It was the reason we came down to Bright. All the hill repeats, all the cold dark rides months before, were all in preparation for this day. Finding yourself underdone on this loop would make an already long day, a horrible day. With about 15 of us, a support car, and great weather, this ride would surpass all expectations.
Known locally as the “Gaps loop”, we set out in search of a “fairly easy” ride to do the day before tackling the stupidly hard 3 peaks loop. At about 115km long, the loop takes you away from the big peaks, north towards Myrtleford, then east across to the Kiewa Valley Hwy. From there you head towards Mt Beauty, going up Tawonga Gap, then descending back to Bright, easy!
After a late start, followed by an extended stay at Goulburn’s Greengrocer bike/cafe/pizza/grocer store, we knew the team wouldn’t be arriving in Bright until quite late in the afternoon. With the prospect of over 400km in 3 days, the logical decision, was not to rest and relax on what little we had left of the first day, but go out and ride some big hills!
In only a couple of weeks the TMCC will be once again back in Bright! Buoyed by the success of last years trip we return this November to take on the legendary 3 peaks loop.
The hill repeats have been done, the support car is ready, its going to be a blast. Check back in a couple of weeks for a full recap.
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The days are getting shorter, the light is disappearing rapidly, but Fish is taking even more photos! The capabilities of both iPhone and HTC cameras are being pushed to their limits. It’s the middle of winter, it’s dark and cold, but spurred on by the possibility of winning the photo comp we’re still riding! Check out the second installment of the photo comp!
The camera phones are out in force, daylight hours are falling rapidly, and the rain just won’t stop! It seems almost impossible to get in some big
epic rides lately, so we thought we’d have a little competition amongst ourselves, think ‘photo of the week’ or ‘what you missed this morning’.
It seems like we’d been talking about getting a TMCC kit for years. The first steps towards designing a kit and getting it made were made some time ago. Design done, order made, the months passed by. Finally a big box from Italy arrived! What better way to show it off than a big ride up in the Southern Highlands?
Day 2 of our trip to Bright would take us to the high plains of Falls Creek, up and over Tawonga Gap twice, and for those crazy enough, back past our perfectly good hotel in Bright, with 130km in the legs only to go up Mt Buffalo for more punishment. The Vic. alps did not dissapoint, beautiful scenery, great weather, perfect riding.
It’s easy to be intimidated. Hills hurt. Deciding to ride up one of the biggest, more iconic, scariest
climbs in all of Australia can do your head in. The fear of the unknown takes hold, how steep does it get?
Is it snowing at the top? Will I make it? WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? The TMCC took a trip to the Victorian Alps to find the answers.
Relay style team events, typically endurance based, have been quite popular in the mountain bike scene for quite some time. But pure road racing events in this format isn’t what you’d call common. JetBlack, a brand known for its MTB roots, came together with the Southern Highlands Cycle Club to put on the 3rd installment of the Marathon NSW Road Championships.
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