Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:40 am

200. looking forward to a chill weekend and my 3 favourites (buffalo, tawonga, falls)

Cyclophiliac
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby Cyclophiliac » Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:40 pm

I think the Alpine Classic needs another ride option. A few years ago, I did the 200km option (while it still had Mt Buffalo last), but the day before, I rode from Bright to Mt Hotham and back, and thoroughly enjoyed it. A nice additional ride option would be Bright - Mt Hotham - Bright - Mt Buffalo - Bright, about 170-180km all up, I think.

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cameronp
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby cameronp » Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:15 pm

I'm going for the two day Alpine Raid this time. Seems like the civilised option - same course as the 250 but get a chance to have a few beers and a sleep before attacking the back of Falls climb.

Also in the process of building a new bike. A 34/42 gear should be enough to get me up Back of Falls, right?!

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby warthog1 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:12 pm

cameronp wrote:
Also in the process of building a new bike. A 34/42 gear should be enough to get me up Back of Falls, right?!
No one can answer that except you.
Depends on weight, fitness, age and ability.
It is a nice low gear though :)
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biker jk
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby biker jk » Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:41 pm

Audax Australia has sold the event to SME360 who run Amy's Grand Fondo among other events.

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:51 pm

Interesting. What does this mean for the event sort and long term?

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biker jk
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby biker jk » Fri Oct 20, 2017 2:25 pm

march83 wrote:Interesting. What does this mean for the event sort and long term?
The 2018 event is going ahead with the usual Audax Australia organisers. After that it will be run by SME360 which I suspect will mean a steep hike in entry fees and possibly no discount for Audax members.

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 2:35 pm

That's a shame. Price hikes probably won't suit that event - it's already competing against the TDU and the 3 peaks and I've heard it said that it's not nearly as popular an event as it used to be. Without the Audax stalwarts it might struggle?

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby madmacca » Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:56 pm

march83 wrote:That's a shame. Price hikes probably won't suit that event - it's already competing against the TDU and the 3 peaks and I've heard it said that it's not nearly as popular an event as it used to be. Without the Audax stalwarts it might struggle?
It's probably more the head-to-head clash with Cadel's race the same weekend than TDU and 3 peaks.

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cyclotaur
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby cyclotaur » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:49 am

The thing about the AudaxAlpine is that you can make a short holiday of the whole thing, spend anything from a weekend to a week in Bright, and do lots of other riding and activities.

Many participants have their partners/families along and it's just a great place to hang out away from home for a short break. Hopefully that won't change and, in that context, the actual cost of entry to the Audax rides is not so significant. Hopefully any increase in ride fees won't affect the whole event too much. Bright really rocks over that weekend and I'm sure it does a lot for the local economy.

I also think a different kind of rider might be attracted to the AAC than would go for Cadel's Race, for example.
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grumped
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby grumped » Mon Jan 22, 2018 3:39 pm

I agree with cyclotaur re families taking advantage of the set-up. My non-cycling wife enjoys being in Bright for a few days while I have a pass to ride all day. She looks forward to the trip as much as me, even with a young daughter to look after on the event day. I am not looking forward to the heat, especially the section from Omeo to Trapyard Gap. That is about drink and food.

The Cadel weekend possibly could have an effect on numbers, but previously the Alpine Classic clashed with the last weekend of the TDU. It will be interesting to see what happens to the cost in the coming years. The new organisers should remember tickets for 3PFC were still available in the week of the 2017 event, whereas previous years it sold out months in advance, so beware making it much dearer.

And Mr Cyclotaur was a star at the Tawonga Gap drinks/water stop last year.

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 4:44 pm

grumped wrote:I am not looking forward to the heat, especially the section from Omeo to Trapyard Gap.
+1. I'm tempted by the 4am start, but I'm "only" doing the 200km and I think getting up at 3am will probably do me more harm than riding in the heat of the day. If I do the 6:20 start and things go relatively smoothly then I should have the lion's share of the climbing done by midday. Tawonga in full heat will be hard and slow, but not impossible.

Last year Omeo to Trapyard was typically brutal. The saving grace is that you know it's going to be a fair bit cooler once you get to the top. Across the top to Falls is always bittersweet because you're finally not baking in the heat of the day, but you're exhausted from getting there :D

Forecast for Saturday says tops of 40 in the valleys and 23 on the peaks...

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby hamishm » Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:03 pm

march83 wrote:Forecast for Saturday says tops of 40 in the valleys and 23 on the peaks...
Meaning that the extreme weather policy might see the 200/250 rides cancelled....
https://www.alpineclassic.com.au/event- ... er-policy/

BOM forecast says 36 in Bright but Weatherzone says 40 right now. We'll have to wait until later in the week.

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby grumped » Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:28 pm

If the BOM forecast is 38+ on Friday, I'll ride the 130km Falls Creek event, and leave the glorious Buffalo for a recovery ride on Sunday. :)

I remember descending from Falls last year where around halfway to Mt Beauty it felt I had ridden into a sauna. Of course the road was very sticky in parts climbing Tawonga Gap too.

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby joomz » Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:32 pm

Sounds like a good year to be doing the 2-day raid :)

hamishm
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby hamishm » Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:48 pm

I'm entered in the 4am 200, and I think I'd rather still start at 4am and keep cool. But Gap + Falls + Gap is a more satisfying ride than Buffalo + Gap + Gap.

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:24 pm

Yep, I would also take the Falls option. A club mate set a pretty hot time up there a few weeks ago - I'll just cruise over tawonga, smash myself up falls to try and beat him and then limp home from there...

march83
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby march83 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:04 am

hamishm wrote: BOM forecast says 36 in Bright but Weatherzone says 40 right now. We'll have to wait until later in the week.
What resource are you using for BOM Bright? I can only find local valley towns like Wangaratta...

hamishm
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby hamishm » Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:13 am

march83 wrote:What resource are you using for BOM Bright? I can only find local valley towns like Wangaratta...
I googled "bom forecast bright" and got http://www.bom.gov.au/places/vic/bright/forecast/

I didn't find it just by navigating around the BOM site though. They're still saying 36.

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Leethal
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby Leethal » Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:33 am

Road: S-Works Tarmac SL5 eTap
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MTB: Yeti ASRc, XTR Di2

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Leethal
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby Leethal » Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:40 am

I'm yet to make up my mind which route I'll ride. I've completed the 250km twice (love the various scenery), but missed it last year due to illness. And, considering I really haven't put the training in the last 6 months, any of the serious routes will be a long slow slog...
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vaypaz
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby vaypaz » Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:49 am

Im doing the 4am Buffalo Sunrise. Do most people who are staying in Harrietville and surrounds cycle in at that time?

In two minds as to whether to get 20 mins extra sleep, or avoiding the hassle of packing/unpacking the car.

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby hamishm » Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:58 am

It might seem ok to ride an extra 25km at the start when it's dark and cool but do you want to ride 25km back at the end of the day when it's 40 degrees and you've already done 225?

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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby Leethal » Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:10 am

hamishm wrote:It might seem ok to ride an extra 25km at the start when it's dark and cool but do you want to ride 25km back at the end of the day when it's 40 degrees and you've already done 225?
Agreed, might as well just ride one of the 250km options? Also, there's a slight (1-2%) gradient back to Harrietville from Bright, so at the end of the day it might not be an enjoyable roll home.
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Re: Who is going to the Alpine Classic?

Postby vaypaz » Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:26 am

Fortunately Im staying with family so we'll have a second car for them to see me finish and get me home, but thinking I might be better to save the legs on what is already going to be a tough day out for me.

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