Glorious Mee 2006

It has taken me a while to get around to posting this, but Saturday was the 5th time I've subjected myself to the punishment of riding The Wonders of Glorious Mee, with it's 200km and 3,000 metres of climbing. You can add a bit to each of those statistics when my ride to and from the start is taken into account. The difference this year was that my preparation for this ride wasn't as clinical as in previous years -- largely a function of underestimating it. Consequently, I took an hour longer to complete it than last year.

The first act is, of course, the climb of Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious. Even before the climb started, the flowers that would follow much of the ride were in evidence.



This stage was probably the best I felt during the entire ride, as the road snaked it's way up the mountain, with the views really opening up between the peaks of Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious.





The first checkpoint is at the top of Mt Glorious, and it's one that I never seem to judge quite right in terms of what to eat. Fortunately, on this day I had some extra muesli bars from home to help bridge the gap to Kilcoy. The climb itself is followed by a steep, twisting descent, where the constant braking tested the finger I injured last week.

At the bottom the countryside opened up into prime magpie territory, although they seemed to be fewer in number this year. There are 50km riding through the open country to Kilcoy, but this year it seemed noticeably drier than in previous years (which takes some doing). Even Lake Somerset was considerably lower than it's usual level.



For some reason I usually find myself starting to slow a little at the Kilcoy checkpoint, and this time I made the mistake of just plain eating the wrong thing. The chicken I ate here gave me an upset stomach, and while it was nothing that would inhibit me seriously, it did make food a little harder to digest. It would stay with me through the last of the open country...



... and onto Mt Mee. The climb of Mt Mee is always difficult coming as it does 155km into the ride. I handled it reasonably without ever really setting it on fire. It was at the summit of this climb that I really noticed the difference in my conditioning levels between this year and last year. 12 months ago I powered over the summit, barely stopping at the checkpoint and flying home. This year it would be a case of toughing it out, even after a much longer stay at the final checkpoint.



Late on in the ride (the last 20km), my form started to return again. The stomach had settled down, and I was able to find a decent rhythm with which to finish the ride. This year the finish was at Samford rather than going all the way back to The Gap, basically saving 15km. By the time I rode back to Fortitude Valley, it made little difference to me. I seemed to get stronger again after the sun went down, which probably isn't a surprise -- given my inability to cope with any form of heat whatsoever. The final tally for the day was 237km and something like 3,267 metres of climbing.

On reflection, there are some things to take out of this. It really is a memorable ride -- even if it may not "officially" be on the calendar for 2006 (or is at least in some doubt). The scenery is beautiful, and the climbs just never quit. I did enjoy it, but I really should have been in better condition, which might have allowed me to enjoy it a lot more. It may have also provided the wake-up call I needed with my plans to head for Tasmania for the Seven Hills Dash in December. The good news is that I have plenty of time to ready myself for that one.