Group rides - The Climbing Cyclist

November 5, 2013

Domestique Dirty Dandys

If you love climbing and you live in Melbourne, chances are you spend a fair bit of time in the Dandenongs. And if you do, you probably spend much of your time on the more popular climbs. But there are also a bunch of amazing unsealed roads in the Dandenongs that should be on your radar. We took a group of 30 riders out to explore some of these great roads. Read more

September 20, 2013October 6, 2013

The 2013 Adelaide Dirty Dozen

The second annual Adelaide Dirty Dozen was held a couple of weekends ago and by all accounts it was a very tough but rewarding day. Ride organiser Adam Williss filed this report. Read more

August 15, 2013July 2, 2014

Donna Done Dirty 2013

Riding up mountains in the middle of winter mightn't sound like much fun, but when the ride is organised by Hells 500 and you're surrounded by great people, it's a great way to spend a chilly Sunday morning. Here's my report from the second annual Donna Done Dirty. Read more

May 3, 2013April 9, 2014

A weekend of cycling in the Grampians

Last weekend a bunch of us headed over to the Grampians National Park for two days of terrific cycling. We did two rides and a whole bunch of climbing, including the infamous Mt. William climb. Thanks to Wil Gleeson for some cracking photos. Read more

April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Crux: the Triple Crucifix (a Hells 500 epic)

Every year the Hells 500 mob do a crazy ride that tests the limits of their endurance, physically and mentally, and this year's instalment was dubbed Crux. The route was a simple one: three laps of The Crucifix, a popular but challenging route in the Dandenongs. I was lucky enough to get an invite and here's how my day unfolded. Read more

February 21, 2013November 9, 2013

DD13: the 2013 Melbourne Dirty Dozen

Terrys Avenue: absolute carnage. (Image: Nigel Welch)

If there's one thing I've learnt this summer it's that there are lots of cyclists in Melbourne that enjoy riding uphill. Whether it's been the 7 Peaks Domestique Series or last weekend's Dirty Dozen, the size of the crowds has blown me away. It's been so heartening to see such big groups of riders turn out for challenging social rides. Read more

December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

The Wiggle Bendigo Belter 2012

We're all familiar with the popular and well-established recreational challenge rides in Victoria: Around the Bay in a Day, Amy's Gran Fondo, the Audax Alpine Classic ... and so on. But one ride you mightnt've heard of is Wiggle's Bendigo Belter ... and with good reason: Sunday's running of the event was the first Belter ever in Australia and the marketing around the event was minimal. Read more

November 12, 2012January 31, 2013

The Demon's Double (with some hell in between)

'I've ridden the first 140km of this ride before, how hard could it be to add one climb of Mt. Donna Buang to that? After all I did a Triple Donna just a few weeks ago!' All of that was true, but it didn't make the ride any easier. In fact, if you erase the 3 Peaks Challenge from my cycling memory, Saturday would probably be the hardest ride I've ever done. Read more

October 2, 2012October 4, 2012

The Hobart Dirty Dozen (with a wet and windy warm-up)

Earlier this year David Blom and I held the first ever Melbourne Dirty Dozen -- a tough ride that took in 12 of Melbourne's toughest climbs. It was a ride inspired by the original Dirty Dozen held in Pittsburgh since 1983 and it didn't take long for other states to take inspiration from our version. Read more

September 11, 2012September 11, 2012

Group ride: The Demon’s Double (and some hell in between)

There’s something a bit sick (and not in a good way) about me lending my name to an event with ~3,500 metres of climbing – especially less than a year since my first climb, Mt. Donna Buang, nearly ended me. Read more

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

Guest post: The Inaugural Adelaide Dirty Dozen

In this guest post, Adam Williss documents the thought and planning that went into organising the first ever Adelaide Dirty Dozen, and how the event unfolded last Saturday, September 1. Read more

September 4, 2012September 4, 2012

The Crucifix group ride: riding together, suffering alone

There's a peculiar paradox at the very heart of climbing. Cycling uphill for any length of time is challenging and more often than not, painful. Yet, at the same time, there's something so intrinsically satisfying, so rewarding about dragging yourself and your bike uphill, that we do it voluntarily, and often. Read more

July 19, 2012July 20, 2012

Group ride: Donna Done Dirty (a Hells 500 epic)

The Hells 500 crew don’t do things by halves. They hold the record for the fastest completion of the 7 Peaks Alpine Ascent Challenge (less than 35 hours), they’ve ridden 500km in the Victorian Alps over two days and, more … Read more “Group ride: Donna Done Dirty (a Hells 500 epic)”