THE FLUORO 450 – 15 MARCH 2013 Why may you ask, would anyone ride from Adelaide to Mt Gambier? Good question – the only answer I can offer is ‘cos it is there’ The idea for the ride was conceived just after the Cervo Rosso Red Deer Grand Brevet in January as a dare to those crazy enough to dream of such a ride. Due to the distance of the ride, it was by invitation only, but strangely, I didn’t get anyone else express any interest in joining me for this 450km enduro! The original plan was to get five crazies to make the trek from Mt Gambier to Adelaide on a Sunday, having driven down there the day before, however due to favourable weather conditions and a couple of late declines, 3 of us decided to ride to Mt Gambier on the Saturday and return on the Sunday. Now, what to wear? With all of us being Cervo Rosso Test Team members, it was a no brainer to wear the CR kit, but the compulsory entry ticket to the Fluoro 450 was the tall green fluoro camo 4shaw socks, for the dual reasons of visibility and hipness! I awoke to the sound of pouring rain at 1 am, thinking, “What have I got myself in for?” The forecast was for isolated showers and possible thunderstorms in the morning and beyond. I drifted off to sleep and the next thing I knew the alarm had gone off at 2:50 am as planned. I pressed the radar button on the BOM site in fear and trepidation but discovered the rain had passed (for now), kit on, shoulder bag packed and out the door to ride to Vic Square to meet the guys at 4:00 am. Upon my arrival, I met up with local climbing crazy, Adam Williss, who sadly couldn’t ride with us to Gambier due to work commitments but was up for the 58km dash to our first stop at Strathalbyn. We were joined by Junior Rodgers and Shakin Stevens who decided they were up for some epicness and so we left. ADELAIDE TO STRATH – 57.6 km This commonly ridden stretch of road took us up Glen Osmond Road, The Old Freeway, Crafers, Ayers Hill Road, Stirling, Aldgate Valley Road and Strath Road through Mylor, Echunga and Macclesfield to Strath. It was quite an experience doing it non-stop in pre-dawn darkness totally reliant on our headlights. The final descent in to Strath was a buzz as dawn approached. STRATH TO WELLINGTON – 48.8 km We bid adieu to Adam as he prepared to head back to Adelaide and rolled out of Strath with some dark clouds behind us and a hint of lightning in front of us. From there to Wellington, it was put on the burners as we sat on about 40-45km/h with the aid of a strong westerly. We were getting closer to the thunderstorms but they far enough not to be of any great concern. WELLINGTON TO MENINGIE – 45.1 km A quick stop and refuel on the Wellington Ferry saw us turn right in a southerly direction to Meningie. The wind had abated somewhat and it seems we missed the thunderstorms and showers as we rode over drying roads. Upon arrival in Meningie, we stopped to vote in the State Election and refuel before heading off to the Coorong. MENINGIE TO SALT CREEK – 60.5 km We enjoyed this stretch of road, as it is very scenic, coming up close and personal with the Coorong coast and some great, sweeping undulating road. We had maintained a great three-man paceline to this point, but as our total ride distance at this point nudged 200km, some first signs of fatigue and soreness began to emerge. We rolled into Salt Creek some 12km shy of half-way, thankful for the break and meeting up with Georgie “G” Deally who was manning the support wagon for the ride. SALT CREEK TO KINGSTON – 84.6 km This is where the ride got interesting. For anyone who has ridden this stretch of road before, it’s as boring as bat sh@t. Add to that a rough road surface, an annoying ripple strip and dodging puddles, it was really hard yakka. From this point on, blood sugar levels seemed to ebb and flow, one minute you felt good, others you felt you were wavering. The westerly wind had picked up strength off the Coorong coast and was giving us a good cross-wind workout as we approached Kingston SE. KINGSTON TO MILLICENT – 107 km Once our first flat was dealt with and the obligatory bakery refuel stop, we contemplated the fact that it was 150 km to go and almost 4 pm in the afternoon. This was quickly forgotten as the first 19km was downwind into the westerly gale we had just been buffeted by. Half of the Red Deer Racing Red team hit TT mode and smashed this, to be devastated once the road turned at right angles and left us battling that same Coorong crosswind again. Storm clouds were gathering and a couple of squally showers left us soaked and the roads awash. It was at this point where the ride became a battle of mind over matter, things were starting to hurt, arses started to ache and lead turns became shorter as we counted down the kilometres to Millicent in painstaking fashion. As we gradually turned toward Millicent in a South-East direction, the wind became our friend, tailing us as it shifted favourably for us as we headed inland. MILLICENT TO MT GAMBIER – 49.7 km Our final refuel was enjoyed including replacing my back tyre which was unsuccessfully patched previously at Kingston. Darkness fell as we left Millicent and all lights were switched on for the final 50km as dark clouds and a drop in temperature to about 8 degrees were noted. About 25km out, three kangaroos hopped across the highway about 30 metres in front of us. Whew! Once the glow of the Mt Gambier lights was visible, the feelings of weariness and hunger took a backseat as the adrenaline kicked in, as we closed in on our final goal. Rolling through the Mt. Gambier CBD was a surreal experience knowing we had all smashed our previous distance PB’s and had won the battle of the mind to achieve what we half thought was crazy. Ten minutes after our arrival at the Blue Lake Caravan Park, the heavens opened and it rained like crazy. It was one of those days where everything went right and we did alright. For all the data geeks, our Strava rides are as follows…. strava/activities/120771994 strava/activities/120777707 strava/activities/120769882 From Victoria Square to Mt Gambier CBD we covered 452km in 17 hours 13 minutes elapsed time at an average speed of 32.6km/h. I wish to thank Matt and Richard for their guts, determination and commitment in completing such a ride, to Georgie for putting her hand up to support our ride, without her we wouldn’t have made it, to Adam for his willingness to forsake his bed to roll down to Strath with us and to Matt’s wife for suggesting our change in route details. To all who encouraged us on social media during the way, thank you to all of you as well. We don’t really know how we could top a ride like that, we might do it again next year, we may not, ask us once the legs have recovered and the tales of our ride have exaggerated just a little. The best part of the ride was hanging out with three great mates that love riding as much as I do. When that happens, you can do anything and what first seems impossible becomes possible.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 11:37:59 +0000
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