The final day. Completion, with the shortest planned route of all. Also with the biggest group of all: the nine day riders, the three day riders, now joined by those who opted for a single day ride. How many people?

In The Good Oil, the campsite daily news sheet, these figures were given. Nine day riders, 3500. Three day riders, 400. One day riders, 80.

Here’s how the day began for us – slowly.

Although the start to day nine felt slow, we were still in the saddle by 7.30am. Maybe we just felt slow.

Riding across the bridge to Phillip Island was fun, having a lane closed to non-bike traffic. It will be a long time before cyclists get that opportunity again.

The weather was variable, to say the least. Except for the constant SW wind. We had glimpses of sun, spits of rain, and heavy cold water in the face.

The day had the feel of waiting to end. I enjoyed seeing the island for the first time, but today was not the time to hang around and enjoy its attractions.

Some fine riding was had.

Passing the official end of the ride, we took the full route: out to view The Nobbies and back. Here is the view, taken before we all enjoyed the day’s only two kilometres with the wind at our backs.

And how good it was to be re-united with the rest of the Little crew! (Also to see that Catherine’s early arrival meant we were spared the three kilometre traffic jam heading to the finish.)

Final odometer readings.
Chris: 22 687km.
Nahum: 4166.7km.
Ruth: 3652km.

So the final distances are in, though the kids’ computers both had glitches that robbed them of done distances. The numbers are: 619km for me, 540.3km for Nahum (probably 50-55 less than actual), 571km for Ruth (about five below actual). Enjoyable, and a good effort: the source, I pray, of many great memories.

Thanks for reading!

PS I reckon that the Great Victorian Bike Ride feels like Beach Mission, if you’ve ever served on one of them. Work, camp duties, variable summer weather, a day off in the middle, and lots of people.

Mirboo North to San Remo. The longest stage of the Great Vic, though not as long as if we went to San Remo on the Mediterranean.

A question: what does the Bicycle Network of Victoria (BNV) gain from the Great Vic?

As an observer, not insider, I can imagine a few things. For a start, lots of people riding. In the case of groups (school or friends), it seems there are a good few who have not been regular on a bike.

Also, an event like the Great Vic gives credibility to BNV. They organise a huge event with evident success. When they then speak up about cycling law and infrastructure, they can’t be simply ignored.

I reckon this benefit spreads out: just as the Great Vic had been welcomed by many towns, so more people in those towns might be swayed to view cycling positively.

Another benefit that I have heard of – it may be hearsay – is that big events put on BNV provide much profit. This profit then helps other cycling work. I’ve heard it said that the Great Vic, the Bay in a Day, etc all make money that goes into development. In other words, BNV supports Cycling Victoria (the sports cycling body). I do not know if that’s true. I do know that Victoria and NSW are very different in development: Victoria puts heaps more effort, and paid people, in development.

A related question: how could BNV gain more? (From my limited perspective, of course.)

I could not think of much here. Perhaps I could point out the odd narky ‘helper’ that they should have a word to. (Like the aggro motorcycle cop yesterday who stopped suddenly then yelled at cyclists for not staying left. It was a road only one lane wide, riddled with potholes, and going steeply uphill! Or the very occasional volunteer, usually acting as a marshal, who begins to yell at cyclists for not doing exactly as he/she wants.) But these are quibbles.

More importantly, I think the Great Vic has missed some rider education opportunities. Some school groups have obviously done well in training in road safety and etiquette. Others have been poor – and being poor has reinforced unhealthy riding: crossing the centre lines, riding too far to the right, etc. Of course, plenty of adults are badly behaved too. Some are ingrained in selfish ways, so won’t learn. Yet I am convinced a large number would love to learn to ride better and more safely. I don’t think the Great Vic has done much here.

But time for today’s ride. The first ever ride for both Nahum and Ruth to go more than 100km. Great effort!

Odometer.
Oldest: 22 645km.
Youngest: 3611km.
Middle-est: 4125.4km.

We made sure we stopped when necessary (photo below is from the first rest site). And we had plenty of food.

The first half was quite hilly again, before a definite transition to coastal plain. Lunch at Inverloch was beautiful on the aquamarine waters. Then we headed into the joys of coastal headwinds. All the beautiful pictures are on the camera, rather than the phone, so I might update this post with images once I get home.

