Bright Training Camp

On Thursday last week I travelled to Bright in the beautiful Victorian High country for 3 days of cycling up mountains and hanging out with some old and new friends alike. 
Meeting the rest of the crew at Harrietville, greetings and pleasantries exchanged. the first climb up Mt Hotham beckoned. Now the last time this was attempted it was Melbourne Cup weekend and it was wet and cold and visibility was around 50 metres at the top. Luckily today the sun was shining and it was perhaps around 30 degrees.
Beautiful ride up maybe going a little hard with another 2 hard days to follow but sometimes you just can't help yourself. Down to Dinner Plain and then return to Harrietville and everyone was feeling satisfied and looking forward to a feed and possibly a cold drink. 

Part of the crew after the first ride.

After feasting on Fish and Chips from Rok Salta contented crew.

I must admit to waking up around 2 am on Thursday night and tossing and turning for a couple of hours worrying about the day ahead or to be more specific the legendary "back o falls" (see climb 6 in the linked profile) I have heard how steep it is and was worried if I would be able to handle it. 
The day dawned and I must of gotten back to sleep and dragged myself out of bed to fuel up for the coming ride.
A brief drive over to Mt Beauty and everyone ready to roll and we're off. Regrouping at a cafe at The Falls Creek village a quick snack and then on our way again to Shannonvale for the big climb. 

The start of the Shannonvale climb.

I reckon after climbing up around the first right hand bend my cycling computer was showing 13% gradient heart rate was sky rocketing and the front wheel of my bike felt like it may leave the bitumen at any moment. It was warm,steep and an extreme challenge. I set my sights on getting to the top without stopping and was sort of confident this could be achieved. Just when you thought the climb was getting easier it would kick again and the gradient would be hovering around 10% for what felt like an eternity and the heat coming off the bitumen added to the intense experience that can't really be described in words. But in amongst the pain I could see the other guys some in front some behind in their own personal challenge and this helped with motivation to keep the legs going.
In just over an hour I finally reached our chosen regrouping area to find 3 crew members waiting to greet me and looking pretty satisfied. After a short wait the others arrived and our support vehicle for the day after one of the guys decided (he was the only one with any sense) to ride back down to Mt Beauty after ascending Falls and come over in his car with some well needed water to refill our bidons (Thanks Tony). Regrouping done it was on the bikes again for the trip back. The descent down Falls Creek is one of my favourites and it feels like you're flying and in no time we we're back out our cars feeling great,tired but in a good way.

The crew before the descent back down Falls Creek.

That night we feasted on pizza and wine and a couple of scoops of ice cream for desert. 
Saturday morning came quickly and we packed up our vehicles and headed to the base of Mt Buffalo.
The last climb of our 3 days beckoned and with tired legs and struggling to get my heart rate up I got into a steady rhythm with one of the other guys and we rode to the top together. Regrouping at the top and a little snack provided by our new support vehicle for the day(Thanks Des) . Blasting back down the mountain we drove back to Porpunkah for a quick dip in the river and a nice coffee at a local cafe and then it was time for us to head back to our respective homes. Thanks to all the guys for the great weekend of good friendship, hard riding and an excellent few days away in a lovely part of Victoria.