Not
far away now! MGG #5 will roll out in about a week. Riding at night is
an awesome experience and even if you know the roads, they'll seem brand
new under the cover of darkness. On our final recon ride we saw frogs,
wombats, plenty of roos and even had one roo hop along the road just in
front of us for a hundred metres or so. Night animals rock!
Updated course
We've
updated the course a little after our final recon ride. We've made it a
little less hilly in the second half and also allowed for one or two
shorrtcuts if you're over it and just want to get back to Hurstbridge.
It's a little easier now so everyone should finish with a smile on their
face. This doesn't mean it's
easy, it just means it's a little easier then it was. Check out the
updated course map here.
Special checkpoint
We've
locked in our special halfway checkpoint at the top of the Bowden Spur
climb! There'll be food, water, coffee, toilets and a warm dry place to
sit down and relax for a while. This place is really something special
and I'm still in disbelief that they'll be opening their doors to us in
the middle of the night. This is the goal that will get you up Bowden
Spur - just keep pedalling and repeat "When I get to the top I can have a
coffee. When I get to the top I can have a coffee."
Lights
A
bright front light for seeing the road is essential. A helmet-mounted
light for navigation will serve you very well too. It's very easy to
miss signposts (and even whole sidestreets) if your only light is
pointing down at the road. A helmet-mounted light is not essential but
it will make navigation a lot easier.
A tail-light is
essential too but steer clear of bright flashing blinkies - you'll
dazzle the rider behind you. A medium brightness solid colour tail-light
is ideal.
Tires
Slicks
or something with a light tread are fine but the wider you can go the
better. Consider going a little wider than usual and a bit lower
pressure. This will maximise your contact patch with the road and give
you the traction you'll need to get up some of the hills. 23s = doable,
28s = better, 35s = cushy.
Be prepared
There
are two water stops and one big water/food/coffee stop at the halfway
point. Apart from our special halfway checkpoint, there will be no place
to stock up on food. Make sure you bring enough supplies because
everything else is going to be shut up for the night.
Watch
the weather forecast and be prepared for the worst - it might rain, it
might be very cold. Having said that, we completed the last three hours
of our final recon ride in driving rain and we were all pretty
comfortable. In fact, it was fun as hell! But only because we were
prepared.
RSVP
This
is not essential but it'd be great if you could drop us a line
(melbournegravelgrinders@gmail.com) and tell us if you're planning to
come on the ride, just so we get a rough idea of how many people to
expect. This being a night ride we've really got no idea how many will
turn up.
Ok, that's it for now. Get your gear sorted and we'll see you at Hurstbridge!
