Oppy 2015

It's no secret that the Oppy - properly known as the Fleche Opperman All-Day Trial - is my favourite ride. There's a lot to like about the Oppy, the challenging distance, the night riding, the company of like-minded folk on a most enjoyable jaunt. This year was my sixth Oppy in Victoria, having completed in 2013, 2011, 2009, 2008 and 2007. This year, the Tasmanian contingent in the famed Lancefield Lairs was doubled, with Hugh coming along for the ride as well.

There's always a lot of preparation for this ride for me. These days it involves packing a lot of gear into a bike box, a flight from Hobart to Melbourne and the unpacking and travel at the end. I caught up with Hugh at Melbourne Airport and we bundled our gear into a hire car and set off for Lancefield where Andy kindly fed us and put us up for the night.

The course for this ride is a matter for the each team captain, subject to the rules of covering 360km in 24 hours from 8am Saturday, at least 25 of them in the last two hours. Steve chose a familiar route, up through central Victoria, turning west and ducking briefly into NSW before a night stop and the ride back down to Rochester, with stops every 60 or so kilometres for food and a wee rest. Our team was a strong one, overflowing with Oppy and Audax experience.

The scenery in Victoria is unlike that of Tasmania. For a start, the place is astonishingly flat. We cruised along on the road to Seymour and I marvelled at how little climbing there was. I always argue it's one of the reasons cycling is so popular in the state. 

On we rolled, making reasonable time, despite more than our fair share of punctures and a broken spoke. A brief bout with an upset stomach slowed me down for a bit either side of the lovely town of Dookie, so I lived on gels for a few dozen kilometres and waited for things to sort themselves out, which fortunately they did. Aside from that, I seemed to be travelling pretty well, none of the normal neck pain I get on longer rides, and the contact points of hands, feet and bum were also going ok. 

Nightfall provided a welcome drop in temperature from the 30 degrees of late afternoon. Not long after out pizza stop we donned our reflective vests and sailed off into the setting sun. It's a nice time to be out on the bike.

The wind, which was predicted to be a challenge for us, rose a little in the night - but not so much as to make the riding unpleasant. The stronger riders took the front and the rest of us were content to travel along in their wake. The chatter of earlier in the day died down to almost nothing as the evening wore on, a sure sign we were getting weary. The final 30km into Moama is a favourite of mine, a mixture of very ridable roads and the proximity of a decent rest.

We reached our night stop at the caravan park in the very early hours of Sunday. A 3am arrival and a quick shower meant only a couple of hours sleep before the 6am departure. No sooner had my head hit the pillow than I was out like a light.

The alarm sounded what seemed like a few seconds later. A quick breakfast and we were back on our way, this time into a stiff headwind. Although we had left a few minutes late we seemed to have plenty of time to finish the last 30km even at the slightly-sub 20km/h speeds we were managing.

After the first hour or so, it was apparent we weren't making terrific time. I did some mental calculations but I wasn't overly worried because we'd had tight finishes before. Not far from town we spotted the riders from the Lair's Petite Oppy (180km) team waiting for accompany us to the finish. A few riders stopped and a few of us continued on at a stately pace.

A few minutes down the road the second group was not longer in sight - which seemed a little odd. We continued on and discussed what it might all mean. It didn't make sense they'd all dropped off the pace, it must have been a mechanical problem or a puncture. The clock continued to tick down. With a dozen minutes and less than two kilometres to go, we pulled over to the side of the road. What would this mean for our finishing hopes?

The time ticked by with no sign of our teammates of the last 24 hours and our Petit Oppy comrades. There were murmurs of consternation and debate about what course to take but we waited somewhat confident that they would be along in good time. Then the lights appeared, far down the road and drew towards us, slowly at first and then more quickly. Happily reunited we were on our way once more, the final distance being a bit shorter than we had reckoned. We arrived at the Oppy statue in Rochester with three minutes to spare. 

Another year, another most memorable ride.

1703km so far this year.

Home from Alpine week

After a week of very enjoyable cycling, it's back to earth for me. The Alpine Classic again demonstrated why it is the best cycling event in the country at the weekend, I got in heaps of miles and even had the odd beer or two.

