Up Up and Away

Cycling up in the Dandenongs. At only a 40 minute drive from the heart of Melbourne the landscape is beautiful and feels like a million miles from anywhere. At 7am in the morning it was a bit nippy though!

The solidarity at this time on a Sunday is great though with the mountain taken over by the cyclists - hundreds and hundreds of $15,000 bike people (myself excluded) crawling over the 4 major roads that make up the crucifix, and the hundreds of minor roads weaving through the fern and mountain gum forests.

Special mention to "Terry's Avenue". 600m at 20%+ , a little flat and then 1.3km at 13% - I mean WHO makes a road like this!? You sit back to get traction over the rear wheel and the front wheel starts lifting: you lean forward to get weight over the front and the rear starts spinning with lack of grip. The lifespan for a clutch on cars up here must be measured in hundreds of miles.