Tour de Burbs - Road Ride

[wolfjjj]

Afternoon,

Just wondering if any rotorburners make it along to the Thursday night Tour de Burbs in Melbourne. I'm not much of roadie but it's a good workout and I usually end up being pretty broken but it all seems to be good for the fitness.

Anyway anyone else here ride it regularly?

Any comments on how tough it is compared to some of the other weekly road rides around town eg MRR etc? I haven't really done many so not sure.

 

[MountainBikeMike]

What group is this? Links??

I ride road every now and then, mainly to work and for leg training and building, and tell ya what, it just isn't the same as on a MTB.

I'd be up for road rides with MTB'ers fo sure though!

 

[wolfjjj]

What group is this? Links??

I ride road every now and then, mainly to work and for leg training and building, and tell ya what, it just isn't the same as on a MTB.

I'd be up for road rides with MTB'ers fo sure though!

It's not really an official ride organised by anyone (so no website), people just show up to the start, same time every week and ride. If you look in the Plan a Ride section on the Bike Victoria website forum there is information about it in there along with other regular rides.

BV Plan a ride ... http://www.bv.com.au/forums/viewforum.php?f=16
& Tour de burbs .... http://www.bv.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4082&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=660

Anyway if you're keen to give it a go, it's Thursday nights 7pm, on the corner of Chandler Hwy and the Boulevard (You'll see everyone waiting by the Guide Dogs entrance. It's about 30km, out to Doncaster, then north a bit then back to Fairfield via Ivanhoe. They regroup 3 times throughout the ride so if you get dropped it's not the end of the world, you just have to make sure you get there before they give up waiting and go on.

 

[fukachu]

Yeah I ride it pretty regularly. You'll find there are a couple of lead off times now that winter has set in. The group that leaves around 6.40 usually pushes pretty hard, and doesn't regroup at the top of the climbs. The 'second' group usually rolls off at 7 and regroups at the top of the climbs. Great for your fitness and if you hold on long enough the wind up through the cutting to the final sprint 'de le rouge Coq' (Red Rooster - french jokes: I'm a wkr) is awesome/horrible.

Check cycle2max or this site for a profile:
http://www.cyclingprofiles.com.au/HTM/VicPopular/MP_TemplestoweLoop.htm

The actual route is a little different from the the profile above, after the Burgundy St climb it turns left down Banksia St and back to Lower Heidelberg Rd for the ride through the cutting.

 

[merc-blue]

Hey guys i haved look at joining this ride.
although im pretty scared of roadie riders, will i get forced out or socially shunned for having hairy legs and a old rusty bike?

 

[fukachu]

Mate it is so cold at the moment your shame will be covered by leg warmers or tights. Rusty bike however will cause you to be shunned. By wankers.

My only comment is that pace is a pretty quick. As it dark at the moment if you don't know the route it can a little daunting if you fall behind.

 

[merc-blue]

How fast is a fast pace?
I live right long the loop and plan on ridding it a few times just so i know it, before joining in the action.

 

[wolfjjj]

Yeah I ride it pretty regularly. You'll find there are a couple of lead off times now that winter has set in. The group that leaves around 6.40 usually pushes pretty hard, and doesn't regroup at the top of the climbs. The 'second' group usually rolls off at 7 and regroups at the top of the climbs. Great for your fitness and if you hold on long enough the wind up through the cutting to the final sprint 'de le rouge Coq' (Red Rooster - french jokes: I'm a wkr) is awesome/horrible.

Check cycle2max or this site for a profile:
http://www.cyclingprofiles.com.au/HTM/VicPopular/MP_TemplestoweLoop.htm

The actual route is a little different from the the profile above, after the Burgundy St climb it turns left down Banksia St and back to Lower Heidelberg Rd for the ride through the cutting.

Cool I didn't know there was an earlier group, I might give it a go when the weather warms up and I get a bit fitter. I'm usually along for the 7pm ride but am yet to see the sprint finish. By the end of the ride I'm usually pretty broken and I'm usually dropped between the cutting and the finish.

The pace on the ride is fairly quick but then again I've got nothing to compare it to, most of it is fine it's just the hills that get me, I'm not built for climbing so find it hard to keep pace with the pointy end.

 

[wolfjjj]

How fast is a fast pace?
I live right long the loop and plan on ridding it a few times just so i know it, before joining in the action.

Just bring a map and see how you go, they stop along the route so you can usually catch up then depending on how far back you end up. But yeah everyones pace differs so it's just a matter of turning up and giving it a go.

 

[fukachu]

By the end of the ride I'm usually pretty broken and I'm usually dropped between the cutting and the finish.

+1 Cutting at the end usually finishes me, can sort of hold on til then, high st off foote is deceptively hard as well.

Course is about 30km, and usually it is all over in about 45-55mins, most of the groups climb at about 20km/h give or take 2-4km/h.