Welcome to the 4th Mt Buffalo Challenge.Matt Clark has won the Men's Competition 3 years in a row and will be hard to dislodge from the top spot again this year.On the Women's side of the competition we've had a different winner each year. Verita Stewart is the current Queen of the Mountain and will be looking to go faster again this year.
But it's also a Challenge to ride your own best time or race your friends.It's great to see riders of all abilities submitting a time.  

                                                                           Details of the Competition.
The Mt Buffalo Challenge is a competition to ride up the main Mt Buffalo climb as quickly as possible.There are 2 perpetual trophies offered for the fastest time for both men and women.
The starting point is at the bottom of the mountain near where the little office/gatehouse used to be. See the stone wall on the LHS (this has a digital screen on it now) The Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign is on the RHS.Just start your time when you pass between the digital screen and the Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign. It will be based on the time it takes to ride from the starting point (see pic below) to the top of the main climb finishing at The Gap.(finish timing your ride when adjacent to "The Gap" sign), see image below.   

           Important Statistics. Distance 18km, Average Gradient 5.4%, Elevation Gain 1004 metres. 

                                               PLEASE READ THIS PART IN RELATION TO STRAVA. 

I have recently, Feb 2015, created a Strava segment that will the the one we use now for timing when it's done through Strava.
It's called Mt Buffalo Challenge Official and I've added it to the page below.
You should be stopped or rolling very slowly at the start so as not to get an unfair advantage by hitting the start line at 40 kmh.
It's been decided to NOT make this a Strava only competition as many people want to join in who don't use Strava.
It's pretty easy to time it manually on most bike computers or an iPhone.

There are many ways to submit a time for the competition and one way is to contact me via email. I'm also on Twitter so feel free to tweet a time in too.The 2013 results sheet can be seen below the current 2014 results for comparison.I will also need the date the ride was completed,your name and racing category or age so that information can be added too. 

                                                                             IMPORTANT NOTE.
I also think it's fair to the leaders of the competition, that anybody submitting a winning time be able to verify their time.Either on Strava,or taking a photo of your bike computer, displaying the recorded time.Or have somebody else that witnessed the ride be able to confirm the time. 

It's time to wake up those climbing legs and start the Mt Buffalo Challenge for it's 3rd year.Each year the number of people entering is slowly increasing which is fantastic.With the "Tour of Bright" entries currently being taken, it seems fitting to launch this year's competition.Matt Clark has owned the Men's Trophy for the last 2 years and will start the favourite once again.The Women's event gets more interesting each year, with Clare Dallat the current keeper of the Perpetual Trophy.Rumour has it there will be times under the hour from the Ladies this year.

                                                                  Details of the Competition.
The Mt Buffalo Challenge is a competition to time your ride up the main Mt Buffalo climb.There are 2 perpetual trophies offered for the fastest time for both men and women.
The starting point is at the bottom of the mountain near where the little office/gatehouse used to be. See the stone wall on the LHS (I think this has a digital screen on it now) for another landmark,with the Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign on the RHS.Just start your time when your passing through this point and you'll be close enough. It will be based on the time it takes to ride from the starting point (see pic below) to the top of the main climb finishing at The Gap.(finish timing your ride when adjacent to "The Gap" sign), see image below.   

           Important Statistics. Distance 18.5km, Average Gradient 5.4%, Elevation Gain 1004 metres. 

                                             PLEASE READ THIS PART IN RELATION TO STRAVA. 

It's probably better to be stopped or rolling very slowly at the start so as not to get an unfair advantage by hitting the start line at 40 kmh.The Mt Buffalo segment on Strava is around 10 seconds shorter than the manual timed segment I've created for this competition, so you can use Strava to get your time.I will then add 10 seconds to all Strava times.It's been decided to not make this a Strava only competition as many people want to join in who don't use it.It's pretty easy to time it manually on most bike computers or an iPhone.

