The Climbing Cyclist - The joy of riding uphill & a guide to Victoria's best climbs.

May 16, 2012May 16, 2012

Guest post: Racing up Mt. Donna Buang

It's one thing to climb a mountain by bike. It's another thing entirely to climb that mountain against the clock while competing in an official event. In this guest post, Josh Goodall describes his experience competing in C grade in a recent individual time trial (ITT) up Mt. Donna Buang. WORD Read more

May 14, 2012July 2, 2014

A cold morning at Mt. Donna Buang

I'm not one of those cyclists that normally gets up before 6am to go for a ride ... especially when the outside temperature is well and truly in single digits. But when the Donvale Demon sent me a message at 5.30am on Saturday saying he was on his way to Mt. Donna Buang, I bounced out of bed and got myself ready to go. EXCERPT Read more

May 8, 2012May 15, 2013

Guest post: Alto de Letras (the longest climb on Earth?)

The longest climb you're likely to come across in Victoria is the gruelling 30km ascent of Mt. Hotham. But when you're climbing Alto de Letras in Colombia, 30km of climbing is barely a warm-up. In this guest post, Alejandro Jiménez recalls his encounter with the epic Alto de Letras. ENDS Read more

May 3, 2012

Ride Hard to Breathe Easy: the final week (and a bit)

It was a good thing I'd already completed the Ride Hard to Breathe Easy Challenge before the final week of April. The first five days of that final week were extremely quiet cycling-wise and, in fact, it wasn't until the weekend that I managed to get back out on the road. EXCERPT Read more

April 30, 2012May 1, 2012

Guest post: 5 Dams, 238km and 2,500 vertical metres

Victorian readers would be familiar with challenge rides such as Around the Bay in a Day and the 3 Peaks Challenge but there are a host of other terrific such rides around the country. Once such ride is Bicycling Western Australia's 5 Dams ride. WORD Read more

April 26, 2012April 26, 2012

Off Track on ABC Radio National: behind the scenes

At 2pm today, ABC Radio National is airing a repeat of an Off Track episode in which my good friend Matt Smith and I talk about the joy of climbing. WORD Read more

April 23, 2012April 23, 2012

Ride Hard to Breathe Easy: week three

After two weeks of the Ride Hard to Breathe Easy Challenge on Strava I'd amassed more than 600km. I was well ahead of schedule and, at that point, only injury or other mishap could have prevented me from reaching the 800km target. Here's how week three unfolded. WORD Read more

April 20, 2012April 29, 2013

Guest post: Jason Spencer on the Baw Baw Classic

For most of us mere mortals, even just getting up Mt. Baw Baw is a huge challenge. But every April, several hundred hardy souls venture to West Gippsland not just to ride up Mt. Baw Baw, but to race up it. EXTRA Read more

April 17, 2012April 23, 2012

Lessons from my first bike race

In the four or five years since I started riding a road bike I've never really been interested in racing. But a few months ago I started thinking I wouldn't mind having a bit of a go at this racing caper. WORD Read more

April 15, 2012April 23, 2012

Ride Hard to Breathe Easy: week two

After the first week of the Ride Hard to Breathe Easy Challenge on Strava, I'd already amassed 341km, putting me well ahead of schedule to ride 800km in April. But that momentum didn't last long with week two of the challenge getting off to a sluggish start. WORD Read more

April 8, 2012April 23, 2012

Ride Hard to Breathe Easy: week one

I've signed up for the Ride Hard to Breathe Easy challenge on Strava -- a fabulous cause and one I'm proud to be raising awareness about. The goal is simple: ride 800km in April. WORD Read more

March 30, 2012May 3, 2012

Ride Hard to Breathe Easy: prologue

It's been nearly three weeks since I finished the 3 Peaks Challenge and the closest I've been to getting on the bike are wistful glances at the ol' Cannondale of an evening. It's driven me a little bit crazy to be honest. WORD Read more