sky high - 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

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

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 31, 2012October 5, 2012

Is there a “right way” to ride The Crucifix?

The Crucifix is one of the most popular (and challenging) routes in the Dandenongs, but there's much conjecture about the "right way" to do it. I think I might have the answer. 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

March 1, 2012

Episode 17: Beach Road vs. Mt. Dandenong

Route: Thornbury, Emerald, Olinda, Dandenongs loop
Distance: 183km
Duration: 7 hours 11 minutes

Do you ever have one of those days where you wake up … Read more “Episode 17: Beach Road vs. Mt. Dandenong”

February 19, 2011November 14, 2017

Episode 19: Return to the Dandenongs

Route: Eltham to Sky High return via Ferntree Gully, The Basin & Mt. Evelyn
Distance: 111.1km
Duration: 4 hours 41 minutes

When I looked at the Bureau of Meteorology’s website last night I thought there was no chance of getting … Read more “Episode 19: Return to the Dandenongs”

December 12, 2010December 11, 2013

Episode 7: Of mistakes and making amends

Route: Tanjil Bren to Winch Corner, return
Distance: 24.8km
Duration: 1 hour 16 minutes

There’s a great cliche in sporting circles that reads something like … Read more “Episode 7: Of mistakes and making amends”

November 21, 2010

Episode 5: Visiting old friends

It had been almost a year and a half since my last attempt at the 1 in 20 climb. Time to visit the old friend... Read more