The Peaks Challenge has earned a reputation as one of the finest gran fondos in the world. It is often associated with searing heat in the valleys and with riders being so spent on the final climb, the notorious Back of Falls, that they are reduced to walking and pushing their bikes uphill. Comprising of a total distance of 235 km and 4,500m of ascent, and with a 13 hour cut-off time, this is one of the toughest one day cycling challenges there is. Anyone who crosses the finish line can truly take pride in becoming a Peaker!
Lillian had completed the Peaks back in 2024 in 40 degree temperatures. It was an impressive achievement but not one that made me hurry to enter the event. It sounded so hard. However, when a place became available in October last year for this year’s RIDE Holidays tour, and a couple of cycling friends also signed up, I decided to give it a go. I knew from a previous winter visit to the region, which is 4-5 hours drive north-east of Melbourne, that the scenery and mountain roads were spectacular. This felt like an opportunity that I shouldn’t let slip by.
It did mean however that I was over-committed training-wise, with an ultra-trail run taking place just three weeks before the Peaks. I think I managed to be reasonably well prepared for both events, and competing in the ultra-trail run did benefit me in an unexpected way. One of the key decisions for the Peaks, and the subject of much (almost endless) debate is what start group to join. I was weighing the pros and cons of the 9 hour versus the 10 hour groups. Sub-9 hours was possible for me but high risk. 10-hours would result in a more enjoyable experience and importantly would still mean that I would be awarded the coveted sub-10 hours jersey if I finished. I was leaning towards the 9 hour group before the ultra, but the total leg cramps that I suffered in that race convinced me that the 10 hour group was the smart choice.
The Peaks Challenge is one of RIDE Holidays’ long-standing tours and is arranged by them at cost. It is a great way to experience the event. They arranged accommodation for us in Falls Creek, which is in short supply over the summer, and having someone to worry about logistics, prepare dinner and generally look after us make a big difference. And on top of that our guides, Chris and Dean, had both completed the Peaks several times so are able to offer us pertinent advice.
Six hours after a pick up from the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn, we were in Falls Creek at the Alpine Woodsmoke Apartments. These were right beside the road that we would be riding down as we finished the Peaks. It was a beautiful evening in the High Country so we scrambled to put our bikes together and head out for a ride. Josh, one of my friends from Hamilton, and I rode down the first few kilometres of the descent that would await us on the big day.
The weather the following day was also perfect and we rode as a group in the opposite direction, recceing the roads that would make up the final kilometres of the Peaks, before registering, exploring the village of Falls Creek and eating (eating a lot!).
Falls Creek village on the afternoon before the Peaks.
We all gathered for our 5pm briefing in the warm evening sun.
The pre-ride motivational speech from the Bicycle Network has become almost as legendary as the ride itself, so as well as being introduced to our wave leaders we were told that “pain is temporary whereas your finish photo is forever… on the internet”, and “bang bang”. This referred to our legs on the Back of Falls, though I was not sure whether this was something we had to do to them or what would happen if one had not paced the previous 200km conservatively enough.
The map of the route.
The profile showing the three main climbs, Tawonga Gap, Mount Hotham and Back of Falls. It’s worth nothing that not much of the ride is flat.
The Big Day
There had been rain in the night and the clouds billowing through the village were lit by the floodlights in the start area. It was around 5-10 degrees and pretty grim. I decided to wear long gloves, a gilet, arm-warmers and a rain-jacket for the descent.
The start was from 6.45am. Dark enough to need lights to ride to the holding pens, but getting light enough to not need them by the time my 10 hour wave started at 7am. I took off my front light, put it in the pocket of the puffer jacket I had been wearing and handed both to Chris and Dean, who were helpfully waiting just before we crossed under the starting arch.
It turned out the road was dry and although I had planned to descend with the group, the average descending pace was quite sedate and I ended up overtaking a lot of people. After the half way point of the descent, the road climbed for a bit and I quickly warmed up, stripping off my gloves well before reaching Mt Beauty at the bottom. There was a clothing dump there so many people discarded their op-shop acquired jumpers and wind-proofs.
I definitely didn’t want to dump my kit so I stuffed it in my already bulging pockets. We were quickly into the first significant climb, Tawonga Gap. I passed one of the 10 hour wave leaders at the bottom who said we were 4 minutes ahead of schedule. That was the last time I saw a ride leader, and over the course of the day my gap ahead of the 10 hour wave time increased to 13 minutes by the Back of Falls. A copy of the 10 hour top tube sticker we were given is here.
I caught Daryl, another member of our RIDE Holidays group, on the way up Tawonga Gap.
We headed over the top together and although he got ahead of me on the descent, we were to cross paths several times over the course of the day.
