2008 Donna Buang Lungbuster
Sat 27th September 2008

SOME BACKGROUND

Some of our readers have been wandering just how many Lungbusters we have held in the short history of the Ghostriders. A study of the official Ghostrider Annals reveals that our first climb of Donna Buang was done on Sep 14th 2002. We had a group of 4 riders who reached the summit in fine and snow free conditions. The following year we again returned to Donna Buang, this time on the 11th October. At that time we rode into a snowy wonderland. Our second peloton consisted of only three riders, two of whom were riding road bikes (I was riding the old red rattler road bike with only 5 gears on the frame changer!). Somehow we managed to survive the climb but suffered badly on the cold descent.

The entire peloton of 11th Oct 2003 - from left Bob "Crasher" Lewis, Ross Bury and Dennis Dawson (note the road bikes and the thick snow). This picture was taken by a helpful bystander.

It was not until 2004 that the morning of the Grand Final was adopted as the date for our Donna Buang ride and a treasured tradition was born. At that time the ride was called the "Donna Buang Lung Burst", the following year I changed the name to the "Lungbuster" and that is the way it has been ever since. This means that, although we have run 7 ascents of the mountain, the tradition of the Grand Final Lungbuster was born just four years ago, making the 2008 ride our FIFTH Annual Lungbuster.

For any of our readers who have the time the accounts and pictures of all seven Donna Buang rides can be found in the Official Annals section of the web site. It is quite interesting to see just how the event has grown and evolved over the past four years. For may people it has now become an integral part of their Grand Final Day. May we have many, many more Lungbusters in the years ahead.

OFFICIAL TIMES

Fresh from the official time keeper are the official times for 2008. Due to the soft and difficult surface I think the section from Panton Gap up to the T intersection will go down in the annals as the "Slough of Despair".

* Indicates first time Lungbuster Riders
** Support Riders

Apart from a couple of glaring anomolies I think the handicap start times generally worked well with most riders arriving at the summit near the anticipated time. The handicappers will look closely at these results when working out the start times for 2009.

Some of the victorious climbers gathered at the summit - Sep 27th 2008

It is interesting to note that,although the weather was perfect, the soft condition of the dirt road added about 10 to 20 mins to most riders times from last year. Regardless of how long you took to reach the summit, it is fantastic personal achievement of which you can all be justifiably proud.

Gary's comment on the Slough of Despair

I would love to publish personal accounts of the ride from riders. Why not take some time to record your impressions and shoot them to me in an email ?

A huge thank you to those who worked behind the scenes to make the day such a success. To Andrew Dunne who acted as ride convenor for the day - a great job well done. To Marg Jones who did such a professional job as starter and timekeeper - a large part of the credit for the sucess of the ride belongs to you. To Joan Horton who took on responsibility for the summit catering. What a fantastic time we had at the summit enjoying the drink and goodies that you prepared. To Paul Barnard our official photographer who helped record the ride for posterity. A special thank you to Marysia who generously opened her home to provide food and hospitality after the ride. It was a great chance to reflect on the ride and enjoy the spectacular scenery from her front deck. All in all a very memorable Lungbuster and one that helps to cement this event in our Annual Cycling Calendar for a long time to come.

Mega Mike reaches the finish line (just)
Now for the emergency medical attention.....

MY OWN ACCOUNT - Dennis Dawson

I have to admit that I am not sure whether I love or hate the Lungbuster ride. Although it is, without doubt, the toughest ride on our annual calendar, in some sort of macabre way I had actually been eagerly looking forward to it. With my gear already packed in the car I went off to bed relatively early with the alarm set for the ungodly wakeup time of 5.00 am. My night was spent in a series of mixed up dreams populated by lycra clad maniacs trying to ride bicycles up huge snow covered mountains.

When the alarm went off I slowly climbed out of bed and found myself watching a Grand Final football marathon on TV. I was amazed to see that they were replaying the 1964 Grand Final - the same Grand Final that I can vividly listening to on the old ASTOR MICKEY radio in my childhood home in East Bentleigh. Little did I realise then, that 44 years later, my blessed Demons would still be waiting for their next premiership. It evoked some very vivid memories and I wondered whether I would ever live to see them back on the winner's podium.

Since I was due to start with the 8.00 am group I left home at about 6.45 and arrived at Launching Place before anyone else. One thing was certain and that was that we were not going to have to contend with rain, snow or freezing conditions. To the contrary, there was not a cloud in the sky and the forecast was for a top temperature approaching 30C. That would make it easily our hottest ever Lungbuster.

