the norm.  Queue for breakfast, lunch and dinner, showers, toilets, to wash your dishes and to leave the campsite in the morning to ride! The stats showed that 42 volunteers would serve dinner each night and 500 people each 30 mins would be served.

 Each day we rode from a new location, through the gantry to cheers from the smiling volunteers.  The school groups in the first few days learnt how to keep to the left and call out when passing and general road rules.  The rest of the rabble also learnt how to ride in big groups and the art of communication improved as the days went past.

 We rode past Bonnie Doon, over the weir wall.  We rode up mountains and down mountains. Infact I found that there was a lot more hills than I expected and challenged us daily.

 The beast did me proud.  I got my new gatorskin tyres and had no punctures.

 We had views of the mountains that we rode up and down

 I experienced ALL weather conditions.  over 33degrees on a climb with a torrential downpour for the descend complete with marble sized hail stones.  Fog came into camp that night and we had stunning thunder storms with lightening displays that caused the school kids to scream.

 The towns we stayed in pulled out all the stoppers and welcomed us with open arms.  Moyhu was the smallest but the most impressive to me.  They had bikes down the road to welcome us, a street festival with music and food and wines.

 We encountered gravel roads unexpectedly.  Sadly our first gravel road was a detour due to a tragic accident.  Our second gravel road was the rail trail just before Yarck and then all the way to Alexandra... about 30km all up.  My gatorskins did me proud..... the bike store made a killing that day with inner tube and tyre sales.

 On the second night I ate the butter chicken, bad move.  I was up from 11pm-2am experiencing something that no one should before they have the biggest mountain to climb.  No it wasn't gastro but I rode up the Tawonga Pass with no fuel in the body and feeling like hell.  My friend didn't leave my side and I made it up eventually.

 Several days later I did feel a lot better and I was able to enjoy my holiday a lot better!

 This is the SAG wagon.  It wasn't something I was going to catch, and I am proud to say that I didn't take the SAG even when I just wanted to curl up and be somewhere else.

 With the day of modern technology brings forth the issue of keeping in touch with loved ones and charging your garmin to record your riding statistics.  This was the table in the campsite each afternoon.  The volunteers had a system happening and for a few dollars you could leave your devices in safe hands.

 Mansfield was our rest day and I spent the day recharging my own batteries ready for the last few days of my ride.

The worst bit of a trip?  the massive pile of washing!!  I rode 530km in 7 days of riding, I hope to be able to do it all again!