clipperton

hey,
i'm hoping somebody can help me with any information on some of the road rides through the dandenongs. i've no idea where to even start so if there's a pretty uniform route through or any maps that might give details any info would be greatly appreciated.
cheers,

531Aussie

there's more chat about this kinda thing on the Bicycle Victoria forum (https://www.bv.com.au/forums/), but it I think it now takes a week to register there. Anyhoo, here's one suggestion


https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/The-Crucifixion

Jono L

Have a look through my routes.
https://www.bikely.com/my_routes
some real good ones in there.

This is my favourite

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...g-Nongs-Buster

531Aussie

cool info!

clipperton

thanks a million jono, will give that a try from belgrave station - have some folks that urgently need to learn how to ride up hills for a december your of nz (myself included). i think i know some of those roads as well as my cousins live somewhere out there.

thanks again and if you see a few people out there this saturday struggling immensely show no pity, abuse and scorn are far better motivators.

Jono L

No worries. Belgrave is the best place to start that loop and finish with coffee on top of Mt Dandenong somewhere (sassafrass at the black kettle tearooms is my choice, they give 10% off to cyclists) then cruise back down to belgrave.

classic1

You're only 18yo. I wouldn't have thought you would have had many yet.

Har har har.

Odin

I thought Black Kettle only gave discounts if you showed your race license.

Gawd, it's crawling with nuffies up here at the moment. ATB is near.

Jono L

yeh hardy hardy ya goose classic.

clipperton

dear jono,

2 things:

1. thanks!
2. ouch!

thakns again, had a ball. got lost somewhere out there near macclesfield and stretched the whole thing into a section that wasn't on my map but found my way back on track with the help of a cfa volunteer working at "shedfest 2007".

will admit this - inverness road beat me. i had to stop for a moment right near the end and recover. this after the woman at th tourist bureau where i got a big colour map had said "oooooh inverness road, you don't wanna go there, that's too steep!" and me responding bullishly "that's the idea!".

will definitely be adding to the nuffie count out that way in the future.

Jono L

Good stuff. A few more of those then you should have a crack at riding up Terry's ave or Mast Gully Road. You'd be fine on fresh legs...

Odin

Jayzus Jono, you've gone and put Terrys Ave near the end of the hilly bit.
Smales, Inverness and Terrys. hmmm... looks like a pretty hard ride.

Give Dorset Rd the arse though, go up Boronia Rd a bit more and turn right down Forest Rd... much less chance of being cleaned up.

If you get a chance, go take a look at Roma Pde (the lower part) in Upwey. Supposed to be the steepest road in the area... looks like a vertical line from the mad mile. They had to make it out of rough concrete so the cars can get up it. Oh, and it's a dead end at the bottom.

Odin

Just remembered that I took a pic of it last week. Pics are deceiving though.
See how the angle of the driveway twists to meet the road. The road was already steep as hell where I was standing... after the second power pole, it just gets ridiculous.

clipperton

must confess that swales was one of the roads i missed by getting lost and that i just rode straight out burwood hwy and back to get out there rather than the exact route jono suggested so i might have done a bit of a wimp-out version of the ride.

Jono L

Nah, nothing interesting about the ride from my joint to Belgrave, very boring.

clipperton

so all the weaving about doesn't add extra hills? i just took burwood hwy as it's close to home in hawthorn and gets you right there.

anyways, thanks again - i did a 60km cruise today including a few laps of yarra bend and felt infinitely stronger on the hills than before.

Jono L

Nah not really. Just the quickest/traditional way out for me and the easiest way back (bike path next to freeway..) home in the early afternoon w/e traffic

This is another favourite
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...e-via-Flanders

Endless short hills and the worlds best bakery up top at Kinglake...

clipperton

ha! just rode straight up to sassafrass and back today as my first ride after a crash about 2 days after we last "spoke". it kicked my @rse from here to next sunday. note to self: next time go on a few commutes before trying to do silly hilly fun.

clipperton

found swales road today - while steep it's still a doddle compared to inverness, though this time i mae it up inverness without having to stop and only crying like a little girl for the last 20 metres or so. progress!

Jono L

Hmm could get lost around that Swales road area very easily...

Can't wait to get out there some more over the holidays coming up.

clipperton

headed for a tour of nz in about a month - i think swales will seem like a happy memory as i haul a fully loaded tourer over arthur's pass and the like.

clipperton

to anybody who does the dandenongs i'm looking to change from the route that jono has posted in order to avoid inverness and potentially swales. i know i can do them now but at 193cms/93kgs that sort of steep is just never gonna fully agree with me. any ways around those where i can still do belgrave-emerald-mt evelyn-the tourist road but avoid those silly steep efforts?

531Aussie

As far as I know, the last section of the Mountain Hwy (the '1/20'), and the north end of the Tourist Rd (I think from Montrose) is about as 'unsteep' as it gets. To get anything flatter, you'll just be riding around the 'foots' of the mountain.

Are your gears small enough? Is your small chainring a 39 or 42? It makes a big difference.

clipperton

i'm on a 54-39 but i'm still a fat *******. cheers, will check out how much further along york road i'd have to go to find montrose.

531Aussie

I've should've said that the north end of the Tourist Rd starts from Canterbury Rd.