There are many ways to submit a time for the competition and one way is to contact me via email. I'm also on Twitter so feel free to tweet a time in too.The 2013 results sheet can be seen below the current 2014 results for comparison.I will also need the date the ride was completed,your name and racing category or age so that information can be added too. 
Feel free to leave your time in the comments section at the bottom too. 

                                                                    IMPORTANT NOTE.
I also think it's fair to the leaders of the competition, that anybody submitting a winning time be able to verify their time either on strava,taking a photo of your bike computer displaying the recorded time or have somebody else that witnessed the ride. 



                                                         2014 COMPETITION CLOSES WITH A BANG 
Many thanks for everyone who has been involved in The Mt Buffalo Challenge over the last three years.I enjoy running it and hope it keeps growing in the future.Making the trophies was great fun and I know the quality of them is appreciated by the winners.
  
With a week left to run in this year's competition,Verita Stewart completed the winning ride on the Women's side of the ledger.
Verita is improving all the time and has made huge gains in the last year,can't wait to see if she will be the first Female to go under 1 hour next year.

Not to be outdone,like the last minute bid on an Ebay item, Matt Clark once again proved he's the man to beat.Matt completed his ride on the second last day of the competition after Stephen Lane had been in the lead for most of the year.

I'm trying to work out how to get more competitors involved in future years.This year has been the lowest in the event's short 3 year history.I'm thinking about running a handicap event along side the current scratch race.Hopefully that would create more interest for those of us not gifted enough to get the fastest time.Just have to work out a handicap system!!

I had the opportunity to head to Mansfield on Sunday to Photograph the Mt Buller Road Race.I've added a gellery of images the the website here. 

It's with a tinge of disappointment I write this post on the eve of the above titled event.Four days cycling in Victoria's High Country, all in the name of Charity,and sneaking in some fantastic riding and maybe a quiet beer or two at the end of the day
would be just the tonic to kick start 2013's Cycling training.I'd reserved my spot as soon as I was informed of the event but a strained left hamstring has left me unable to ride my bike.  

This will be the first time this ride has been held and from what I understand from the BDA crew this is a "pilot run" with the hope of it being an annual event.And from the enthusiasm I've seen from all involved I'd suggest there will be a queue waiting to register for next year.

The riding in the Victorian High Country will be awesome and you can have a look at the itinerary on BDA's website here Also look at the sponsors of the BDA crew who are involved in helping getting this inaugural ride up and running.  

From what I understand money raised from the event will go to the Amy Gillet Foundation which is inspired by the life of Amy Gillet,the foundation's aim is to eliminate cycling related fatalities. 
 Sam Miranda has shown once again, how keen he is on promoting cycling in the Wangaratta area by giving a large donation towards the event.The ride officially starts from Sam's Winery in The King Valley tomorrow morning. 

So if you see the guys out on the N.E Victorian roads over the next few days,give them a friendly wave and any donations would be more than welcome too.

The first weekend in December saw the running of the Alpine Cycling Club's very popular and tough 3 stage race. The "Tour of Bright" has with no doubt become one of the most popular cycling races in Australia, selling out this year in about 30minutes flat online.If you weren't sitting at your computer when entries opened the odds are, you missed out.I've spoken to friends who've raced it 7 times in a row that told me you used to be able to decide 2 weeks before the race if you wanted to compete.
Not any more,the entries are capped at 550 riders across 9 grades.I raced my second Tour in the Masters 4/5 field of 70+ riders, which is about double the size field of the next biggest race I competed in this year. 

