The Ascent

[the lone rider]

Jeepers . As a person who grew up around there and knows this area well, there is not many flat roads on this route. Im not sure what the organisers are hoping for here but thats gonna be a minimum 1500m elevation ride. Might get a few extra women on bikes but the part timers are probably not going to want to get back on them again in a hurry. This seems like madness, somebody has missed the brief by a long way, club racers and serious riders will be the only ones finishing in the cut off times.

[baudman]

^
The shorter 65km option is far more achievable, and there's plenty of semi-new-to-riding individuals who are currently training for it. I'm very, VERY happy they've put this in, but I'm guessing it may be from feedback from riders training up for it. I think for many, finishing that 65km circuit will far outweigh some gun riders finishing the 100km IYKWIM.

But yeah, as discussed on the first page, I still don't quite see the match up with this as behaviour change (getting more women riding) and it as an event (achieving a personal best - which is a great reason for doing anything)... but don't couch it as ongoing behaviour change -> more women cycling.

[Helen]

Having just done the MS Melbourne, my impression (which of course may be wrong) is that there a lot more women of all shapes and sizes getting with the proper road bike and full on lycra cossie. Not my scene, but perhaps there are a lot more now willing to take on the longer rides?

[weg]

I've met quite a few Ascent riders, and they're pretty excited. Many seem to be absolute newbies; maybe some social rides with friends or family previously. Little or no kit to begin with, but training with friends now. They'll make it.

[macca33]

A lot of negativity here, but guess what, many seem to think this is a good idea, so why not support it???

A hilly 100Km can be a challenge, however, I'm sure there will be plenty of support on the day.

cheers

[baudman]

... so why not support it???

As an event, I do.

[wagger]

entries close 1st April:

https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/the-a ... cKUg%3D%3D

[baudman]

ouch

ORGANISERS of a controversial bike event that will close hills roads next weekend have been warned to expect a “serious amount of aggro” and possible protests and violence...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/oute ... 0d4dd953cf

[Helen]

Threats of violence? Charming. Especially charming for an all-female event.
Hope there's a police presence.

[Canuck]

Threats... for an approximately 2.5hr closure. Imagine if there were, say, roadworks that closed the road or portions of it for longer. Surely, riots would ensue. I understand it may be an inconvenience and frustration for some people, but given that it is so uncommon, the reaction seems slightly overblown, no? I cannot believe the media is giving time to this; it only exacerbates and feeds the flame.

Imagine if the residents near the Beach Rd tri events and annual marathon took up this same approach.

Edit - just read the comments - interestingly, someone posted they had been present and no suggestions of violence had been made, then commented on the poor Hun reporting. It would be good to know if the communication and consultation process did indeed fall short of being adequate, as many are blaming that as opposed to a cycling event per se.

[djw47]

As a resident of the area, the impact is huge. I rode the route yesterday and the number of roads marked for closure is massive and a lot of them are in residential areas. I can completely understand why people are getting upset about the event - imagine if you need to get to work on Sunday morning? I live in a street that is not even on the route but I probably won't be able to get out of the area due to roads all around being closed. Fortunately it's only for a few hours and it's relatively early on a Sunday so the impact should be minimal, but put yourself in the position of people whose livelihoods depend on people being able to drive to their business who will lose customers on Sunday. Also, as a cyclist in the Dandenongs, I'm none too impressed that my ability to go for a ride in my backyard is impacted by the event, anybody on a bike who is not in the event is not allowed to ride on the closed roads which is ridiculous. I confidently predict that The Ascent will mean that there'll actually be fewer cyclists on the Dandenongs roads this Sunday for this event than there would be on any normal Sunday morning (650 riders on the Ascent would be way less than the number of cyclists on the 1 in 20 on any other Sunday morning) - not sure how that will help cycling's cause overall.

As for the route, it's by no means an easy ride, it's close on 1900m of vertical over 100km and there are some steep pinches along the way. The stretch from Macclesfield to Wandin is a not a whole lot of fun: it's undulating and uninspiring. Having said all that though, good luck to everybody who's taking part and hopefully the negativity the event has caused in the area will be brief.

[UJ1]

I also rode some of the roads yesterday between about 10 -11:00am and I encountered very little traffic for a Sunday morning. The major through roads of course carry most of it such as Monbulk and Clegg roads but get off those and you'd think everyone was nursing hangovers or having a lie in. Maybe as many cycling clubs now find is that beyond the metro area, encroaching suburbia, restrictive conditions by authorities and local attitudes work against running races or mass events. Nonetheless it's a lovely part of the world and imo can be much quieter and better riding than that found on the "front" of the Dandies. The roads have got some nasty pinches and for those who want to give it a good go they will need to be on their game. I hope it runs trouble free and everyone has a good safe ride.

[the lone rider]

This route doesnt compare to a Beach Rd closure I'm afraid. People can still quite easily access the towns and shops along Beach Rd when they have event road closures. Unfortunately the route BN have chosen here is going to severely cut off access in/out of Emerald and Monbulk. Saying its only for 2.5 hours doesn't really help because most of these towns have a lot of junior sporting events being played at these times. 70 trained traffic controllers and 200 staff and volunteers is going to mean a big loss for the organiser. I like the idea, I will happily admit I have seen a lot more groups of women out in recent months possibly training for this but the selection of the location of the event was a recipe for disaster. I have been on plenty of rec rides and the ones the work best are held in country area's with minimal traffic and the traffic you do encounter is respectful to riders, unfortunately the Dandenongs is not this type of place. Hopefully those that have paid up enjoy the day and don't encounter the type of backlash that has been mentioned in the article.

[BjL73]

650 riders on the Ascent

Sorry to heavily edit your post. Is there only 650 riders?

I live in the area too and I think they've gone way overboard on the road closures for 650 riders. The notice that appeared in my letter box was as vague as you could get. A map and date (no times for individual road closures on mine) was about it.

Signs warning of a cycling event would be enough to keep people happy and the cyclists safe.

On the flip side of the coin, the local council has been very poor at managing The Dandenongs allowing a large number of residents and business's in the area. Do these protesters go out every weekend and threaten all the motorists up there who bring Olinda and Sassafras to a standstill and damage the roads? The weekly local traffic jam also affects locals going about their business. But motorists causing congestion is okay? Good luck getting emergency vehicles through there at certain times. Do they protest against the business's who bring all these people into The Dandenongs? Do they protest against themselves? Try riding between Olinda and Kalorama on the 'tourist road'. Hell, the road is now so poor that I hate driving along there these days. Lucky I don't need to very often. Seriously, the entire place needs a clean out. Leave just the iconic B&B's, restaurants and long term residents who have been there for years. And even then, don't let them sell or hand down property when they die. Should be returned to its natural state when they leave and the national park gradually expanded. Imagine if this kind of crap was allowed on Mt Donna Buang for example. Let's get rid of all the parks at Mt Macedon and make it open for development everywhere. It'll be a complete farce. These morons keep at their little game and I'll start pushing for them to be relocated and the entire Dandenong Ranges to be made national park. Maybe I can get the Greens on board (those who don't live there at least). Sure, I probably won't be taken seriously but it'll piss a few of them off to know there are those who think that The Dandenongs should be restored to its natural state and that they are the ones who should go.

[Canuck]

Road closure and access info here: https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/the-ascent/community-information/3910/