Alpine Weekend November Update
Hi everyone
Just a little under 11 weeks until the Alpine Weekend which will take on extra significance this time around with a number of people heading to Italy in June.
The word from Lana at the Blue Duck Inn is that the landslip at Falls Creek is currently
forecast to be reopened in April (!) so we may end up turning around at Anglers rest and
heading back up and over Hotham as we did a few years ago. Currently the road traffic has
been more than halved – good for cyclist, bad for Lana. Will see what happens in the coming weeks.
Accommodation:
Not sure whether it is too far away in the future or too close to Valentine’s Day
but there is not much left in Bright for Friday night 10 Feb. I have booked
where Helen and I stayed last year. Only larger rooms/apartments left so I may end up with a couple of spare beds – just waiting for this to be confirmed. Anyway it is probably a good idea to start
looking for somewhere to stay now. There seems to be more accommodation available on the Sunday
night for those who want to stay on (we probably will this time).
Training: START NOW!!
Now is the time to start building up towards the trip by gradually increasing your
rides to work, morning rides, etc. You should be aiming ramp up your cycling to 200km -300km/ week
by Christmas so 2-3 BRL loops during the week and a longer ride on the weekend to get over 200km.
If you are not already doing a Hills or Bonds ride of a weekend (1000m + climbing) then you
should be aiming to do so by Christmas (i.e. 4 weeks away).
The Rapha 500km challenge from 24 to 31 December (8 days) is a good benchmark to aim for, again you should be towards the 300km/week mark just before to make it easier on your legs.
Post Christmas (and perhaps before) there will be a few Lakes Mountain and Donna Buang rides posted to get used to longer climbs – keep an eye out for these. Adelaide of course is a great lead if
you can make it. If I can find a little more time i will put bit of a program together.
Summer is nearly here so it is time to start getting out!
cheers, Brad