For those who don't know, the Alpine Classic is a series of rides put on each year by Audax Australia in the town of Bright, Victoria. As you'd expect from the name, there's a bit of climbing involved in each of the distances, which range from 70km to 250km for the one-day rides. I was a bit surprised to learn that this year is the fifth time I've been to the Alpine, after visits in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. I've ridden the 130km ride twice (plus one DNF) and the 200km once.

Given the unfortunate demise of the Semaine Federale, several people got together to run a series of rides over the week preceding the main event. It was nice to be able to get some miles in, some brevets up and to explore some of the countryside around Bright. There is plenty of excellent riding in the area and not all of it involves heading up massive hills. I was glad to knock off three 50km and one 100km ride as part of a plan to get myself back into some sort of form ahead of the upcoming Mallee Routes, which seemed to work ok.

Another good thing about getting to Bright a week early is that you get to see that atmosphere build. Over the course of the week more and more riders arrive and by about Thursday there seems to be more bikes than cars on the roads. The polished concrete floors of the Bright Brewhouse clatter to the sounds of cleats as people enjoy a post-ride beer and the supermarkets of people being far too fussy about what they eat.

Alpine week is also a great chance to catch up with many old friends from epic rides of years gone by, to embellish tales of grand feats and to plan new ones. For those of us getting ideas above our station, seeing the legendary Matt Rawnsley receive an award for 100,000km of Audax rides at the club AGM helped put our own achievements back in perspective.

Bushfires this year meant the Alpine Classic had to be rerouted to take in multiple climbs of Mt Buffalo. While this was a bit of a shame, it also meant a new challenge, with those entered in the 200km and 250km ride enduring three ascents in the summer heat. I was happy enough to make it up once.

For me, the highlight of the ride is always the experience at the finish. After coming down that narrow lane to a round of applause when I finished near the end in 2010, I've always spent an hour or so cheering in the last riders. It's great to see the elation on people's faces at the reception - unlike the finish on any other ride I've been on. The cheers for those near the very end are always the loudest. And that's how it should be. Can't wait for next year.

592km so far this year.

Spring into Seymour 2012

Crossing Kirwan's Bridge. It's never been ridden, not even for a dare. 

Spring means the Spring into Seymour. I've fronted up for this lovely ride four times before, although have only started three times due to the major floods which saw the ride cancelled in 2010. I did the 200km on my own in 2006, before backing up for the 160km ride in 2007 and 2009. This year, for reasons I forgot to enquire about, the shorter distance had been cut to 120km, missing out the delightful section containing the Locksley Pub.

I caught the plane up on Friday afternoon and rode from the airport. Having done the "box bike in Hobart, unbox bike in Melbourne, ride away" routine several times before I'm getting a bit better at making a somewhat smooth getaway. I headed to Broadmeadows Station, from where I caught a train to Seymour and checked in to the caravan park for a chilly night in the world's coldest cabin.

Up for breakfast, I met Steve and Ken and John shortly before the start. It was a cool and clear day with little wind, so we set off like cut cats, stopping only to fix a puncture I suffered about 40km in. We had a brief break at Nagambie before continuing the thundering pace towards the bakery at Murchison. When we reached the decrepit Kirwans bridge, I realised I had the camera with me but the memory case was missing. Using the onboard memory, I was at least able to get the traditional walking across the bridge shot which I seem to take every year along with a couple of other to remember the ride by.

If they were so convinced I wasn't going to get the shot, why did they smile?

Now over the morning I thought we were doing ok, and we were, but the hidden ingredient in our stunning outward speed on the slightly downhill course was a gentle tailwind, which lifted slightly as we turned back into it. As usual on this ride, I'd gone out a little hard so the return trip wasn't quite the athletic tour de force I might have hoped for. In truth, it was probably a few things combining - this being the longest ride on the Thorn so far, a lack of fitness, a bit of excess weight on the rider, all ganged up to make the final 40km a bit of a trial. The Lairs were very patient as I flagged, then rallied, then flagged again, but we eventually made it back to Seymour in a respectable time. Perhaps it was just as well we were doing 120km and not 160km.

