The guys from our riding group FHaT are still hard at it getting ready for the Pyrenees in 6 weeks time so today we road a classic local hill climb ride. Anzac day was forecast to be very cold so we delayed the start from 6AM to 9AM and starting from Longford it was still quite cool once we got away. Cressy recorded -2.5 overnight so a later start was justified. A slight detour at Cressy as the main road was closed for the Anzac day service so we saw some of the Cressy back streets none of us had ever seen.

The FHaT riding group (formerly JUU) has an 18.5km timed segment from the Palmerston switch yard to the top of the plateau and times vary from 1:00:11 to about 1:16:00. I was aiming to get under 1:10 on my first try. There are a few surprisingly fast sections on the way up where the road dips down and the speed can increase briefly but most of it varies between 5%-11% gradient with a short bit at 17.8%, rhythm is important riding up here. We unfortunately hit a cold headwind about 2km from the top that made it a bit harder and a lot colder. All 6 of us made it to the top OK roughly about 2 minutes apart for the first few riders.

Poatina-JUU-Segment

I came over the top second in our group today satisfied with 1:05:23 on my first attempt. That time puts me 37th out of 125 people who have logged that ride on Strava so about where I would expect to be at the moment. Maurice was a couple of minutes faster and the first to the top in 1:02:54 today but a couple of minutes slower than his 1:00:11 last time.

It was so cold with the wind chill on the way back down but it did not last that long thank goodness. We got back into a pack and road the back roads through to Cressy where we picked up Sharon who road out to meet us (not that keen on doing the hill). Those that left their cars at Longford went looking for coffee shops while Sharon Myself and 2 others road home to Launceston via Pateena road and Prospect into an unforecast stiff headwind. A very enjoyable Anzac day ride.