Day 17 - Omeo to Bright - Australia Gold Fields, Grampians and Great Ocean Road plus The 7 Peaks

November 14, 2019

Day 17 - Omeo to Bright

Finally a peak - Dinner Plain

I had a great ride today which just reaffirmed my decision to not ride yesterday. It was 110km with over 6000ft of climbing. The profile is in the photos but in summary it was 55km up and 55km down. At about the 32km mark i was swooped 3 times by one magpie and each time he managed to hit my helmet. I rode well managing my fuel consumption and may body temperature because it was COLD on top. The temperature was about 5C but with the wind and cloud the wind chill was well below freezing. Thankfully the roads were dry so no concerns there but we did have some good head and cross winds all day. Other than actually completing the ride my next objective was to find a comfortable body temperature. The secret was to stay dry so I rode up in an under layer and jersey and for the descent despite the temperatures all I added was wind jacket, my lobster claw wind gloves and a rain cover for my helmet. The only thing that really got cold were my toes even with my toe shoe covers. The descent was a blast and would have been even more fun if it hade been a little warmer. I finally got credit for a 7 Peaks climb at Dinner Plain. While I climbed to Mt Hotham this does not count rather you have to ride it as a separate ride. This is scheduled for Saturday but I am not doing it. Ron, Deb and I have other plans. We had a lovely Italian dinner tonight in Bright.

The view at the 6.2km point with Mt Kosciusko in the background. This is the highest peak in Australia and located in New South Wales.

Two boys having a tête à tête trying to decide who is the bigger bull.

We saw lots of these chain bay signs yesterday and today. Snow tires are uncommon rather they use tire chains in snowy weather.

These poles along the road are interesting. They make the edge of the road for bad weather but if you are driving on the left side these are on the edge of the other side of the road so you could still get into a head on collision with a car on the other side.

There were patches of snow on the side of the road.

The conditions on the way down. These clouds were flowing across the road and it was COLD.

A view across to the mountain that was climbed yesterday. What a difference a day makes.

A monument to the gold miners in Harrietville.

We rode the Great Ocean Road on the first tour and today it was the Great Alpine Road. This is 5km from Bright and I stared in Omeo.

I hadn’t eaten much all day so once I was back in Bright I went straight to the pie shop for a chicken and veggie pie and a DC.

Today's ride: 110 km (68 miles)
Total: 340 km (211 miles)

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Susan CarpenterCongrats on the Dinner Plain summit!!
I'm curious about the GRX gearing on your Moots. I'm planning to switch to GRX and am wondering what your set-up is and how it's working for you. Thanks, Susan
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4 years ago

Margaret KavanaghTo Susan CarpenterI switched to the GRX crankset for this trip but I had a chance to try it out at home first. I have Di2 on this bike so I replaced my Ultegra 50/34 with the GRX 48/31. I already had an 11/34 on the cassette which I kept along with the Ultegra derailleur. I did need a new chain. As for functionality it is great. I have more gears for climbing and I am generally not strong enough to run out of gears at the speedy end. One caution, it is easier to cross chain so you have to pay closer attention as to what gear you are in an switch to the small ring sooner than you might do with bigger chain rings. Having said that I am now used to it and wouldn’t go back for the Moots my touring bike. I will keep the 50/34 on my road bike. Hope this helps.
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4 years ago

Susan CarpenterTo Margaret KavanaghVery helpful - thanks
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4 years ago