Yes there was snow at the top of Mt Hotham!
Just enough to throw snowballs at Pete.
The Great Victorian Bike Ride is on every year usually around November or
early December. This year there were over 3500 riders.
Each year Bicycle Victoria choose a
different route. This year was the 20th Anniversary so they choose a
really great route. "Summit to the sea". From the top of Mt Hotham to the
sea at Mornington. Around 580kms in 9 days.
To support the riders there
are hundreds of volunteers organised into teams. Volunteers are fed and
transported all the way and the meals are excellent, better than at home!
I was on the luggage team and was required to help supervise the loading
and unloading of the luggage trucks. (about an hour in the morning and
again at night)
Notice I did say supervise! because of insurance problems,
volunteers were not covered by insurance. We could not handle luggage,
only supervise (such hard work)
There were all sorts of bikes on the ride, but the dual trike shown to the
left took my fancy.
We had heaps of fun. It was quite a sight to see over 3000 tents be
erected and then pulled down again the next morning, for 9 days straight.
The logistics and organisation behind it all were just mind boggling.
On the second day the truck I was travelling
shotgun with broke down...Twice!
First one of the brakes on the trailer decided to stay jammed on and we
had to stop and fix the problem. As the bike riders past us they
either moaned because it was the truck with their luggage or sighed with
relief because it wasn't.
Then an hour latter all the electrical wiring
got fried. The cabin was filled with heaps of smoke and we were
unable to open the windows because they were electric windows.
The truck
completely died just as we got to the top of the hill. This time the
riders just shock their head with disbelief as they passed again. We
disconnected the trailer and had to wait for another truck to come back to
get us.
Every night when the riders got to the camp ground
there would always be a crowd around the Pegasus Repair tent. It was a
good show because not only were able to learn what to do to fix your bike
but the crew were entertaining as well. They often stayed up till the
early hours of the morning to repair all the bikes for the next day.
After the event,
Bicycle Victoria shouted all the volunteers a river cruise and lunch on
the Yarra River.
click here to see pics
