Self Righteous Cyclist

December 13/14, 2021 Melbourne – Yea (over Toolangi and Murrindindi) – Melbourne (over Kinglake West)   Introduction After a long couple of years living in “the most locked down city in the world” I wanted to try something to really clear the head, something adventurous and a mental reset. Whilst in the future I’d definitely opt for one or multiple companions, this time I wanted to go solo. I figured bike-packing would offer all of this. I already owned a gravel bike, so I decided to do a Bike-pack “light” version to minimise cost and effort to see if I like it. This meant carrying all my gear but opting for hotel accommodation.   Set-up My set-up was very simple to minimise outlay and hassle • An Aluminium frame Ridley X-ride I’d bought second hand a few years prior • Lowest gear ratio was 34 * 28 • Running clincher and tube 700c x 38mm • A 10L Topeak backloader saddle bag to carry my stuff (multi-tool, pump, 2x spare tubes, patch kit, overnight clothes, basic toil

With apologies to Homer, who took ten years to get home after the fall of Troy, my personal odyssey on this day took twelve and a half hours with nine hours of riding. The Collins Dictionary defines an odyssey as a long exciting journey on which a lot of things happen . Based on this definition, it’s a worthy title. Behind every great story is a myth and the origins of this myth go back to the 30th of December 2017, when Jack Blanas, fittingly of Greek descent who rode 300km, 80% of it solo, to be the first of Gruppetto Melbourne to ride 300km in a single day. This spartan like performance inspired others to get onboard in the following years to take on what is now the fourth annual 200km plus Portsea return and the 300km plus Mordialloc return to Albert Park to pick up the 200km group. Some of the riders use this as a tune up for 3 Peaks in March, where it’s important to get accustomed to a long and strenuous day of riding. Others the challenge of beating their previous effort