Stage 1 - Let the Tour Begin
Today is the official starting date for the Tour Down Under (TDU). The TDU is currently in its 11th year and it is the first pro cycling event of the year. This year is especially popular with Lance and other big name riders taking part in the race. Over the course of the next six days, the pros will ride more than 800 km over the rolling hills in and around Adelaide Australia. Us enthusiasts will ride approximately 600km over much of the same course which is not too bad either.
Today's stage is from Norwood to Mawson Lakes. According to our tour director Tony, it is one of the hardest stages that we would ride and it included the infamous Checker Hill. The nice thing about riding the same circuit as the pros ride is that they have plenty of signs warning of sprint areas and also where the King of the Mountains (KOM) climbs are. KOM is a race to the top of big hills (mountains) and the riders get points for being the first guys through. Anyhow it was great to have the course so well marked so we could mentally prepare for the climbs we had to do. It is also nice to know what the pros have to actually do and it is humbling to watch them do it so much faster and better. After reading the brouchure for this trip I decided to use my old bike which is not as good as my new bike for climbing hills and mountains. The descriptions of the climbs in our tour brochure seemed pretty reasonable so I decided I could manage the climbs on my old bike. The thing I did not read or see was that Adelaide is a bunch of rolling hills outside of the flat city grid. I found this day very tough. Checker Hill was the toughest spot on the course. At 20+% gradient for approximately 800 meters, I was blowing through all my limits to make it up this tough climb. The nice thing was that the fans were there early to watch the pros and they even cheered on the crazy amateurs like me. I have to say it helped me do it! Ian, one of the guys in our group, and one of the best cyclists I have ever seen in action, did this climb in his big chain ring after accepting a challenge from Tony the tour director. Ian rocks!
First Climb of the Trip (not Checker Hill)
Checker Hill - Humbled many who had to walk part of the way up.
Overall I managed to squeeze out 100km of riding along the rolling hills of Adelaide. There were two challenging climbs and very few flat areas along this route.
Today's ride: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7501118