I am glad to have completed some home podiatry. Ruth had some pain in her left foot. We narrowed down the cause as her new-ish shoes. Ruth felt the foot was rolling out. We grabbed an old tube, put some under the forefoot and the pain is no more. That’s a win.

Tomorrow, across the water to Phillip Island. Then home!

PS One of these three riders had a shower after each ride. No names will be revealed.

Quite a short ride, only planned as a 60km trip from Yarragon to Mirboo North. Though the whole trip moves east to west, today’s finish point is east (and south) of the start.

Today we re-joined the Grand Ridge Road, the scene of Tuesday’s carnage. Perhaps we should have used this information to guess that the day would be more difficult than a mere 60km total distance would suggest. There was more climbing than I expected: about 1250m, compared with about 1450m over Tuesday’s 90km.

This was not so hard for me, as I kept with the kids. But their legs felt the elevation.

Plenty of beautiful views, though. Mountain Ash, tree ferns, rolling hills and picturesque valleys. A very pleasant day!

Even the farms along the way were decorated.

Lunch was at the very end, only half a kilometre from the camp. At a very pleasant park in Mirboo North, it looked like the scene of a bicycle massacre.

Mirboo North is very welcoming. Free games and zooper doopers at the RSL, along with friendly locals letting us learn about the area, really set the tone.

Kilometre count.
Dad: 22 535km.
Son: 4016.9km.
Daughter: 3505km.

Day five of riding (after the rest day) was from Traralgon to Yarragon. The route went north of the M1 to Melbourne, west along the La Trobe valley.

The slogan fire the Great Vic is Spend a week in another world. As is my wont, I’ve reflected on what kind of world this is.

It’s a world in which wearing lycra in public is perfectly normal, even in frightening shades of purple.

It’s a world of queues: food, shower, toilet, laundry, phone charging, …

It’s a world in which starting lunch at 10am is perfectly normal.

It’s a world whose background music is the sound of generators. They power pumps for loos, water points, showers, laundry/washing-up, as well as the larger infrastructure.

This world has distinct language: WARBYs, on your right, clear, slowing, etc. They all have clear meaning on the road or in the camp.

Odometer record.
Orbea: 22 469km.
Avanti: 3953.7km.
Giro: 3439km.

Today started off cool, with very limited visibility due to fog. This crafted some beautiful effects. For proof…

Passing through three major valleys saw a bit of climbing, though we never went higher than 220m above sea level.

I think the legs of the younger two felt a little tired after not riding yesterday. Not that they went slower, just that they felt the effects.

Once we reached lunch at Willow Grove (Willow Something, anyway), it was warm and sunny. Tome to shred wind vests, and base layers too. In Yarragon, hot and no hint of clouds.

That’s today, except for one more photo from the first rest spot.

The big day! Not (necessarily) the longest, but certainly the day with most climbing. From Rosedale to Traralgon, via a loop to the south.

Day four was also described as needing a decision: ride the standard 80km or so, or take the optional route to total about 120km. To add further colour, day four also included a section of unsealed road. How was it all?

It was a cross between an epic and an ordeal. As we finished breakfast, Rosedale rain began to fall. We hurried to put on a base layer, grab jackets, and zip shut our bags. The rain continued for the first three hours of riding.

Did I mention the unsealed road? Presumably the Grand Ridge Road provides wonderful views of the La Trobe Valley, and even to the coast. On a clear day! Today it was a wet, sandy logging road that was not ideal for skinny tyres. It was, however, effective in making my front mech sound like a chain-saw. The organisers provided the option of shuttle buses across this section for nervous riders (which meant they could not provide support for the optional longer route – a fair enough use of resources).

But before this road, the climbs. Not especially serious. But then, the Great Vic is designed to include real riders, even off they’re not especially serious. I think we rose to over 700m. My GPS said I climbed over 1400m for the day (though I did double back a couple of times).

And the two juniors completed all I’ve just described, with great steadfastness.

We didn’t stay as three amigos today. At the base of the climb, we agreed the Nahum and Ruth would go at their own pace. Nahum left while Ruth got organised at the first rest spot. I planned to stay with Ruth, after giving her a few minutes’ start. This is where things became messy.