Stage 1. The Gaps Loop.
Climbs both Rosewhite Gap,at around 50km,then finished on top of Tawonga Gap for a total distance of 91km.Last year,2011, the pace was faster than I could cope with on Rosewhite Gap and this year I was nervous about what would happen when our group hit the climb.Saturday morning, as we rolled along the Ovens Valley Highway with the customary surging, as riders tried to get off the front and were consequently chased down again.I must admit to be feeling pretty comfortable and how easy the pace was.Enter Rosewhite Gap,bang,the hammer went down as our large peloton of riders splintered to pieces.Watching the strongest riders disappear from view, I found myself in the company of who else but  Dr Gav from Wangaratta CC, and many others as we crested the Gap in the next main bunch of riders.This was a better result already than last year and as we flew down the descent our chasing group was growing as we collected more and more riders.Local Cobram legend,Ray Jarratt, was in the group too,Ray has ridden the Bright Tour many times.We probably had between 12 and 20 riders in total and it was quite a task getting the group to cooperate.Half of them need some schooling in the art of Handicap Racing to learn how to work as a group.A few would ride through too hard making the pace impossibly high to keep up with.So after doing a couple of turns on the front you would have to sit on and recover,then they wondered why you weren't helping.
Our group eventually caught the front bunch a few kilometres before the start of the final Tawonga Gap Climb.That was my goal for this stage, to at least start the final climb with the leaders.I hung on to Dr Gav's wheel for most of the climb,it was quite warm and very humid at this point and I was soaked in sweat as we ascended.I lost contact with Dr Gav with about 1.5km left in the stage and just rode the rest of the way as hard as I could.Wangaratta Cycling Club member Matt Clark, overtook me about 300 metres from the finish of the stage.I knew he was about to win the stage in A Grade and I was thrilled for him.He also managed some words of encouragement which lifted my spirits too.
I'd come in in 18th place for my grade which was great and much better than I'd expected.

Stage 2. 15.7km ITT.
There was plenty of time between getting back to Bright around noon and my TT start time of 5.03pm.Recovery drink first then into the icy waters of the Ovens River to cool down and soak the tired legs.Out of the river and some real food,check stage 1 results and change the timing transponder onto the Time Trial bike.Plenty of time for a stretch and rest before starting to warm up around 4pm.Using my stationary trainer outside in the humidity, I'm not sure if I've ever sweated so much in my life.When it came to putting on the skin suit I could hardly get it on.
I've ridden the course for the Time Trial several times in practice and this was really reassuring, knowing the road,where the rises were,where you could rest a little and where to go all out.I managed 23min 58sec which was a little slower than I'd done in practice but still ok.My "Wiggo" style side burns had kept me at 18th on GC after the ITT.

Jo Upton kindly sent me the image below to use in my blog. Please visit her website where she has been busy editing and uploading photos of this years race.

   

Stage 3 "Mt Hotham Ascent"

Sunday morning saw us race from Bright to the top of Mt Hotham.A distance of 56.5km,I had it in my head it was 52.5km so was far from impressed when my Garmin ticked over 52km and there was still a long way to go,4km at the end of Mt Hotham is a long way, let me assure you.
A small breakaway rode off the front of our group as the race got underway on the outskirts of Bright.I saw Ray Jarratt ride across to it and thought to myself,that's a good move.I decided to stick with the main peloton.We kept a good solid pace along the valley towards Harrietville with a pretty large group hitting the climb together.It kicks up quite sharply right at the beginning and stays that way for the first 500-800m where the gradient eases of to a more comfortable incline.About 20 riders had ridden away on this section and I was trailing them by about 50 metres.Some self urging and digging into the "suitcase" got me back onto their wheels.
Gradually riders found their own pace with some going ahead and others falling behind.Who should I find for company along this section?Dr Gav,my Wangaratta Clubmate,friend and someone I've had countless battles with on the bike over this year.
By about this time we arrived at "The Meg", a nasty little pinch that only lasts about 400metres, but feels incredibly steep.It's all you can do just to propel your bike forwards.Once you get past The Meg it's a few more kilometres before the road levels out to what's known as the false flat section.Here I found myself pretty much alone and put my head down and rode as strongly as I thought was sensible knowing what was to come.The last third of Mt Hotham is the toughest part of the climb.There are a few very steep sections,that when you're fatigued from the effort of the previous days racing,plus already having climbed around 20km.So arriving at the ticket box you know your about to enter "A world of Pain".During this roller coaster section of the mountain, I seemed to be overtaking plenty of riders from other grades but not so many from my own Masters 4/5.In fact,I felt like many Masters 4/5 riders were passing me.I really now wanted to keep my spot in the top 20 on GC, as this meant automatic qualification into next years event.When I finally crossed the finish line,exhausted and relieved, I was pretty concerned that my top 20 may be gone.
Kindly, Howie and his wife Bid had space for me in their car, which meant I didn't have to ride back to Bright.I can't begin to put into words just how good that felt.Also booting up Howies' iPad to check the race results, my GC place was number 20,you bloody beauty.Last year I'd finished 53rd in the same Grade so felt quite happy to have made up 33 places.