Over the next 30 minutes, other riders started to arrive and, at the appointed 8.00 am start I was underway with Linda House, Kathleen Ooi and John Dawson. Linda's sister Rosie and her partner Tim had also joined us for their first ride with the Ghostriders. One lesson we have learnt from previous climbs is that it always best to start slowly and allow your body time to work into the ride. After the first couple of flat kilometres the climb begins and soon our little group was down to about 10 kph and the talking quickly dried up.

As the gradient kicked in we started to spread out with Kathleen, Rosie and Tim heading off the front and John falling a short distance behind. I was not interested in times so I tried to just settle down to enjoy the ride and to offer support to those who were doing it for only the first or second time. I must admit that, without the pressure of having to ride against the clock, it did allow me to relax and have a better look at the amazing scenery all around us.

A few kilometres further up the hill Tim dropped back to lend some company and support to John, while I rode on with Linda. The four of us rode on in close proximity for most of the way up to Panton Gap, which we reached after about one and a quarter hours. This was the ideal place for a short rest for some eats and drinks. Without the steady input of energy it is all too easy to become dehydrated and exhausted.

As Linda and I continued up the bitumen section I was wondering just when we would be overtaken by riders from the 8.30 am group and the first to catch up was Danielle who appeared to be riding strongly. Some time later Wendy caught up and we played cycle leapfrog for the next few kilometres. The first of the 9.00 am group to pass was Brian Cooper on only his second ride with our group. He was pedaling fast and making excellent headway, indicating that we may have put him in the wrong starting group.

It was a sheer delight to be riding through the forest with only the sounds of the bush to break the silence. From time to time we caught glimpses of the panoramic view through the trees, reinforcing to us just how high we had climbed already. At this stage Linda was still on track to cutting at least 30 mins off her 2007 time but all this changed when we hit the start of the dirt section. We discovered that the road had obviously just been freshly (and deeply) graded. This was great for clearing off the surface debris of fallen twigs and branches but it left the surface soft and unstable. This not only made forward motion even harder than usual but also made it hard to stay upright. At this point all riders quickly discovered that the climb was going to be much harder than previous years.All thoughts of PB times for most riders went out the window and they ploughed through the sand like surface. Later when I sat down to think of a name for this section, somehow the term "Slough of Despair" seemed apt.

As the exertion took its toll I noticed that Linda's stops became more frequent, but that didn't worry me too much as I was appreciating the rest as well. We were joined by a succession of exhausted riders, all complaining that they were close to spent. At one point I tried to execute a U turn and managed to completely come unstuck, hitting the gravel heavily. Fortunately no real harm was done, although I was starting to feel as if the tantalising flat section at around the 22 km mark was never going to arrive.

A merry "Good Morning" and a flying miniature bike let me know that Jur was well on his way to another King of the Mountain title. He was quickly out of sight as I ruminated on what start time the handicappers will need to apply to him next year.By the time Linda and I finally arrived the T intersection before the final climb to the summit we had been passed by about 15 or so riders. Although the sign claims that the summit is only "1 km away", previous bitter experience told me that was a bare faced lie. That final section is ALWAYS the toughest part of the whole climb.

I slowed down to about the same speed as an advancing glacier as I crawled the bike to the summit where a smiling Marg Jones was waiting with her watch and clipboard. It was a relief to join those who had already summited and enjoy some of the food and drinks that Joan and her crew had prepared for us. With the sun shining down warmly from above we would not be needing the bags of survival gear we had packed but it was nice to know that they were there anyway.

One of the best parts of such a ride is the shared feeling of exhileration and personal achievement that is evident at the end. Everyone was in very high spirits and were so excited as each new rider arrived. Cheers and clapping awaited each new arrival. For Wendy the climb also marked the completion of her fourth official ride and we were able to welcome her as the 76th Ghostrider - a great way to mark the occasion.

After the mountain top celebrations were over it was time to descend back to our cars. There was some debate as to which way we should go with some riders choosing to go the back way and others down the main road to Warburton. Bill and I chose to go the back way and we had not gone far when we came across a small group of riders still approaching the T intersection. Apparently Steven Warburton had got into some difficulties early in the climb and was suffering badly with Lactic acid in his legs. We were able to share some of our remaining energy foods with him before we continued down the big slope.

