Yesterday, two friends and I rode in the Snowy Classic - a 110km (1650m climbing), closed road event in Jindabyne in the Australian Snowy Mountains. It's a beautiful spot at this time of year, up and down hills and through some classic Australian country towns like Berridale and Dalgety.

This is the second year of the event and my second ride. The 110km is testing but not terribly difficult for me, except for a massive difficulty spike at the 82km mark in the form of a monstrous hill called Beloka - average gradient 9.4% but some sections are 20%!

From Cycling Australia: "Short, sharp and brutal, Beloka is one of Australia’s most feared and revered cycling climbs."

Last year, Beloka beat me (I got off and caught my breath and then got back on) and I was resigned to more of the same because it's tricky to train for such an incongruously difficult climb. However, with the Tasmania trip, a year's worth of consistent riding (150km / week) under my belt and a very generous helping of resolve, I did it!

It's a great ride and is very well run like all the Classics events. I'll be back again next year to re-test my mettle against Beloka.
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#cycling #RideBikesBeHappy #SpecializedBikes #SpecializedRoubaix #SnowyClassic #Beloka #Jindabyne #SnowyMountains