On the bright side, apart from the puncture, the bike didn't try to kill me. I replaced the cransket and cassette and chain with brand new ones and the drivetrain problems which pitched me over the handlebars seem to have gone. Having eliminated every other possible cause, I measured the chain after my last accident - and it was well outside the limit of the measuring gauge and should have been replaced months ago. Another lesson learned.

I can't say I've finished a 120km ride quite so buggered for many years. Every part of me seemed to hurt at the end and I'm not sure I was making much sense over the celebratory beers. Nevertheless after a huge meal of pizza and a big sleep I somehow managed to ride back out to the airport for my flight home on Sunday after another wonderful weekend of riding in country Victoria.

2911km so far this year.

Oppy training begins.

Oppy 2012 is a shade under two months away and I'm  not particularly fit. I haven't done many miles and I haven't shed the festive season flab as quickly as last year. The goal this year is 400km in 24 hours, though at the moment I'm in no fit state. It's very rare I'll go for a ride for a reason other than for enjoyment or for transport, but I'm going to need some more miles in my legs than I have at present for this one.

I took the Crosscheck out for a quick 30km on the dirt today, a nice run up through the rolling hills to Lonnavale and back. Felt a bit slow on the way out but this ride is always a lot harder on the way out, being slightly uphill and usually into the wind. There was a little traffic from the campground on these normally quiet roads, checkout time must be 11am, after then it was quiet and I finished up out in the forest near the Russell River. The return ride is super-fast on lovely dirt roads, with the odd sketchy corner thrown in for good measure. The Crosscheck has a rock-hard seat on it, so I feel every bump. My homeward momentum was broken only by one of my bottle cages breaking - presumably because of the jarring uneven surface. I had wanted to add another 25km loop on the end, but it's only day one and it would be a shame to try to do too much too soon. Next week's goal will have to be a bit more ambitious.

My last Oppy was a good one, and while my January this year was a little better than last year, I've got a lot of miles to ride in February to make the 676km which set such a good base for last year's effort. Time to get busy.

411km so far this year.

Oppy 2011

The Oppy is my favourite ride, it has been for years. It's a challenge, but with the company and support of a bunch of good friends and some excellent night riding thrown in. The idea is to cover 360km or more in 24 hours. It requires some determination but is within the reach of the ordinary cyclist, of which I am decidedly one. This year's Oppy - my fourth - was easily the best. (2007, 2008, and 2009 rides here for comparison.) Sir Hubert Opperman, whom the ride commemorates, was Australia's greatest endurance cyclist.

There were plenty of reasons it was good, but most of all it was good because I was far fitter than I've been for a while. Having dropped some weight (about six kilograms) and putting in some hard miles in the leadup has made me a much stronger rider, enough to realise dropping another six kilograms would make me even better. 

  

There were 11 of us in the Lairs peloton this year, riding from Tooberac, doing a big loop around Shepparton, crossing briefly into NSW before heading through Echuca to Rochester.

The weather conditions were perfect, still and warm during both day and night, and not a drop of rain. We were treated to both a delightful sunset but also the rise and company of the largest full moon in years. We made the most of the conditions too, speeding through the first couple of hundred kilometres before nightfall when the something unusual happened: we actually sped up. 

Through the night we raced, sitting between 25km/h and 28km/h for long stretches and the miles fairly rolled by. We kept our rest breaks short thanks to the experience of some of our early rides when we paid the price of being slow out of controls. We had discussed earlier the option of extending the ride to a nice round 400km but for some reason enthusiasm diminished as the night drew on. Next year perhaps.

The only interruption to my otherwise perfect ride was a puncture at kilometre 336, about two kilometres from the football club were were to sleep. Quickly fixed, we were back on our way and I was able to full enjoy three hours sleep until were were up at six and on the road at seven. The last 30 kilometres into Rochester coincided with the sunrise. The brass band kicked up as we rode down the main street and the small crowd clapped and cheers as we pulled in to the park by the Oppy statue for the traditional round of backslaps and handshakes and team photographs. I'm a little tired this afternoon, but stoked that such a tough ride went so well for all of us.