In spite of the slippery surface we managed to stay upright and safely made it all the way back down to Launching Place. We were amazed at just how much the temperature had risen, in fact it was positively scorching in the sun. After a change of clothes it was off to Marysia's to enjoy her BBQ and some after-ride fellowship as we watched Geelong get beaten in the Grand Final. The commentator kept saying that "Hawthorn's 17 year drought was finally over". They call that a drought ? For us Melbourne supporters it was a geological epoch since we have had anything to cheer about ! Oh well there's always next year - I am sure that Donna Buang will still be there and ready to throw some new surprises our way.

SOME OTHER RIDE ACCOUNTS PROVIDED BY PARTICIPANTS

(a) This account from Russell Drowley.....

Thanks again for allowing me to ride with such a group of elite cyclists.

This was my third ride with the Warbies having ridden two outward legs of the Maribyrnong River Trail rides in 06 & 07.The Donna Buang ride enabled me to see another amazing side of the Warbies and that was in their organisational skills.

The whole day was a credit to the organisers.  This included the staggered starting times along with the time keeping and for me the food and drinks at the summit were second to none.  One word, "fantastic."

Personally for me it was a bit of a trip down memory lane.  As a kid I lived on Dalry Road, Launching Plcae.  I rode the Don Road to Donna Buang summit several times as a 14 and 15 year old, but on a motor bike, illegally of course, but back in those days you could do crazy things like that.  So 39 years later I joined my crazy mate Mal Doswell to do it again.  Off I went with Mal and a couple of other cyclists at 9.30am.

Mal set off at a hasty pace and we drafted along behind him for a good couple of km's.  I was endeavouring to check out all the landmarks I remembered all those years ago but at the speed we were travelling I had little chance to discuss these matters with my good mate and my new found cycling buddies which included Lothar Rockmann.  Very soon the landmarks seemed a bit incidental as the intensity of the incline started to make it's mark.  I'm not all that sure about when it happened but I found myself out the front with Lothar and we were pulling away from the rest of our group.  After rounding a couple of corners I looked back and they were no longer in our view.  So with Lothar at my side we started to have a bit of a chat.  When I discovered how old he was I nearly ran off the road.  I hope I'm still cycling like Lothar when I'm his age.

Again I'm not sure when it happened but I suspect it was just before Panton Gap that I told Lothar I would not be trying to keep up the pace any longer and that I would be happy if he went ahead.  So with my pride somewhat diminished he disappeared into the distance and now I was riding alone.  I had no idea how far behind the others were so I just kept the peddles turning and continued on my merry way.  Panton Gap appeared on the horizon and my lap timer ticked over and I knew 10 kms were all but completed.  Only 17 and a bit kms to go.  Cycling alone is good for a while but your enthusiasm is always bolstered when you see someone up ahead and I spied some riders up in the distance.  So with renewed energy I gave the peddles an extra bit of power and rode up behind the group which I discovered had actually stopped.  My standard line was, "we actually paid $5 for this, we must be crazy."  We had a bit of a conversation and then I was off again.  I spied another rider from an earlier group up in the trees on the road around the corner.  Not sure what it is but you start to ride a little faster when you see someone up ahead and it was not long before I was saying hello and goodbye.  Over the next 5 or 6 km's I passed three or four other riders.

Somewhere around the 20 km mark I came across a couple of riders and was encouraged to find that one was riding a bike exactly the same as mine.  The fact that someone else had such a fine piece of machinery encouraged me greatly.  Suddenly a slight down hill section appeard so I was able to head off at a renewed hasty pace.  It was at this point that I realised the condition of the road had deteriated and my speed had to be curtailed a little otherwise my ride might have ended right then and there.  But onward I cycled continuing to pass several other intrepid elite cyclist on the way to their summit.  About 4 or 5 kms from the top I spied Lother again and it was not long before I was able to show him a clean set of peddles.  He seemed to be struggling with the conditions which my trusty ATX was handling with no apparent problems.

Getting back onto the tar was a welcome relief and then the sharp left up the final climb to the summit was one that I had being looking forward to.  At the summit it was great to be welcomed by some of the already summated cyclists.  The food and drink at the top was great and again I would like to say thank you for everyone who organised such a great day.  For those who don't remember me I'm the guy with the mobile phone that rings and you have to yell at me to tell me that it's ringing. "I'm deaf."  So after the group photo shoot at the summit it was time to head home.  Mal and I headed off together and wow, what a ride.  "Let's do it again" was my thinking as we coasted into Warburton covering 17kms in 18 mins.  Awesome.  So all being well I'll see you again next year.