In jackets, we did not easily recognise each other. Apparently Ruth passed Nahum before I caught Ruth. With eyes only for Ruth, I didn’t see Nahum. At the top, I crested and hit the downhill faster than Ruth. Concerned I was too far ahead I turned and climbed back up the road, failing to spot Ruth as she went past. I guessed this was the problem, so joined the merry throng until the dirt road. ‘Surely Ruth can’t be ahead now,’ I mis-thought. So I slowly descended – to be surprised at finding Nahum. He told me about Ruth being ahead, so we trawled the sand together. Ruth toughed it out alone. Some effort! We caught her just after the 10km of unsealed road.

Sadly, Ruth was by now very cold. With little chance of heating up. After a frigid lunch stop, things were no better. So we joined a huge crowd in the local cafe waiting for heat-medical care-sag wagons.There were hundreds who pulled out at this point, some even being taken to hospital with hypothermia. Once Ruth was warmer and stable, she sent us off. Ruth did not reach the camp until near 8pm, in the last bus of sag-waggoners.

Not much chance of photos today. Here’s one of the dirty discards, back at camp.

Tomorrow – rest day.

Progress distances.
Me: 22 390km.
Him: 3977.6km (computer stopped working in the rain).
Her: 3360km.

Today’s travels saw us ride from Briagolong to Rosedale.

As in so many cycling tours, there have to be transition stages. That’s a day of real riding, but it lies between more notable stages. Today was a classic transition. Yesterday: first long day and a couple of steep pitches. Tomorrow: biggest hills of the ride. Today: generally flat.

Still interesting, though. Starting off was the first time of cloud cover. There was even a vague sprinkle of rain for about 30s. By the finish at Rosedale, we were back in strong sun. The landscape was mostly dairy land, or general farming.

Ruth pointed out some old well-established pines at the front of one farm. So we stopped for a photo, as you can see below.

We’ve seen lots of communities doing things to welcome the Great Vic. Two typical examples, both from today. The Gippsland Mountain Bike club had a BBQ at the top of a small rise. It looked to be near a whole heap of trails, but not near anything else: we were their total target audience. Also, just before the campsite, the whole (?) of Rosedale Public School came out to cheer and high-five the arriving riders.

One more image. I noted yesterday the range of riders and bikes. I took a sneaky photo of my favourite fenders. Very groovy wooden protection from water and mud. I hope you enjoy it too.

Progress distances.
Dad: 22 295km.
The 14 year old: 3851.8km.
The 12 year old: 3306km.

Today’s ride was from Bruthen to Briagolong, the first day with a longer road to ride.

Semi-random thoughts
# some enjoyable undulations to start the day
# longest ever single day ride for Nahum & Ruth
# a ride like this is not about speed (haven’t used big chainring once yet), but about keeping our group together
# it’s kind of unfair that I roll downhill so much faster than my kids
# people who ride, but don’t look like they train, really die on the inclines
# an understorey of ferns: we’re not inland now
# there really are heaps of types of rider, & types of bike
# beautiful tree-lined roads of dappled light (see photo)
# Briagolong’s welcome to the ride was very welcoming
# long lines for showers, short lines for laundry & washing dishes
# I’m poor at hand-washing clothes (at least I’m there)

Progress distances.
Me: 22 209km.
Son: 3764.7km.
Daughter: 3219km.

This is a quick, on-the-road effort at blogging from my first time doing the Great Victorian Bike Ride.

It’s an annual event. In 2013, the route is from Lakes Entrance to Phillip Island.

I might make a comment about each day (we’ll see how the dedication goes – & the battery on the phone). Maybe include a picture or two. And the progressive odometer readings for me, Miss Ruth & Master Nahum.

So, the pre-ride starting points.
Me: 22 068km.
Ruth: 3081km.
Nahum: 3626.4km.

Day one was from Lakes Entrance to Bruthen, a gentle introduction to the event.

It was quite a hot day. We saw a few people suffering on the occasional uphill, especially out of Metung.

We all three knew that day one would be ok. It’s a matter of how well we rest and back up for multiple days.

Two noteworthy moments from today. First, riding a ridge before the drop to the water at Metung, we had an eagle close beside us at eye level. Spectacular.

Second, dropping down through a double hairpin, Ruth had some excitement: a little lock-up under breaking. She saved it!

Odometer readings.
Me: 22 117km.
Ruth: 3128km.
Nahum: 3673.0km.

A photo from lunch by the water…