Oppy 2009

Third time's the charm. Though outbreaks of sanity cut our numbers from the 12 riders who rolled out last year to just nine, the Lancefield Lairs had a superb ride in the Fleche Opperman All Day Trial.

This was my third ride in the Oppy. The rules are simple: ride for 24 hours, cover a minimum of 360km, finish in the home town of Australia's greatest-ever cyclist.

Our route this year took us north-east from Tooborac in central Victoria, through Seymour, Euroa and Violet Town before turning north to St James, west through Numurkah to Echuca and finally south to Rochester. Long story short: a top ride. Just eight kilometres before the first dick joke, happily about 230km before the bad singing started and 50km more for the shocking poetry recitals. It's hard to imagine better conditions for riding: a sunny day, a clear night and no wind.

We were met every 30 or 60km or so by our faithful crew of supporters and fed, watered and generally looked after. A bare 20 minutes later we were back on the road. We managed to gain about 20 minutes on our schedule during the first part of the ride and held that margin the whole time. We somehow even picked our pace up a little once darkness fell, which meant we earned a glorious two hours sleep on the dreamy soft floor of the Echuca football club.

Words don't explain the pleasure and challenges of this ride well. The highlight of the ride for me (apart from the company) was the long, flat ride under the stars on a crystal clear rural Victorian night. There's something magical about being part of a tiny peloton threading its way along quiet country roads at night. I was a lot stronger this year than in previous years, so my only low point was about 15 minutes in the wee small hours when I felt a bit weary and felt like consulting the Big Book of Excuses. A bit of food seemed to spark me up.

The finish is great fun: there's a band and the traditional photos with the Oppy statue. Then it's off for a well-earned breakfast at the Rochester Football Club and the speeches, the reunions and he traditional reading of Oppy's letter about the first running of event. For my money, this ride is one of the finest on the Audax calendar. Long may it remain so.

The top photo shows the Lair's Oppy team, the Lair's women's Petit Oppy (180km) team and our support crews at the Oppy statue in Rochester.

1615km so far this year.

The Lancefield Lazy Legs has been run in wonderful central Victorian winter weather. A cold +1 degree start and lots of early fog to keep things interesting, but a fun fast ride through some wonderful scenery. A reasonable turnout too - easily 30 riders by my estimation. I hung on for about 40km, but was dropped by the bunch in the hills about 20km out out of Tallarook. No biggie, I'm used to that and I knew I'd see them again.

I managed to keep my break at Tallarook short and after stripping off all my winter kit and stuffing it in my saddlebag and my already bulging jersey back pockets, had my brevet card stamped and set off again shortly after arriving. A nice and slow run along through the first 20km of undulations saw me caught by a group of four who provided, someone to chat with, some wheels to sit on and a good pace back to Lancefield. Apart from some minor knee pain probably caused by pushing big gears uphill, it was a sensational day out on the road bike with some great people. A productive day for me means 111.67km in 4 hours, 56 minutes at an average speed of 22.4km/h, all powered by a big breakfast, a Mars bar and about four litres of water.

2,690km so far this year.

Cold, windy long weekend, so I'm not venturing far. It's nothing like last weekend, which featured the Balmy Bendigo 150. It wasn't balmy (zero degrees at the start) but it was a lovely ride, with a couple of fairly major climbs, over Mt Alexander and Mt Tarrengower. First long ride on the road bike, first time I rode and finished with other riders.

I did get dropped at about 5km in and spent a fair while chasing back on, was dropped again on a long hill at about 40km, and caught the main group of four riders at the controle the top of Mt Alexander and stuck with them from there on in. Very pleasant and happy to finish in under seven hours with no major dramas. Oddly, I was feeling good enough to ride again after just one day recovery off the bike.

This weekend is miserable. Not much to do other than work on the bikes in the shed and hope to make up the miles during the week.

Next weekend is the 100km Lancefield Lazy Legs, though it doesn't sound like it's too lazy a gig with a fair bit of climbing by all accounts. Never mind, it's only 100km - four or five hours at the outside. I've been looking forward to it for a while.