Rides - The Climbing Cyclist

September 2, 2013September 2, 2013

Guest post: The 2013 Sam Miranda Tour of the King Valley

Verita Stewart's had a big year. She won a couple of tough races in C grade early in the season, got the call up to B Grade and now finds herself riding in the National Road Series (NRS) in the Cycling Victoria development squad. Here's Verita's account from her first NRS race: the Sam Miranda Tour of the King Valley. 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 18, 2013February 28, 2014

Thrills and spills on the You Yangs MTB trails

On a recent trip to the You Yangs for some mountain biking, I captured footage of me crashing three times, my brother Brendan crashing once (heavily), and some footage showing just how varied and fun the You Yangs trails are. Read more

May 14, 2013May 13, 2013

New climb added to the site: The Crescent

If you’ve ever explored the Dandenongs by bike you might have come across The Crescent. It’s one of many climbs that finishes at the Mt. Dandenong Tourist Road and while it’s not a particularly challenging climb, it does have a … Read more “New climb added to the site: The Crescent”

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 23, 2013March 19, 2014

The inaugural Beechworth Gran Fondo

Cycling is well and truly booming in Australia and nowhere has this been more apparent that in the challenging recreational ride sphere. In the past five years we've seen the birth of many gran fondo-style rides and we can now add the tough but enjoyable Beechworth Gran Fondo to that list. 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

March 30, 2013March 30, 2013

The beauty of the one-way ride

If you're like me then the vast majority of your rides start and finish at the same place. Probably at home. But I realised yesterday, as I was riding from Reservoir to Trentham, that one-way rides feel very different to regular out-and-back-style rides and they can be a lot of fun. Read more

March 23, 2013March 23, 2013

Doing Donna in the Dark

I want this winter to be one of adventure and exploration. Last year I did a handful of such rides but this year, I'd like to do even more, to explore and experience this great state of ours. And what better way to kick off a season of adventure riding than a climb of Mt. Donna Buang on a Friday night, after work, in the pitch-dark, and the rain? Read more

December 24, 2012March 23, 2013

Merry Christmas (now bring on the Victorian Alps)

It's that time of year again. A time when a visit to the shopping centre can inspire violence in even the most relaxed of individuals. A time when you realise the year has passed even faster than you would have thought possible. And, of course, a time for sitting back and enjoying some great food, drink and company. 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

December 3, 2012

Evan Henley's Bass Coast Classic

It seemed as if Evan had been bugging us for months about the Bass Coast Classic -- a ~130km ride he'd planned out that took in the quiet backroads of South Gippsland and the Bass Coast. The ride had been postponed a number of times (for various reasons) but on Saturday, finally, it was locked in. Unsurprisingly, it was totally worth the wait. Read more

November 21, 2012

The warm-up is done, now bring on Mt. Baw Baw!

If I had to nominate the 7 Peaks climb I'm most looking forward to riding this spring/summer, it would have to be Mt. Baw Baw. It's probably the hardest of the 7 climbs, but there's something about the ridiculous, unrelenting gradients that has great appeal. Of course, there's also the awesome ride between Noojee and the climb to look forward to -- in fact, that's probably up there with the best roads I've ever cycled. Read more