At the eleventh hour I decided to drop-out from a family ride with the Homebrews yesterday (sorry guys, I hope you still went for it), so I really had to atone for my rudeness. And what better way to make myself pay then to go on The Crucifix? That's the route that makes four of the major climbs in the Dandenong Ranges in about 70km.
I hadn't done this route before so I set out with the intention of maybe making two ascents and then heading home. I wanted to include going up Mt Dandenong, so I started out doing the climbs at that end first, which is the reverse of the order that most people do them (I think).
One and two
The first ascent of Mt Dandenong is pretty easy: up the 1-in-20 from The Basin to Sassafras, whoosh along the tourist road to Olinda then up Ridge Rd and on to the Skyhigh Restaurant at the summit. So far, so good.
The descent to the tourist road is steep enough but then you turn off into Inverness Rd, and you realise how redundant a "Reduce Speed" sign can be: I didn't need any telling! It's steep. I really didn't enjoy this descent because I knew it was going to hurt going back up. And it did. I think the purists/tough nuts leave this nasty little climb to last, but I was very pleased to get it over with early on. On the ascent, the tourist road looked flat by comparison, and I was glad to be back on such a moderate incline.
Maybe I should have taken a spell at Kalorama before heading back up Ridge Rd—there is a pleasant view there after all—but I ploughed on, slowly grinding away, and I was soon back at the top of Mt Dandenong. Mission accomplished with hours to spare, and I was feeling OK.
Three
I zoomed down to Ridge Rd then the tourist road, and when I got back to Olinda I shrugged my shoulders and plunged down the Olinda-Monbulk Rd. Why not go for another climb? I had the time and energy.
The bottom of this climb is at the junction with Monbulk Rd, but I rolled on to Monbulk itself to buy some sticky orange stuff in a bottle because my water supply was getting a bit low. This side of the range was more exposed to the morning sun and more sheltered from the cooling southerly breeze, which made the lower reaches slightly warmer than elsewhere on the range. But the road was quiet and the climb not overly nasty. Sit back and grind away.
Once back on top of the range, I scooted back to Sassafras where I decided to take a well-earned coffee and consider my next move. I reckoned I could get to Upper Ferntree Gully and back just within my lunchtime deadline. I'd already come further than I'd expected so why not go for the fourth ascent? On the other hand, why not quit while I'm ahead? My commonsense must have been out the back having a fag when the vote was taken so I mounted up and headed south.
Four
This is the section of the Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd that includes a couple of big sweeping switch-backs; it's a popular route into the hills, so it's pretty wide and well-maintained. I was at the bottom before I knew it, and it was only then that commonsense returned and said "What the f•ck have you gone and done?" This climb I was not looking forward to, and I briefly considered copping-out and sneaking back to The Basin along Forest Rd, but I knew I'd never forgive myself. So…onward and upward.
The route up is slightly different from the descent because about halfway up you take a detour along Churchill Drive and One Tree Hill Rd. And a good thing to: don't tell anyone but Churchill Drive is both gorgeous and quiet. And before long I was thundering back down One Tree Hill Rd, on to Sassafras, and then down to the Basin. All done—twice as far as I'd expected—and home for lunch. Phew.
Comments
Nice one.. I remember my first time doing that ride... real nasty one and also my first time doing the Full Monty... Inverness Road is a monster.... also happened to be a super-duper high humidity day, so I almost corroded my bike from all of the sweat....
Yeah, just looking at Inverness Rd in the street directory made me nervous but I had absolutely no idea until I'd got there. Fortunately it was a mild day on Sunday (but the sweat still poured profusely at various times).