7 Peaks - Lake Mountain (4/7)

On the 15^th November 2015, I joined the Domestique: The Climbing Cyclist/Hells500 ride from Marysville to Lake Mountain. We were not too sure on how the parking situation will be at Marysville and combined with the first 4km of the 21km climb bring the hardest with gradients around 10%, we decided to park at Buxton and do a 12km warm up ride into Marysville.

The Canadian and I were meeting Dale at Buxton at 8am. When we arrived into Buxton, the carpark was full so we decided to park at the Buxton hotel. I was busting for a bathroom (having had a coffee from Maccas along Eastlink) and I was desperate. There were a few motel patrons who were having a smoke outside their rooms and I just asked them if I could use their bathroom!

We left for Marysville around 8:30 and got to the start just at 9am but due to briefing and the wave starts, we didn’t leave until around 9:30am. I had some gravel stuck in my cleats and I wasn’t able to pedal efficiently. It felt like my cleats were loosening up. The Canadian rode passed me and we stopped to check. Luckily he was there so he was able to push me along as there was no way I was able to get back onto the bike – that was my worry and why I didn’t stop before he arrived. This happened around the 500m mark.

The rest of the ride was not the most comfortable. I wasn’t able to keep my cadence > 50rpm. I was actually hovering between 35-45 for most of the first 4km. This is something which I wasn’t happy about and must work on my strength and cadence to overcome this.

I recognised a few familiar faces along the ride – from friends through to people I have connected with over the years through twitter and Instagram.

After the first 4km of the ride – we come to a section which had a great view of the mountains. I don’t know what it is called but apparently, it has a name. I saw a few people who stopped for happy snaps and a rest.

The rest of the climb was manageable. I got into a comfortable rhythm and I could hold my cadence > 65rpm (90% > 70rpm).

Once I got to the top, I felt good. I got my 4^th stamp in my passport and found the Canadian (he finished about 30min before me as he had plenty of time to have a salad roll and a coffee) and then I waited for Dale. She arrived about 10min or so after me.

I put on my gilet and my arm warmers and psyched myself ready for the descent down. So many people flew passed me. Some were even pedalling down the switch backs – something I am not able to do. The Canadian’s top speed was over 80km/hr, mine was only 53km/hr. I felt more comfortable with the descend as I could see ahead.

My climbing time was 1:40 and my descent was 30min.

Overall, I found this climb of the 7 Peaks Challenge to be manageable (after the 4km). This climb had several breaks in between – with rolling hills and false flats.

The time below includes my ride from Buxton to Marysville, the stop at the start and the 30min break before we climbed.

Ranking the climbs in order of hardest to easiest (my own scale):

1) Mt Hotham

2) Falls Creek

3) Lake Mountain

4) Mt Buffalo

After the climb, we had a small rest at the Patisserie and then rode back to Buxton. The ride back was good and I could do a few surges. I even had a high speed of 51km/h on the ride.