Tag Archives: Scott’s Ride

80kms on the bike – done!

Feeling kinda pleased with myself right now. I knocked over 80km on the bike yesterday. All the way from my home suburb of Alphington to Mordialloc and back. I think my time was pretty good too – three hours riding time. (Total time was about three and half hours which included two stops.)

What surprises me most is that I found it relatively easy. I’m apparently fitter than I thought I was. On the way out, I was very conscious of my pace and I tried to not crank it up too much as I wanted to make sure I had fuel in the tank for the journey home. On the way back, I managed to latch onto two guys who were ticking along at a healthy pace just over 30kph. I didn’t think I’d be able to sustain it but I did. All the way from Black Rock to St Kilda.

Best of all, the sun was shining, it wasn’t freezing cold and the wind was a slight breeze instead of a gale. Love riding on days like that.

I was worried that I’d set myself an task I wouldn’t be able to achieve with Scotty’s Ride but now I’m feeling much more confident. It’s just a case of stringing together a weekend where I do the Kinglake climb and then head to Mordi the next day. If I can do that over a weekend, I should be able to put it together for a single ride. At least with Scotty’s Ride, the climb is right in the middle. Once you get over the last bit, it’s all downhill from there.

What happens next…

I’ve decided I need a new cycling challenge.

I didn’t realise how much focus I’d put into the Degani Kinglake Ride until now. It’s a little hard at the moment to get out on the bike because I don’t really have a reason to. And to be honest, the weather isn’t particularly helpful. I’m feeling a few aches and pains because of the temperature shifts.

But anyhoo… I decided this weekend, I need a new challenge. Something to focus on and get me moving again. Sooooooo, I’ve settled on the 156km version of Scotty’s Ride. At first I thought the climbs would be too much but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. The first climb is the biggest and it’s no bigger than Kinglake. The challenge will be the distance. 156 kilometres is a long way. I’ll need to do some serious training if I want to finish the ride in a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise I’m looking at least seven hours on the bike. That’s a very long time.

So, yes – new challenge. Gotta get moving!