I make an effort to not pedal too hard on the false flat up to Harrietville, the rest stop located just before the climb of Mount Hotham. Someone in a group I was in mentioned that the race doesn’t really start until you reach that town. I was pleased I still felt fresh and, after a bottle refill, welcomed the start of the largest of the ascents on the route.
The climb comprised of three sections. The first was climbing up through the forest at a steady gradient, apart for a short steep section called The Meg. I caught Daryl just before the next section which traversed around the mountain.
The flat section was into a chilly headwind without the help of a group.
The third section contained several steep ramps, which made The Meg look like a warm-up, and was much more exposed to the elements.
We entered the swirling cloud, which cleared occasionally giving us sweeping views over the alpine country.
The cloud and mist meant that we could not see far up the road ahead… which may have been a good thing on the ascent but made the descent after Mount Hotham Village (c.1,800m above sea level) more tricky and, above all, cold.
Our lunch stop at Dinner Plain was still in the cloud. It’s actually only about 250m vertical metres below the summit of Hotham.
I grabbed my chicken wrap from the friendly crew so could also start munching on it as was I doing my other chores.
Likewise my valet bag. It was very efficient and I only had to wait for a few seconds before my one was located.
There are three valet bag drop points, Harrietville, Dinner Plain and Anglers Rest. However, Dinner Plain is the only one where you can also drop off kit you no longer want to carry.
The wrap tasted good and by the time I had eaten it I had restocked the food and gel supplies in my pockets, refilled my bottles and dumped my gloves in the bag for return to Falls Creek.
It was chilly at the rest stop and not a place to linger. After 10 minutes I was ready to go. I could feel a few twinges of cramp in my legs as I walked around, probably brought on by the cold, but regardless not a good sign.
As I was still 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time of the 10 hour group leaders, who pull a big peloton behind them, I decided to set off by myself and wait until a group caught me. Even though I was wearing a gilet and arm-warmers it was freezing as initially we continued to descend. So much so that I was getting some speed wobbles from shivering.
A group did form, which included Daryl, and soon we were charging along the rolling terrain towards Omeo. This part of the ride was more tiring than the route profile suggested it would be, not helped by the group which powered up all the climbs, and the warming temperature. Just before Omeo I dropped off the back of the group and decided to stop for a pee (actually my third of the ride, my hydration strategy was obviously working!) and skip the Omeo rest stop.
To my surprise I then found myself completely alone. No riders in front or behind me as far as I could see. It was pleasant to relax a bit and tap out a constant power, and as there was a slight tailwind I was still going at a decent clip. There was a long but steady climb after Omeo, Bingo Gap. This deserves a bit more publicity as it is a significant climb. I caught Daryl again after he had stopped to take off his long sleeved top.
The climb was followed by a flowing twisting road though gum trees on the way to Anglers Rest. All of the route is scenic, but this was the probably the nicest bit for me. It reminded me of riding in the Côte d’Azur in Southern France.
At Anglers Rest, the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed. People patiently waited to refill their bottles, and it must have been my lucky day as a rider called Josh offered me a can of Coke that he wasn’t going to drink.
As we left Anglers Rest, I crossed the ‘bike eating bridge’ (in the background in the picture below), which I rode across very carefully.
As I had another pee at Anglers Rest, I equaled Lillian’s record of four pees, a feat I am proud of, though it should be said her achievement is much more significant given the heat in 2024. As I was riding towards the Back of Falls, I chatted to someone who said two years ago it had been 35 degrees at Anglers Rest. This year it was a balmy 20-25 degrees.
The Back of Falls is where the legs are tested. Those who have pushed too hard or who have not adequately fuelled and hydrated are boffed by the relentless gradient and, in most years, the heat.
The grim reaper normally waits at the first right hand, christened WTF Corner, short for, the briefing informed us, ‘Way to Falls’ Corner.
As we rounded the left hand bend into the climb I whipped out my phone – easy access to my phone was one of the main reasons I wore my hideously coloured Rapha cargo shorts.
To my disappointment the grim reaper wasn’t there waving his scythe. Perhaps the benign conditions meant that there weren’t enough riders suffering. Actually I think he was fixing a problem with his sound system as a couple of minutes later we heard the sound of cheering crowds and music.
Instead of the trail of broken cyclists I was expecting to see on the climb, there were just a handful of riders walking or by the side of the the road. It certainly did not match Lillian’s description of the BOF being like a war zone. What a difference the cooler weather made.
That being said, it was still a hard climb with no respite in the first 5km and many 15+% ramps. Sweat was soon dripping onto my bike frame and I felt my calf and thighs starting to cramp. However, I managed to keep the cramps under control and passed scores of riders, many who I had seen, sometimes multiple times, earlier in the day.
