10 July 2017
There is no doubt the Grampians or Gariwerd, as the indigenous people refer to the region, is stunning. Its scenery, with the rusty sandstone outcrops and grey-green hues of bush and tree, simultaneously gives a sense of alarming treachery and staggering beauty. These were the sentiments that I seemed to, subconsciously, take with me on the road to Mount William, one of the many rocky sentinels that run north-south on the eastern ridge of the Grampians National Park. At 1,167m, this mountain is the highest of the numerous jutting guardians of the park.
I head out from Halls Gap. The first 10kms is a fairly easy ride with a few rises – the little 5% incline for a kilometre or so near Bellfield Lake being the most taxing. But essentially it is a flat start, which seems good to warm up on. The road is a little slippery; it had rained quite consistently the night before, but, beyond doubt, for a morning in the Grampians in July, the harshest element is the cold. The Grampians are known for extremes in temperature and the 4 to 5 degree morning is quite sharp, the breeze abruptly slapping my face. It takes some time for my legs to warm and my face doesn’t really.
By the time I reach the Mt William Rd turn-off, I am ready for a hill, if only to warm up!
The sweeping left-turn immediately gives the sense of what is to come, kicking straight into a 5 to 6% gradient. The foliage is thick with brush and bush, the road wet and the slope still growing. I have glimpses of grey and red rock massif formations through the trees, between my glances upward and focusing back down on the wet road. I churn the pedals, up and out of the seat, back down again to churn some more. The straight parts of the road seem flatter at least, compared to the corners which tend to jump up from about 8% to 12 or 13. I see two riders coming down and give them the universal cycling greeting of ‘hey’, but they don’t seem to notice. They seem focused on the descent, carefully picking their way around a corner. I make the mental note to be careful coming down. The dampness sits on the road and my tyres are slick; it is not only cold and slippery, but definitely steeper than I thought.
At about the four kilometre mark I emerge from the dense bush and tall trees to low shrub and amazing views of the mountain ranges, on the western side of the Grampians and then, 500 metres or so later, the eastern side. I note that what I think is Mount William looks like it is under cloud.
The slope is getting serious, it is a constant 7% gradient – it is often at these times that my mind starts messing with me. I start querying, in the back of my mind there somewhere, why I’m doing this. But, like lots of other things in life, I give a little giggle and push on. This is fun. But that cloud over Mt William seems like fog that is moving down…rolling slowly, like The Blob – who thought that was a valid idea for a film? – towards me. Higher and higher…I enter The Fog and the Fog thickens…
At about the 6km stage, there is a nice easing of the incline – a bit of a false flat and this lasts for a kilometre or so. I’m quite warm, three layers of clothing, arm warmers and long-finger gloves, so it is pleasant to give the legs a little rest, take a drink and push the speed up to about 20km/h. Eeeeasy! Cycling is funny like that – you get up a little bit of pace and think you are invincible. This doesn’t last long and the last 3kms to the Mount William car park just push back up to 6 and 7%.
I’m pretty buoyed by reaching the car park – I feel like this, in itself, is a fair achievement. There are plenty of walkers around, getting out of cars, getting organised for the last push to the summit like true Everest trekkers. Sensible hikers, putting on warm jackets, donning beanies and looping backpacks – except for that guy in shorts and thongs…at least he’s wearing a warm hat, I suppose. The summit is another 2kms up a fairly steep incline; the trekkers are cold – except for shorts-guy -, I’m quite warm. I hit the final slope, still with a huge sense of accomplishment, but aware there is a little more work to do.
Despite reading a few blogs on The Climbing Cyclist website, I don’t really think I was quite prepared for the magnitude of a 12-14% slope over 2kms. And it is overcast, my sunglasses are fogging up and I can’t stop to put them away because the slope is too steep to stop. It is beginning to spit some rain and I feel the breeze. Now those questions that were easily dismissed with a shrug and a giggle earlier begin to fuddle their way around to the front of my mind. The incline is so steep for me that I need to zigzag to try to reduce it. Funnily enough I am quite concerned that this will mean that I am adding to to the distance I have to go…why am I worrying about that? I try getting up and out of the seat, but I spin the rear wheel on the bitumen surface and decide that I’d be better to sit than to fall off. Another turn, the corners are excessively sharp and steeper than the straight path. I move as far as I can to the outside of a left bend and nearly lose the bitumen into the gravel – I’m on the edge but manage to sweep across to make the corner. I’m moving – or not moving, which may very well be the case – at about 4 or 5km/h. Maybe I should just walk…
I think the Mount William summit climb is brutal; the overall gradient is 12%, but it fluctuates between about 5 or 6% in some places up to 15 and 16%. It is 1.9kms in length but 231m elevation gained. Maybe I should just walk…? I find my mind racing between a number of deleterious, self defeating possibilities and, again much like life, I try to add my own transformatively positive strategies to those. I use the tried and true method of ‘I’ve-Come-This-Far-Already-It-Would-Be-A-Waste-To-Stop-Now’, but that fades pretty quickly. I strategically switch to the famous Hewitt motivational speech of ‘C’mon!’. But I realise this is not a speech – it is actually two words that have been condensed for emphasis, no doubt to motivate, and a ‘C’mon!’ can only last so long as well. I perhaps wasn’t as conscious of thinking through all these strategies in a nice orderly way but I do realise – not too late thank goodness – that these are just not me. Finally, and more in tune with my personality, I settle for the ‘Just-Turn-The-Stupid-Pedal-One-More-Time’ mental approach. It has benefits, particularly when my pedals are turning relatively slowly – easy to remember, easy to get to the next one. I like simple; this seems to work for me, it just seems to take some time to get there and it does need constant repetition. Funny how the mind works…
The gradient eases back to about 8% as I make the final turn for the last 200m slope. This last part is 11% but I realise I”m going to get there and the ‘It-Would-Be-A-Waste-To-Stop-Now’ mind-game doesn’t even cross my mind. The ‘Stupid Pedal’ works and turns ‘One More Time’ and I’m there. I hit the wall…actually, it is a very disinterested cyclone fence around a very disinterested building that houses a very disinterested tower. And it is forbidding, not at all celebrating my ride…a little deflating, really.
What a welcome…
The outlook is, well, disappointing. The clouds hang over the tower, the spitting rain is easing, but the wind is picking up…
Immediately, the cold seeps into my sweat drenched hair and spreads across my back; I begin to chill and shiver. Today I might be actually feeling the ‘feels-like’ temperature. But view or not, cold or not (…no, cold, it is…) I have made it up a fine little hill – particularly that last summit – that I didn’t think I could. I’m pretty chuffed.
And, I believe the views are amazing…
My Stats:
The Mt William ‘Full Monty’, according to Strava, is a high category climb of 11.5km, 817m elevation gain at 7.1% gradient. I managed to be the third fastest on this day, completing the ride in 1hr 5 mins precisely, averaging 10.9 km/h. I was third fastest out of all the three Strava riders who attempted it on this day.
Photos by Kaye
Afterword: I took the descent carefully…I couldn’t feel my fingers, such was the ‘feels-like’ cold, so I thought that was sensible.
Cycling and Life 
Leave a comment