Amy Gillett Gran Fondo – Lorne September 14th 2014.

The decision to do this ride came about in a frenetic Facebook conversation between some friends which saw me entered and flights booked in about 10mins. Once again I enter these things and then go shit! what have I just done?? Can I do this, why am I doing this and all other stupid thoughts that fill me with self doubt, but for some reason I like a challange. The event raises money for the Amy Gillett Foundation to promote rider safety. Info at this link. http://www.amygillett.org.au/about

The actual ride is 110kms long with 1800m of elevation, beginning in Lorne travelling the Great Ocean Rd for 38kms before turning up into the Otways and finishing at Benwerrin. There is then a 10km descent back into Lorne. The best part of this event is that it is ridden on closed roads so there is no traffic to worry about apart from the odd media moterbike. The event is actually a race and riders who finish in the top 25% of there age group are eligible to compete in the UCI World Age Championships in Denmark next year.

I entered with a group of friends who ride in a group called The Crank Addicts, we chose to ride in a speed group opposed to age groups so we could all stay together. We all flew in together on Saturday morning (apart from Mike who had been riding in Europe for 2 weeks and met us in Melbourne) and hired a mini bus and trailer to transport the six of us and all our gear to Lorne. We arrived just before lunch and quickly put our bikes back together, stashed them inside before heading to find some lunch ,check out the event village and attend a safety briefing before registering. We also managed a quick ride to check our bikes were ok.

Saturday arvo ride.

Race day or as I like to put it “mass participation event day” dawned sunny and still, perfect riding weather. The ocean was like a mill pond and the sun was quite warm meaning we were taking layers off before we even started. With a sell out crowd of 5000 riders, it was a simply fantastic sight as we all lined up to start. The age groups started first with our speed group set to go at 8.43am which we did, brilliant organization! Riding the Great Ocean Rd for nearly 40kms on such a magnificent day was awesome, I did my usual thing of being nervous, pushing my heart rate up and taking ages to warm up. The pace was up as well for a while as I think everyone was feeling a bit the same and we all took a while to just settle.

5000 riders!

At the 38km mark we took a right turn and headed up the 9.2km Skene’s Creek Rd climb. I had heard this was tough but manageable and the view to the ocean was magnificent. We had decided to do this bit at our own pace and re group at the top which worked well and I actually loved this climb, sick I know but the grade was one I am comfortable with and I went past quite a lot of riders doing it tough. One guy had ACDC blaring out of his jersey pocket which kept everyone around him entertained. Once at the top we continued on to the first of the aid stations only to find they had run out of water,which was annoying and bad planning by the organisers. I had very little left and had to ride another 30kms to the next stop to get more!

Yes smiling after a 9.2km climb with an average climb of 5%

The rest of the ride was through the most beautiful rain forest and farm land with distant views back to the coast. It was very undulating and hard to find a rhythm with the only flat bit where we could work as a bunch being just over the halfway mark past the town of Forrest. I really don’t remember much of that middle part of the ride. I was tiring but knew I could finish and I also knew what lay ahead in the form of a 10km climb to the finish line. This was the hardest 10kms I have ever done, with steep pinches continually thrown at me at 9% and higher then a short flat or downhill only to be met with another pinch! It was soul destroying, but luckily I had Richard (Barge) with me who dragged through the flat bits and talked me through the climbs. We hit the 1km to go then the 200m to go and we were still going up, I tried to stand to push to the end but just didn’t have the strength so sat back down and just pushed like I have never pushed before. I looked up to see the 50m to go sign and just grunted my way to the end with a huge lump in my throat. In true Sharon style I promptly burst into tears and then couldn’t breathe, I had to go and have a quiet moment with myself and wait for the others to finish. The thing I remember mostly about this last stretch was the silence of the riders, nobody was talking, no joking, just puffing and pain faces.

After gathering ourselves up we then had to ride back down to Lorne on the Benwerrin Descent and it was amazing!! Soooo much fun, down on the drops whooping and whizzing around the hairpins, it was just awesome!! We all met back at the event village for a well earned free pasta lunch which didn’t touch the sides! Eventually after a big rest and debrief we attempted to ride back up the big hill to the house, the other girls walked and I went for a bit more of a ride to cool down and just soak up the vibe really. 10698185 10152404644429779 162588663 o

We had a rather huge night after that which I won’t go into except to say I had a tad more to drink then I usually do and we all got a little rowdy on the walk into town for a meal and the walk up the dam big hill to our house again. Would I do it again? Hell yes, I loved it even though it was bloody hard. I couldn’t have done it 6 months ago nor did I think I would ever be able to do anything like that!! I ended up finishing 16th out of 69 women in my age group!! Couldn’t believe it!! I’m just incredibly proud of myself. I also couldn’t have done it without Col taking me for big rides up hills and patiently waiting for me to catch up and just generally supporting me in this mid life crisis. He is most definitely coming with me next year!!