Daryl was the last person who I caught that I recognised. He had also been climbing quickly and I caught him just past Trapyard Gap. Neither of us had stopped for the Coca Cola that was available there – another one of the legends about the Peaks – and I pushed on up to the flatter and wonderfully smooth roads that made up the final 10km.
This flew by with bigger and stronger riders really laying down the power and flying past me on the descents. I couldn’t stick with many for long – after pushing hard on the BOF my legs were empty – but nevertheless it did not take long until we were crossing the dam and the final little rise before Falls Creek and the finish.
I was moved my hand to stop my Corus, which did somewhat spoil my final finish line photo though I was very happy with my overall time of 9 hours 21 minutes with a moving time of 8.59!
It was a memorable day out and a fantastic route. I feel than in spite of some discomfort from the cold, we were very lucky with the weather. So many more people finished in under 10 hours than expected that the organisers ran out of the special sub-10 hour jerseys! 44% of people staring (49% of finishers) completed the ride in under 10 hours.
Daryl finished a couple of minutes behind me, and of my friend from Hamilton, Josh, joined the 9-hour group, hung in the fierce group riding on the sections between climbs, didn’t blow up on the BOF and finished in 8.49, a great effort. The three of us look pretty happy in the photo below.
My other friend from Hamilton, Dave, who had been in hospital after a crash only two weeks previously, also had a strong ride, finishing in 9.43.
There was a free beer, from Bridge Road Brewers, at the finish and, even better, someone offered me a hotdog they had bought and didn’t want to eat while I was waiting in the beer queue.
It was the second time during the day when someone had randomly given me their drink or food. I must just have a hungry looking face. We lounged on the grass by the finish and our group swelled in size as more of the RIDE Holidays riders finished the course.
Wrap-Up
Whilst there was a lot of travel required for the event it was well worth it. The event had a great atmosphere than any cycling enthusiast would love, and the organisation from Bicycle Network was excellent. My only regret is that we could have had a few more days to enjoy the High Country and ride some of the other roads and climbs.
It probably wasn’t the toughest Peaks Challenge conditions-wise, although the highlights video shows how cloudy it was on Mount Hotham, but I am proud to have completed it and to have earned the sub-10 hour jersey. The lime green will hopefully match well with my garish Rapha cargo shorts.
I’ll end this section of the post with thanks to Chris and Dean, and with a photo of the beautiful view from their terrace in the Alpine Woodsmoke Apartments.
Training and Stats
My average power for the Peaks was 2.5W/kg with a normalised power of 2.85W/kg. I rode the climbs at 3.1-3.2W/kg. Over the 8 hours 59 minutes of moving time I burnt 5,500kJ of energy (5,900 calories). To put some of these numbers into context, my TrainerRoad FTP was 4.1W/kg.
My longest training ride took place four weeks before the Peaks and was 196km at 2.6W/kg (normalised power of 2.95W/kg), and burnt 4,400kJ. So I used about 80% of the energy as in the Peaks which is right about where Peaks rider leader and training guru advised in a video a few weeks prior to the race.
In general I did a couple of trainer sessions on Zwift with a long ride every other weekend. On the alternate weekends I scheduled long runs for my ultra marathon. My kilometres ridden in were 840km (30% indoors) in January and 880km (20% indoors) in February and on 1 March. I eased off in the final week before the event which was on 8 March.
Based on my experience it’s possible to prepare for a challenge of this nature without riding massive distances, though lack of racing meant I don’t think I would have had the legs to ride as Josh had done and stick with the 9-hour group.
Nutrition and Hydration
Because it may be of interest, I consumed 3 BetaFuel powders (80g of carbs x 3), 1 SiS powder (40g), 4 BetaFuel gels (40g x 4), 3 SiS caffeine gels (20g x 3), 9 Fruit Salad sweets (60g in total), 2 Ems Bites (20g x 2), 1 chicken wrap (25g) and a small Coke (25g). That works out at around 650g carbohydrate which is about a gram per hour per kg of body weight. I didn’t have any digestive issues so that seems to be about the right level of carbs for me.
Given my history of cramping I was very keen to take on enough salt. I drank enough for sure, given my multiple pee stops, but needed to as a lot of my nutrition and electrolytes were in my drinks. In total I drank 8 750ml bidons, 5 containing an SiS Hydro tablet (containing 345mg of sodium). Adding to that the 12 Salt Sticks that I ate (600mg in total) and my SiS powder drink (200mg) totals around 2.5g of sodium. That may not have been enough had I been sweating heavily, but thankfully I never had to find out!
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