Last day of training today and the weather gods didn't want to be friendly. The original plan was to ride down to Mount Beauty and ride around there before climbing back up to Falls Creek. The decision was made to drive down, ride, swim and then ride back up to Falls.
We got 70km out on the flat roads around Mount Beauty in the wet before stopping at the coffee shop for a quick refuel. We made the decision to ride straight up rather then swimming. It was wet and we were all feeling a little cold.
The ride up consists of a 30km climb. I have never anything like it! The longest climb we do at home is 12km! I was given lots of advice from the cycling team about tackling the hill! It rained the whole way up, but it wasn't cold. The scenery around this part of the world is amazing (photos to come when I get home!). The ride was great, the first 15km was quite steady and the the gradient kick up a little. I rode easy from the start and focused on keeping my cadence up. The second half was a little harder and when I reached the 'welcome to Falls Creek' sign (4km to go, I started to struggle). I pushed on and Gab (an LSD cycling team member) doubled back and rode the last few km with me. I finally made it back to the lodge in 1.45. It was an awesome ride and that wrapped up the training for me for the week.
Most of the others did a short run off the bike but given I did a half on the weekend, I called it a day. A well deserved hot shower was next on the agenda followed by a beer and some down time.
We need to pack up the bikes this arvo (last time for a few months!) for the trip back to Melbourne in the morning. I fly back to Perth tomorrow night!
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