So what happened?

I went down to do the 200 Km ride at the Alpine Classic, and only ended up completing 100 and ended up DNFing. What happened?

Well I always thought the 200 (which included over 4000 m of vertical) was a stretch target. Longer than I’ve ever ridden on a single ride (my longest to day is 140 Km), more climbing than I’ve ever attempted on a single ride (I’ve never climbed more than 1700 m in a day).

Biting off more than you can chew and chewing hard sounds cool, but it only gets you so far.

On reflection it was also probably a mistake not to change my plans when the route changed from Buffalo-Mt Beauty-Front of Falls to Buffalo-Hotham. (Based on the thoughts of others) Hotham is significantly tougher than the front of Falls Creek. Don’t get me wrong – the Front of Falls is no picnic, but it never gets beyond 7 %. Meanwhile Hotham has sections like the Meg, CRB Hill and The Diamantina, all of which go to over 12%. And yes, you do add Mt Beauty, but it too steep isn’t nor overly long. Not saying I would have finished the old route, but to me it looks an easier day out.

I think I tripped over my ego in that respect. Having originally said I was doing the 200, it seemed a bit weak to drop back to the 130, especially when there was still a 200 on offer.

I also now realize the shortcomings of my training. Did I become a stronger cyclist over the last 6 months? Absolutely. I think though my training lacked specificity. I ran around the pancake flat ‘burbs of Townsville with the odd Castle Hill thrown in. Castle Hill is tough (2.5 Km at 8%, with ramps of up to 14%), but it’s no Hotham. I needed to be doing longer rides and longer climbs. Yes, I’m limited by the NQ climate and the local topology, but perhaps I should have Zwifted much more? Or even better, started the prep properly in February rather than June, so I could have my fitness to the point where I could put those 150-200 Km rides in the legs when the seasons allowed.

And as much as I lost 13 kilos, I’m still a Clydesdale in cycling terms. Dragging 90 kilos up Mt Hotham is bloody hard work. I need to get that down to at least 80.

I don’t want though to rake this over to damn hard though. I rode strong on Saturday - 106 Km & did 1900 m of vert - it was almost certainly my biggest single ever day on the bike. 

 Unfinished business for 2024 perhaps.