Hobart to strathgordon

[ajmit3]

Hi, you guys are so lucky to have such cool terrain on your doorstep ... Just cycled up Mt Wellington - what a great ride ! Now thinking of cycling from Hobart to strathgordon ... Any tips ?

[mcdurdin]

I've done the whole Hobart - Strathgordon return ride, but not in one trip (Hobart - Maydena - Hobart, and Maydena - Gordon Dam - Maydena). Hobart to Maydena is not particularly hard or particularly interesting. But Maydena to Strathgordon is a tough ride, much harder than Wellington! The road gets interesting after Maydena, expect about 1800m of climbing, steep, between Maydena and Gordon Dam (just past Strathgordon). Be prepared for bad weather (300+ days a year of rain). But it's a great ride all the same. Fantastic scenery if the weather allows, quiet roads.

The day I did the Gordon Dam return, it rained pretty much the whole day. It would have been pretty horrible on my own but was riding with a group.

If you do it, make sure you ride all the way to the dam at the very end of the road as Strathgordon itself is pretty uninteresting!

[master6]

Did it in February with a group from the (then) Vets club. Be aware that there are no supplies of any kind beyond Maydena. Absolutely nothing for money to buy at Strathgordon; It is a ghost town except for a caretaker. No phone coverage on most of the route beyond Maydena.

[ajmit3]

Cheers mcdurdin and master for the replies ! Good to have some local info !

[mcdurdin]

I seem to recall a coke machine in Strathgordon but I could be misremembering... Master6, forgot you were on that ride too

[master6]

This is what our ride leader told us prior to the ride to Strathgordon in Februray 2011:-

"Hi pedallers - six weeks to go.

In the last update I said I was going to scout the Maydena-Dam and return leg of the ride. I did that - and I'm not too sure how to tell you about it! I did the ride on the motor bike so it was reasonably easy on the legs although at a slowish pace through the forests given the number of wallabies hopping everywhere.

Here we go.

Starting at the lowest point of the ride at Maydena general store and post office there is a nice 4-5 kms of gentle climbing until you get to McAllister Creek. Things then get very serious very quickly - hills! The road surface is a nice hot mix which may make a bit of a dent in the effort required but for the next 30 kms the road goes either sharply up or sharply down. There are distance signs every 5kms just to remind you how long it has taken so far. Once you come out of the Gordon Forests there is a nice spot for a coffee stop and water refill at 35kms to Lake Pedder.

From there it is reasonably 'normal' ride across the button grass with only one small mountain range to cross 10kms before Strathgordon. On the way out of Strathgordon there is a nice lookout on the left which is well worth the stop for the view. Its 12 kms from Strathgordon to the Gordon Dam with another mountain range to traverse. There is water and toilets available at the turn. And then back again. By the time we get back to the coffee stop at the start of the last set of hills we will have 130kms in our legs.

From the road signs there is one climb marked at 10%, one marked at 9% and two marked as steep. Each of those is a long climb and a hairy descent. This will be a tough day in good weather.

That’s the easy bit.

I'll send out another update in a couple of weeks to get an idea of how many are coming along and whether you are going to do the full ride on the Sunday. At this stage I think we are going to need two support cars and I'm fairly confident there is no mobile coverage on the road." (end of quote)

We rode out to Maydena the day before the stage to Strathgordon, and stayed back in Maydena on the night of the ride.
I can assure readers that the above description (thanks to Dale) contains no exaggeration.

I would not do that ride alone.




Have fun.

[master6]

I seem to recall a coke machine in Strathgordon but I could be misremembering... Master6, forgot you were on that ride too

I thought I saw a restaurant serving free champagne, and 100 oversexed ladies. That was just getting out there. On the way back I saw a group of masochists on bicycles

[ajmit3]

Hey - wasn't going to do this as I thought the weather would close in on me, so I decided to drive it with my girlfriend instead.... When we drove 10km past Maydena, I saw the terrain and drove back to Hobart to get my bike ... Needless to say it was 4pm when I got back to a spot just outside Maydena - thought I would be able to do 100km return - 50km to Strathgordon and then 50km back .... By 8pm.... Which was a bit ambitious....

Anyway, I took it real easy for the first hour,seemed to glide up the short sharp 9% climbs ... ... and ramped it up for the 2nd hour... but by the time it was 6pm I had only gone 38km ... Not 50...

Turned around ... and was going really well until about the 3hr 30 min mark ... Then I had to climb up a 3-4km 10% gradient... I stopped once and then twice ... On 34-25 and it seemed really REALLY hard.... My Cadence dropped below 50 and my speed dropped below 9 km/hr.... (Brought back memories of Mt hotham)

Anyway, 3 hr 40 mins - only 76 km and 1,535 m of climbing.

Stunning stunning ride - was one of the most beautiful places I have seen and I have been all over the world ... Would like to do the Maydena - Gordon - Maydena ride next time... I reckon it would kill me though. Next time I will bring a friend cause of no mobile coverage... It was very quiet only had 4 cars and I bike overtake me ... Anyway - hope someone finds this interesting...

[Gordo]

reckon up there wouldve been a tourist mecca to rival cradle mt if lake pedder hadnt been damed. as it stands no-one goes up there...bar bushwalkers....and mad cyclists it seems.

(Brought back memories of Mt hotham)

mt hotham would be an awesome ride. Talked about doing it when we went skiing up there last year. would be a great descent too. Though id be afraid of flying around a corner and straight into a bus the way they cut corners. u havent by any chance done mt baw baw? I heard it was one of, if not the hardest climb in australia ?

well done anyway.

[mcdurdin]

Great work! That road still rates as the toughest ride I have ever done, by quite a long way. It is an amazing place to ride though!

[ajmit3]

Ha ha thanks mcdurdin , was a tough ride - but Id say falls and Hotham are tougher - just because there is no let up from the gradient... Mind you - I've done these rides as a group at a fast pace ..

Gordo I reckon the place should be a tourist Mecca anyway ! And I haven't done Baw Baw - but I probably will this summer ... But not without a 28 ..

[mcdurdin]

The full Maydena - Gordon Dam - Maydena ride is about 170km and nearly 4000m of climbing, almost all on rough chipseal. It's debilitating I'd like to do some riding on Falls and Hotham; I have never had the chance...

[BarryTas]

Mcdurin "The full Maydena - Gordon Dam - Maydena ride is about 170km and nearly 4000m of climbing"


souds like an easter mission

[ajmit3]

Actually Mcdurdin - I think the full trip return sounds tougher than any single ascent of falls or Hotham ... You'll have to do the 3 peaks challenge in march now ...

[mcdurdin]

One of my mates has done both Strathgordon and 3 Peaks and reckons they are both tough but in different ways. I'd like to do 3 Peaks one day, dunno when I will get the chance though.