Many people are responsible for making "The Tour of Bright" a success and The Alpine Cycling Club and all the volunteers do a wonderful job.They have been always very welcoming and friendly at any event they run.

If your looking for something to do on a Monday evening, Alpine Cycling Club  may have your answer. Starting a couple of weeks ago and running through until the Tour of Bright in the first week of December.They're running a TT using the exact same course that is used for the Time Trial in Stage 2 of the Tour of Bright.The first rider starts at 6pm so get there in plenty of time to warm up and let them work out the starting order.

A few of us went up from the Wangaratta Cycling Club on Monday for a hit out and I must admit I'd forgotten how tough the course is.The first hill after about 1.5 km is just long enough to really hurt as your already going close to maximum pace.I'd forgotten my cycling glasses and kept getting little insects in my eyes which wasn't ideal but a good lesson learnt.The results each week are posted on Alpine's Website here

Of course for those into Strava there is a segment for the Bright TT course, which is pretty close to the actual Race Day course.I've included the Strava Segment below.To get on the first page you have to be pretty quick,I'm currently in 42nd place from 183 riders.

Matt Clark has once again taken out this years Mt Buffalo Challenge in a record time of 48 mins 4 secs.He has had a wonderful year claiming some very big races and we're all watching Matt's Cycling Career with interest. I think the only way anyone else has a chance to win will be if Matt gets a Pro contract and doesn't have time to get near Mt Buffalo.

On the women's side of the leader board we have a new winner in Clare Dallat. Clare's time of 1 min 10 seconds is the fastest yet by any female in the competition.I'm also reliably informed that in another attempt, she would have gone under the hour mark, but had to get off her bike and walk around a fallen tree over the road.

I'm also excited to announce there is a Perpetual Trophy for the Women being constructed at the moment and I'll be able to present it to Clare soon.


We will start the 2014 edition of the competition after winter.Thanks to everyone who participated.Scroll down to see the winner's times and the full leader board. 

                                                                   Details of the Competition.
The starting point is at the bottom of the mountain near where the little office/gatehouse used to be. See the stone wall on the LHS for another landmark with the Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign on the RHS.Just start your time when your passing through  this point and you'll be close enough. It will be based on the time it takes to ride from the starting point (see pic below) to the top of the main climb finishing at The Gap.(finish timing your ride when adjacent to "The Gap" sign), see image below.   

Important Statistics. Distance 18.5km, Average Gradient 5.4%, Elevation Gain 1004 metres. 

                                              PLEASE READ THIS PART IN RELATION TO STRAVA. 

It's probably better to be stopped or rolling very slowly at the start so as not to get an unfair advantage by hitting the start line at 40 kmh.The Mt Buffalo segment on Strava is around 10 seconds shorter than the manual timed segment I've created for this competition, so you can use Strava to get your time.I will then add 10 seconds to all Strava times.It's been decided to not make this a Strava only competition as many people want to join in who don't use it.It's pretty easy to time it manually on most bike computers or an iPhone.

There are many ways to submit a time for the competition and one way is to contact me via email. I'm also on Twitter so feel free to tweet a time in too.The 2012 results sheet can be seen below the current 2013 results for comparison.I will also need the date the ride was completed,your name and racing category or age so that information can be added too. 
Feel free to leave some comments below too spice up the competition. 

                                                                   IMPORTANT NOTE.
I also think it's fair to the leaders of the competition, that anybody submitting a winning time be able to verify their time either on strava,taking a photo of your bike computer displaying the recorded time or have somebody else that witnessed the ride. 

