Mt. Cootha ride

Before starting this post I have to provide some brief background on our extended family. We currently own 4 bicycles, and to avoid confusion we have names for them. OK I admit it sounds tragic, however it makes it a lot easier to distinguish the bikes, plus it kinda helps to give them a personality. I'll post more about our brood in the coming weeks, however let me introduce you to Mario.

Mario was born in Italy about 10 years ago and soon after emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. At that stage Mario was just a frame, however he quickly got built into the bike he is today thanks to the team at SBR (Swim Bike Ride). I adopted Mario last year from a reluctant seller, and without revealing the exact amount, got him for a steal! For the bike nuts out there, Mario is a De Rosa Vision frame, has Campagnolo Daytona running gear, and a Mavic Open Pro wheelset.

I usually go out with Mario 3 times a week, however having been sick recently I've had to leave him in the garage for a good part of the last month. Today I decided to get back into it, and what better way to shock my system then to ride up Mt. Cootha (Brisbane). For my Melbourne mates think the Dandenongs.



I took off from our place at around 8am and quickly joined a peloton of around 50 bikes which was nice to warm up with. However these guys quickly went their own way and I was by myself once more. I took the river route which is really nice and scenic, a great way to warm up for the climb. I hit the climb and boy did I hit the wall! The first section is at a grade of 30% which just killed me (call me soft :-) ), however I managed to get about 2/3 of the way up the mountain before having to make a stop to regain composure. It was really hard to get going again, however I swear I would have thrown up had I have kept going without a break (gross I know).

I got to the top and was pretty happy with my average climb speed of about 12kph. However a combination of me being unfit and Mario being geared for flat terrain (a by-product of having been built in Melbourne no doubt) made it very difficult. I enjoyed a coffee before the descent, of which I won't quote my max speed for fear of my mum reading this. It was a pretty cruisy ride home and from door to door it took about 2 hours (including coffee).

I will be doing the ride again in a couple of weeks and hopefully I'm in better shape by that stage. I've plotted the route on velomaps for those who may be interested. Next time I'll take a camera!