Rides - The Climbing Cyclist

November 7, 2012November 7, 2012

Melbourne to Ballarat (with some climbs along the way)

There are some days when cycling feels easy. When every pedal stroke feels effortless, when climbing is joyfully painfree and when the kilometres seem to fly by. And then there are days when everything feels harder than it should, when you're labouring on the climbs and when you're counting down the kilometres to the end. Read more

October 24, 2012April 8, 2014

Around the Bay in a Day 2012

It’s been an impressive 20 years since the first Around the Bay in a Day and in that time the event has grown to become Australia’s largest mass participation bike ride. Sunday’s anniversary edition of ATB was the biggest yet, … Read more “Around the Bay in a Day 2012”

October 17, 2012

Double Donna, Triple Donna, Quadruple Donna?

As a recreational cyclist that's spent the past few years getting stronger and faster on the bike, there's a question that keeps resurfacing in my mind: 'What's the limit of my cycling ability?' I suspect it's a question that most (if not all) cyclists find themselves asking at one point or another and for me, trying to answer that question is one of the biggest appeals of cycling and sport in general -- how far can I push myself before it becomes too much? Read more

October 10, 2012October 10, 2012

Double Donna done, but why do we do hill repeats?

Climbing Donna Buang twice got me thinking about a handful of impressive repeat efforts I've heard of in recent years. It also got me thinking: what even is the appeal of riding the same mountain again and again? 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 18, 2012April 8, 2014

Amy's Gran Fondo 2012

In just two years, Amy's Gran Fondo has established itself as one of the most popular mass participation rides in Victoria. And on Sunday, myself and nearly 4,000 other riders descended on the seaside town of Lorne, most of us there to ride the event's full distance of 120km. Read more

September 10, 2012September 10, 2012

Arthurs Seat return: mostly flat with a dash of climbing

Whenever I ride with the eQuipo tranQuilo boys, I'm reasonably confident of holding my own in the hills. Sure, I mightn't finish every climb first, but I'm usually able to finish in the top few. But when the road is flat I seem to find things rather more difficult. 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

August 29, 2012August 31, 2012

A Kinglake double-header: 2 days, 260km and 4,000m

If you do most of your riding on Beach Road, Yarra Boulevard and in the Dandenongs, you're missing out on some of the best roads Melbourne has to offer. Beyond the north-eastern suburbs, out toward Kinglake, there are a bunch of gorgeous roads that make virtually car-free climbs in the Dandenongs seem like crowded city streets. Read more

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Dandenongs half-dozen: six of the best in a solid solo sesh

When my alarm went off at 7.30 on Sunday morning it took all my motivation not to roll over and go back to sleep. No-one had responded with any great enthusiasm to my tweets and Facebook messages about going for a ride -- unsurprising given I sent them at 10pm the night before -- so any ride I did was going to be a solo effort. Read more

August 14, 2012

The Dandenongs/Double-Donna double-header

I wasn't planning on having a big weekend with lots of climbing, but in the end, that's exactly what happened. On Saturday morning I met the Donvale Demon in Kew and we headed out to the Dandenongs via the Eastlink Trail. We didn't have a concrete plan -- we'd just find our way out to the hills, start climbing, and stop when we got tired/bored/soaked/ran out of time. Read more

August 6, 2012August 8, 2012

Donna Done Dirty 2012 (a Hells 500 epic)

After a week of checking snow and weather reports religiously, and after many weeks of build-up and anticipation, Donna Done Dirty finally landed on Saturday. It was well worth the wait, and if there's one thing I took away from the day it's this: the Hells 500 crew do an amazing job of putting on interesting, challenging and well-supported rides. Read more

June 25, 2012July 20, 2012

The 2012 Melburn Roobaix (Hell of the Northcote)

Melburn Roobaix is a true icon of Melbourne cycling, an event the unifies cyclists of all abilities in a way that no other event really does. The concept is simple: find your way between a handful of designated cobblestone sectors … Read more “The 2012 Melburn Roobaix (Hell of the Northcote)”