The Tour of Bright one of Australia's biggest and best cycling races was held over the weekend. It was my first attempt at the race after spending the 2010 version photographing the action.There was a large contingent of local riders competing and it felt a little like an extended family as we all checked each others progress on the excellent results website which updated the moment you crossed the line. You can view the results website here.

Stage 1 on Saturday morning saw my group of Masters 4/5 start last at 8.45am and I had been awake for hours raring to go. After deciding to drive out to the base of Tawonga Gap and ride into Bright as a warm up. I figured after the stage I could save myself the 10 km ride into town.For the 90km stage I had some company in my group with Gavin Frawley,Stephen Fields,Ray Jarratt who had all raced the TOB before and Tony Barton who was like me a first timer. The highlight of the stage was flying down the Ovens Valley in a big peloton and feeling like you were almost a pro at speeds up to 50kmh. The lowlight was getting dropped by the main bunch up the Rosewhite climb. That being said I wasn't the only one and forged a small working group of around 8 to ride to the bottom of Tawonga Gap. Just after starting the climb the A grade bunch motored past like we were standing still. I did the climb in around 33 mins and was greeted at the top by several local riders waiting at the finish line.

Stage 2 on Saturday afternoon was a 16km time trial which is 8km out the Wandiligong  Rd and the turning around and riding 8km back. My start time was 16.48 precisely. Riders start every 20 seconds and you even get to roll down a proper starting ramp . The out leg is a gradual climb up the valley punctuated by a couple of small hills particularly the first one which takes the wind out of your sails. I had a decent ride and came in just under 26 mins which was a little slower than I'd done the course in practice but after stage 1 in the morning I could live with that.

Stage 3 on Sunday morning was The Queen stage from Bright to the top of Mt Hotham. Due to pretty bad weather on the top third of Mt Hotham the race organisers made the decision to end the race and the end of the false flat near the ticket box about 10km short of the summit. My bunch was still together at Harrietville after all the breaks were kept well under control, but as we rounded the first hairpin the sounds of chains being shifted up cassettes into easier gears for climbing could be heard reverberating throughout the peloton. The first part of the climb is really tough and any disappointment felt from not being able to finish at the top quickly evaporated into relief. After the initial pinch it settles down for quite a while until the Meg which is a real gut buster section albiet quite short but enough to make the legs hurt and the heart rate climb skywards just to maintain forward momentum. After a few more kilometers of 5-6 percent gradient the road levels out to around 2-3 percent for around 10km and in this case the end of the race. It was great to be cheered on at the end by the local riders and their families who had made the journey up to watch the finish of the race.  

It's been fantastic to have had support and encouragement from heaps of people. All the local riders who have had to put up with me asking endless questions about racing and gear etc. The health professionals who looked after my injuries when about 2 weeks out from the race I thought I would not be competing. Also the help of all the volunteers that make events like these possible and the Alpine Cycling Club for putting the race on.For the record I finished 53 rd out of about 70 riders in masters 4/5. As I sit here this morning typing my legs are sore and I'm feeling pretty stuffed but I reckon I'll be back again next year. 

A few little anecdotes from the weekend.

Watching all the riders sizing each other up on our Friday afternoon ride around Bright.

Having a chat with Bridie O'Donnell at rider registration but at the time not being quite sure it was her.

Meeting Wade Wallace from the CyclingTips website in person after some of my photos from the Bright race last year were used in his race report.

The constant surging of a big peloton and the smell of burning carbon under heavy brakes.

When Wes said "you know when you think you might well be right on the back of the bunch but don't want to turn around and look just in case you are" and knowing exactly what he means.

Ashley Baines screaming out "Reeeeeckmaaaan" as he blasted down Hotham as I struggled up.

Shane Miller the leader of The Mount Buffalo Challenge saying he is not riding up Buffalo again on Monday.

Seeing some of the older guys in your group fly up the hills leaving you in their wake.

Watching Laurie Lyster climb onto the podium several times during presentations.