Great Ocean & Otway Classic ride.

Organised road ride, 145kms, Torquay> Moriac > Deans Marsh > Lorne > Angelsea > Torquay.
Early kick off from Torquay @ 7:30am, Paulie, BC & I rolled out for our first go at this ride. Main draw card for us was that it took in the Great Ocean Rd & part of the Otways, on roads we normally would not ride because of the traffic, but in an organized event like this, the weight of numbers & signage gave us more precedence.
30degree with light winds, we weren’t sure what to expect, except for a 10km climb @ the 83km mark up from Deans Marsh through the Otways, so we took it easy, leaving something in the bank for that.
The first few hours rolling through the countryside to Moriac was almost picture postcard perfect riding. Even though they did stagger the start, the usual bunching occured, riders traveling 4 abreast & large packs meant that you found yourself braking for no apparent reason, so you needed you wits about you. Between Moraic & Deans Marsh is all sorted itself out & we rolled along from one little bunch to another.
The rest stop at Dean Marsh wasn’t too well catered for, almost running out of water while we were there. The climb out of Deans Marsh was pretty hard going, being gradual for the whole of the 10kms, but there were parts where it flatted out to spin-out the legs or go up a few cogs to take a breather. I did spend some time in the lowest 36/ 25 that my Campy Centur groupset, although I rode the whole climb in the saddle, just working on keeping the cadence up, which was easier on my aging legs. Stopped at the top to regroup & then we flung ourselves down the other side all the way to Lorne. BC & Paulie both broke away from me on the corners of the decent, but I put it down to their extra 20kgs they had over me.
We regrouped at the Lorne rest stop. The ride out to Angelsea along the Great Ocean Road was great, the car traffic wasn’t the problem that I thought it would be, but there were a few climbs I didn’t count on, like just going out of Angelsea & Fairhaven.
Again we separated at the climbs, but as we rolling across the finish we were only a couple of minutes apart.
I rate this ride better than the Bay Ride, & would highly recommend this one for anyone thinking of taking up 100kms bike rides.
Along the way I came across another rider on a Wilier who said: "5 wiliers!, only the fifth one I've seen!"
(Pic taken @ Lorne rest stop, BC left, me right, Paulie's Avanti Giro bottom).
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