I would like to become an elite member of the Warbies but I live about as far away from the Warby trail as anyone can in Melbourne, Craigieburn.  We have some great rides around this area and I would like to invite you all over sometime the check out my part of town.  One 60km loop I do on the Craigieburn Bypass track and then the Western Ring Road track to Woodlands Park via the Moonee Ponds trail then back to Craigieburn is a great ride.  Maybe I could start a Warby Ghostriders Chapter out this way.

Yours sincerely cycling,

Russell Drowley, Craigieburn.

(b) FROM TERRY DRUMMY

Hi Dennis,

A great Lungbuster ride in perfect conditions.

How quickly we forget the pain of last year and front up again.   About half way up the mountain I thought "Why do we do this ?", but the great sense of achievment when we reach the summit makes it all worth while.

For most of the journey I enjoyed the company of John Bird.

John did most of the talking, I just grunted in reply, but we did manage to roll over the finish line together.

We saw Black Cockatoos on the way up, a close encounter with a Lyre bird on the descent,and a magpie attack near Launching Place, so a day for the Birds.

It was great to catch up with 2 old mates from my days at Blackburn Amateurs, Mal Wilkinson and Gary Binding.

It was about 48 years since we,d seen each other (we must have started riding as 3 year olds ), they hadn,t changed a bit ---- well not much !

Thanks to Andrew and all the volunteers who helped to make it a memorable day.

from Terry Drummy.

(c) Wendy Miller

Hi Dennis,

I can only add to the appreciative comments you have already received in the follow up to Saturday's Lungbuster ride. What a fantastic day it was!

Riding up Mt Donna Buang has been on our 'to do' list ever since Danielle and I met whilst training for the Great Tasmanian Bike Ride nearly two years ago. Back then, we struggled up the main road and made it as far as Cement Creek a couple of times, but we had never dared tackle the summit. Then last month a friend and his 12 year old son rode up the back road and reached the top even in the snow, so we knew it was finally time to face the challenge.

As we pulled into Launching Place car park on Saturday morning we both felt sick with apprehension. Danielle is strong on the hills but it's not her favourite terrain; I enjoy riding hills but can only manage them very slowly. Either way, we knew we were in for a tough day. Bearing in mind Andrew and Marg's words of warning about starting slowly and riding at our own pace we rode together at a leisurely speed as far as the Donna Buang gate, after which Danielle went on ahead and I was happy to keep pedalling slowly but surely up through the scenic forest.

Everything was going fine until I hit that soft, newly-graded section shortly after meeting you and Linda. I was mentally prepared for a steep climb, but not for the challenge of keeping the bike upright. As the road became rougher and more difficult I began to wonder if the flat section you assured me lay ahead really did exist. I'm sorry to say that I didn't notice any of my surroundings for quite some distance. Someone later mentioned a hang glider ramp. What ramp?! It was actually a relief to reach the main road, even knowing that the steepest section was yet to come and that it was further than the 1km indicated on the sign (thanks to Marg for warning us about that).

It was wonderful to round that final bend and see all those smiling faces waiting at the finish line. In reaching Mt Donna Buang summit all the blood, sweat and tears I'd shed during my two year transformation from couch potato to recreational cyclist suddenly seemed worthwhile. Thank you so much to the fantastic team who made it all possible with their organisation, time keeping, rider support, catering, photography and transport of our warm clothes. And of course to my fellow riders for their words of encouragement as they passed me along the way. I'm already looking forward to next year's Lungbuster challenge!

Best wishes

from Wendy Miller

(d) Danielle Bruneau

Hi Dennis

Thanks again for a great day.

Mt Donna Buang has been a benchmark as well as a nemesis of mine since I began cycling almost three years ago. Actually I have Wendy to thank or blame as I knew nothing of its reputation as a "challenging" climb before I met her.

Also thanks to Wendy I've been introduced to the lovely Warby trail and now the lovelier Ghostriders! Cycling has brought me some wonderful friendships and I am grateful that will continue.I do hate climbing but seem to manage it perhaps a little better than my misgivings. More than anything I like a challenge and meeting it.

I was quietly thrilled at arriving at the summit in just under three hours. I may not be able to wait until next year's annual lungbuster to do it again and hopefully improve my time.I'd love you to please send my pics from the start and the finish line and the group photo at the summit. It was a memorable day that unites us in a common love - cycling in the great outdoors.

from Danielle Bruneau