Mornington

Sunday morning I woke late. I must have slept through the alarm. By the time I was dressed and on the road it was 7:30pm and the sun was shining. I was on the lookout for packs on their way to Mt Eliza to follow up on the ride two weeks ago but there weren't many around due to the 210km Round the Bay In A Day ride that started that morning at 5:00am. I picked up a pod of 4 cyclists who were turning around at Mordialloc and then I continued on to Station Street and tried to catch up with a pack I could see in the distance which I finally caught at Bonbeach. There were about 6 Bandidos and three other riders who were on their way to a race meet at Frankston Park.

I continued on with the Bandidos to the foot of Olivers Hill where they shot ahead and I struggled up with what seemed like the same effort as my previous ride. It was only when I reached the top that I realised I had forgotten to change down and was still in 3rd or 4th gear! Nevertheless, I made it over the top (handy hint: always approach hills with the intention of riding over them, rather than to the top) and this time didn't have to stop to catch my breath. I continued on to the Mt Eliza turn off but decided to press on to Mornington, stopped in the park, refilled my bidon, ate my muesli bar and enjoyed the sun.

The trip back was uneventful. There were plenty of 'Round the Bayers to tag along with to make that long boring stretch between Frankston and Mordialloc less of a chore. I was knackered when I got home but pleased that I had extended my maximum riding distance just that little further to 88Km in 2h:54m.

Riding to Mt Eliza

I set off on Sunday morning at 6:30am to do my regular Sunday morning circuit of Beach Rd but a few minutes into my ride I caught up with a small pack who were headed for Mt Eliza. "What the hell" I thought. "Let's go".

The ride down to Frankston passed without incident but what a struggle getting up Oliver's Hill. A couple of times I nearly came to a dead stop but I saw a couple of MTB cyclists legging it up and I decided I would do everything I could to get to the top without stalling. I laboured on, standing on the pedals in my lowest gear breathing raspily with the effort, past the walkers, and finally the grade started to level out. I continued on about 50 metres further and stopped at the side of the road to catch my breath. I had made it.

The rest of the distance to Mt Eliza is almost all uphill and, after the effort of getting up Oliver's Hill, I felt as if I was almost out of energy. The rest of the pack decided to continue on to Mornington. I thanked them for the ride and continued on into Mt Eliza and turned back towards Frankston. The ride downhill out of Mt Eliza and then down Oliver's Hill is exhilarating in the extreme. I clocked a max speed of 63Km/h which I think is my fastest yet.

I joined a passing pack at Seaford and kept with them on the Nepean Highway, slowly turning into the westerly wind as we went. I stopped for a few minutes in Mordialloc to refill my water bottle and remove my thermals. I joined another pack heading my way through Parkdale and stayed with them until Black Rock where I dropped into Kennedy's for a coffee before making the final warm down stretch to home.

Total Distance: 70Km in 2h:15m.