I can vividly remember the first time I was introduced to the classic Poowong Circuit. I had only been riding for a few months but was keen to improve my fledgling cycling experiences. When Bob (Crasher) Lewis said that he had a good ride to show me I jumped at the chance. After hitching my old red ratler (5 speed) bike on the car I headed off to Lang Lang to give it a try.
Bob had assured me that the ride "was mostly flat" with only " a couple of small hills" so I was confident that even a novice like me wouldn't have much trouble. About 30 minutes into the ride I was already looking at Bob with evil intent on my mind. If the ride was so flat, why was I puffing like a steam train and down to about 14 kph ? I wasn't even halfway to Poowong and my legs already felt like two jelly sticks. With grit, determination and a short rest stop I made it to Poowong and looked forward to the downhill that he had promised.
Although it was probably not wise I was soon flying downhill at 78 kph (still my highest speed ever on a bike). Bob was following close behind and was soon cursing his misfortune when he hit a pothole in the road and buckled his front wheel. He kept saying that it was his favourite wheel (probably the one he won the 1928 National Title with). I tried to have sympathy for his plight, but felt that it was poetic justice for tricking me into this mountenous ride.
As we approached Lang Lang towards the end of the ride, I seem to remember thinking that maybe it wasn't such a bad ride after all. My distress on the hills was soon replaced by a sense of accomplishment at having completed the ride . Since that initial ride I have completed this ride 4 or 5 times and each time I have come to enjoy it more and more. It really is a great place to hone your skills and the scenery is magnificent. And as for the hills ? Well they are a fact of life after all.
Our original plan for Sunday 14th January 2007 was to ride the Walhalla Forest Ride, however with the ongoing bushfire situation in that area we decided to postpone that ride until a later date and ride the Poowong Classic instead. I was looking forward to introducing some of our newer riders to this circuit.
Jon Bate had offered to give Lothar and me a lift to Lang Lang and, due to an early start, we managed to arrive a full 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start. Needless to say, we were the only ones there. As time passed we were eventually joined by Brendan, Phil and Ben. Peter Warren had promised to attend but there was no sign of him. I had also been told to expect Peter Booth who would be riding his own version of my red rattler. He had decided to start at Drouin South and ride to Lang Lang so that he would be able to finish earlier than the rest of us.
At 11.10 am I finally found Peter Booth riding into town, but Peter Warren was still nowhere in sight. Rather than leave without the (albeit somewhat battered looking) Vice President I decided to ride around Lang Lang looking for him . Fortunately it did not take long before I found him. He had apparently been "lost" somewhere between Monbulk and Lang Lang and just "happened" to have Glenda with him in the car.
I think it was close to 11.30 before Peter and Glenda had finally unloaded their bikes, pumped their tyres (Peter's) and finished their makeup (Glenda's) and announced that they were ready to ride. That was just as well because I was starting to feel that we were going to spend the whole day at Lang Lang and, believe me, there isn't much to see. Our full peloton consisted of Peter Warren, Peter Booth, Phil Jones, Glenda Wise, Ben Cuthbertson, Jon Bate, Brendan Noone, Lothar Rockmann and myself.
After a brief briefing we headed off up Mcdonalds Track and were on our way at last. In single file we tried to maintain a gentle pace in order to allow everyone to keep up. This approach lasted for about 10 minutes, but then proved too much for Ben who bolted into the distance and was not seen again until we arrived at Poowong.
Between Lang Lang and Nyora the road is basically quite flat but it soon begins to climb within about 10 km of Poowong. This section started to separate the riders, especially when we reached the main climb to the Poowong Plateau. Although it constitutes a significant gain in altitude the gradient is relatively modest and rewards the climber with spectacular views to the North. One thing that I learned on my earlier rides of this circuit is that there are a succession of false crests before you finally enter the main street of the town.
It was a great feeling to be able to settle down in the shade and enjoy a slow lunch of sandwiches and cool drinks. We were able to see that the famous wooden horse of Poowong had been replaced. The last time we rode through all that remained of this equine monument were the 4 hoofs attached to a concrete base. I suspect that the original piece of sculpture is probably adorning some local hoon's garage. At this stage of the ride all the group seemed to be in high spirits, although we still had 50 km of hills to conquer before the day was over.
When everyone had eaten their fill it was back to the bikes for the next 22 km leg to Drouin South. This is an open section with a succesion of rolling hills, but no extended climbs. Ben again soon bolted off the front of the peloton leaving the rest of us stretched out in his wake. This was not such a bad thing as it was idyllic to be able to roll through such splendid countryside, enjoying the quietness and beauty of the surroundings.
For some distance Jon, Lothar and I rode together but when I reached the T intersection at Drouin I looked around to see they were nowhere in sight. When they still hadn't arrived some 15 minutes later I was starting to worry that one of them might had suffered an accident. It was therefore a great relief to see them finally come into sight. The reason for their delay was a "double puncture". Within a few more minutes the rest of the peloton was assembled for the final leg of the ride.
This section is about 30 km in length and includes the formidable challenge of Heath Hill, a reasonably steep and protracted climb that is made even harder if your legs are already getting tired. By this stage it was evident that Glenda was starting to slow down. Considering that she has only been cycling for such a short time it is still amazing how much progress she has made.
After Heath Hill the remainder is almost flat but we dscovered that nature was against us in the form of a blustery head wind. We finally all rode into Lang Lang and settled down to enjoy some icy cold milk shakes at the local milk bar. I tried hard to lose my back wheel by leaving it unattended on the grass, but fortunately it was seen by the rest of our group and rescued.
We were grateful that the temperature had been mild, allowing us to thoroughly enjoy the ride together. Apart from Lothar's punctures the rest of the day had gone off without a hitch. Or so we thought until I looked down at Peter's legs after the ride. He had ridden the entire loop with a black legging over his scratched left leg, but his right leg had been exposed to the summer sun. This resulted in the interesting sight of him now having one bright red leg and one white (and damaged) leg.
Another typical day for the Ghost Riders.....