Well, it’s been a big month and a bit for the PBs Project. I’ve snagged plenty of new PBs, including some of the hardest ones on my list, and I’ve now got only a couple remaining before this whole project is done.
If you’re just tuning in, the concept behind the PBs Project is about as simple as the name suggests: set a whole bunch of climbing PBs. I’ve been at it since October last year, chipping away at a long list of climbs that I wanted to PB.
Here’s what’s happened in the five weeks or so since my last update.
Arthurs Seat: In early February I headed down the Mornington Peninsula to tackle the region’s most famous climb. I took 13 seconds off my best, going from 11:53 down to 11:40. While I was down there I figured I should have a crack at the nearby Caldwell Road too. That’s the steep street you see if you’re coming up to Arthurs Seat from Dromana. I took nearly a minute off my best there — not bad given my previous best was about 4:30.
The Wall: I thought this Dandenongs classic would be quite the challenge, but it turned out to be easier than I expected. I took my best from 18:07 down to 17:14. Happy with that!
Hughes St: Straight after climbing The Wall I headed down to Upwey to tackle Hughes St. My legs were very fatigued and I thought it could be a tough one, but I ended up getting there by about 30 seconds: from 8:14 to 7:43.
Devils Elbows: This one made me nervous. I’ve always found it to be a tough climb, and its one of the busiest sections of road in the Dandenongs so I wasn’t really looking forward to it. In the end I managed to take a good chunk of time off my best, far more than I thought I would: from 21:43 down to 20:25.
Perrins Creek Road: This was immediately after the Devils Elbows and I wasn’t exactly confident of getting it. By somehow I managed to squeak in 12 seconds under by best: 9:12 vs my previous best of 9:24. Awesome!
Lake Mountain: The weekend after Devils/Perrins I headed out to Marysville for one of the most important attempts of the whole project. I was reasonably confident of snagging a new PB, but this climb was as much about getting a hard effort in for Mt. Donna Buang — one of the climbs I was most anxious about.
I taped time splits to my top tube, did a nice warm up, then went for it. I made up a lot of time in the steep first 4km and managed to hold a handy advantage all the way to the top of the 20km ascent. New PB by a little over two minutes: from 1:06:20 down to 1:04:31. I was happy with that, not just for the PB, but because I felt strong for the whole effort, which gave me great confidence for Donna Buang …
The 1 in 20: This was my first attempt at one of the three climbs I was most nervous about: the 1 in 20, Kinglake and Donna Buang. I didn’t really feel confident in the lead-up, and while I rode strongly, I wasn’t nearly fast enough. I ended up 22 seconds short, and was left scratching my head about how to make up that time.
Kinglake: Two days later I headed out to Kinglake to tackle what has been a tricky climb for me in years gone by. I’m not sure there’s a climb I’ve tried to PB but fallen short on so many times. Here’s what happened at my last attempt, three years ago:
This time around things went a little better. Again I wrote up time splits and stuck them to my top tube, and again I was ahead of those checks nice and early. I felt strong as the road got steeper and I was able to maintain my effort all the way to the end. The result? A new PB by 43 seconds, from 21:14 down to 20:31. Very happy with that! That left me with only two of The Big Three remaining, and only a handful overall.
Mt. Donna Buang: This past weekend featured the biggest attempt of the PBs Project so far: a tilt at Mt. Donna Buang. I’d deliberately been putting this one off until towards the end because I figured I needed all the training I could get to even go close, let alone set a new PB.
My best mate Nick came out to join me for the day and after a lovely warm-up I set off up Donna while Nick waited at the bottom for a bit. He’d start his effort after a few minutes, seeking a PB of his own.
Again I had timechecks to aim for and at the halfway mark I was ahead of where I needed to be. But it wasn’t feeling easy. But looking at the data now, and comparing this weekend’s ride with my previous best, I finished very strongly. Over the second half I put almost two minutes into my previous best, finishing with a new PB of 1:03:02, compared to my previous best of 1:05:17.
It hurt a lot but boy was it satisfying to set a new PB up there for the first time in seven years. Ever since I started thinking about this project Donna has been perhaps the climb I wanted a PB on the most, so to get it — and by such a large margin — was tremendously satisfying and a great reward for months of hard work. Oh, and Nick set a new PB as well — a truly ridiculous time of 51:50, which would have been ever quicker if he hadn’t slowed down at the end, thinking the segment ended at the start of the carpark!
![](https://theclimbingcyclist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/donna-580x128.png)
So where does that leave me? Well, of the 21 climbs I had on my original list, I’ve now set new PBs on 17 of them. I’ve also set another six that I added to the list after it was originally created. So with the cooler weather approaching, I have just four climbs remaining on my list:
Inverness Rd: Not an easy climb by any stretch but of the four remaining climbs, this is the one I’m most confident of a new PB on. Even then, it certainly won’t be easy. I averaged 356W for just over 10 minutes last time, which is about what I did on Perrins, while fatigued, for just under 10 minutes a few weeks back (I’ve been riding with a Stages powermeter on and off for the last few weeks). If I do this fresh, I should be a good chance, but you just never know.
Main Road Eltham: If you’ve been following this series from the start you’ll know that I’ve already had three attempts at this in recent months — the most of any climb. I’ve been within three seconds of my best of 5:04, but it’s been demoralising missing it so many times. I’m confident I can get it, but hopefully it doesn’t take me too many more tries!
The 1 in 20: I might just need to keep trying this one over and over again. Maybe I need to work on my pacing — I did feel like I ended the false flat feeling pretty empty last time. Maybe I need to hold more in reserve for those closing kilometres. We’ll see. It won’t be easy.
Nationals KOM climb: My thinking is that if this is the only climb left on my list that I haven’t PBed, then I’ll make the trek out to Buninyong to give it another crack (I had two goes already and fell six and 11 seconds short of my best of 8:29). If it’s not the only climb I can’t PB, then maybe I’ll just leave it. Who knows!
So there you have it. Twenty-three new PBs set since October, four remaining. It’s going to be tremendously satisfying to tick them all off, and even if I fall short on a couple, getting new bests on Donna and Kinglake has already made this project worthwhile.
Your times are well and truly faster than me but as someone who was working towards a 1/20 time for a few months, a hot tip is to time the weather – in particular the wind. The slightest breeze seems to make the biggest impact especially around the false flat that most agree you need to hit hard to get a decent time.
I know probably not in the ‘spirit’ of PBs but I rekon it’s too big of a factor to ignore.
Happy riding.