Hiking Mt. Erica, Australia

It’s been a while since I posted anything here. And no, I am not sorry, I am simply a bit lazy 😉 During this break, I ran another marathon (in 3:43), improved my 5k timing to 18:43 and more importantly, started to explore another interests. I did a couple of trips that included biking and/or camping and/or hiking.

I planned this trip for the new year’s eve! The idea was NOT to stay in the city for any sort of fancy fireworks and just to give myself a getaway. Yes, it was a solo trip! Thanks to the public transport of the state, it was free from 6 PM to 6 AM which allowed me to think beyond the near-to-the-city options. My original plan was:

Arrive at the nearest train station (Moe, it’s not pronounced as Joe, it’s rather Mo-ee) from where I’ll ride to the base-camp (approx. 38k). Thereafter I will hike to the summit of Mt. Erica (which is basically a part of Baw Baw plateau). My plan was to do it overnight! (I was crazy as it turned out).

I arrived at the Moe station around 8.30 PM and the first part of ride was pretty neat with occasional uphills. The overall elevation gain (including the downs and then ups) was around 800 meters for the planned bike ride. Only when I was riding the tougher sections in the dark, I realized that these hills are gonna suck the bejesus out of me. I should point it out here that I was riding with all the camping equipment and my supplies. The thighs were getting tighter and the night, darker and silent. I heard my breaths, and the occasional sounds from the nearby forest. It was around 11:30 when I reached the town of Erica (at 30k mark) and decided to camp there.

At the start!

Just getting around the little Moe town

Riding along the fields

6k into the trip. Many more to go

The dusk is over me. Taking a break from some hill

Set up at night, get up at sight 😉

The next morning, I packed my stuff and I was ready to roll the next 7 or so kilometers that would take me to the base camp. My original plan had been shattered but it was for good. The ride was not much difficult except for the last part when it turns on an all-gravel road which is not at all ideal for my bike. I walked this segment to finally arrive at the campground where I parked my bike and got ready for the hike, FINALLY!

Packed everything? Now get the hell out of here.

Breakfast stop! Need fuel.

That’s the damn thing over there.

Not too far now, is it? Or is it?

That’s the way to the campsite!

We are here. And no-one else is.

Picnic table? Yes. This must be the place where I can die.

We all need rest.

Link to the bike rides:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1335514636/embed/63886185bc2a60a66862d4e1ad41257a138a92ea

https://www.strava.com/activities/1335514653/embed/f12fac25057b00f413035cf27b74287626edf543

I put everything in the backpack, wore full sleeves and I was ready to roll. The hike was a fair 12k with an elevation gain of about a kilometer. However, the important bit was to be aware about the wildlife, be mindful of the many logs that were fallen on the track and to just keep going. The first part of hike was from campsite to a carpark. This was through the lovely rain-forest where occasionally I’d see some wildlife. It was hot during the day and with the load on my back, it was not getting easier either. Nevertheless, the first part was over with some breaks in between. I stopped at the carpark to get some food (I was carrying with me canned beans which served my lunch and later, dinner). I was on my feet again to cover the final ground which now was a little bit more steep, yet human sighting was plenty (thanks to carpark). It took me around 3.5 hours for the entire hike.

First part of hike:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1335515577/embed/32b1e734d0e846c555d6a183e912aed03a625a43

Second bit:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1335514820/embed/8a091371a95a23a9cbd1ae592d3a3bdad637e1ed

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I was fortunate to find some very-old members of the Melbourne Uni Mountaineering Club on the trail (who graduated in 1960s or so). They were kind enough to offer me a ride back to the campsite as were headed in the same way. I was a bit afraid that if I hike back down, I might be late to set-up the tents (perhaps I was right as it was 4:30-ish already). In no time, I was back where I started the hike. My locked-up bike was still there. The campground was still empty when I put my tents. I spent the night there under the trees and the sky. It rained slowly for a couple of hours after midnight before I finally took off on my bike with bag empty on supplies, but full of adventure and it’s memory 🙂

A good night sleep, but I need to take a bath now!

Everything packed again.

Oh lovely morning. Cold.

On my way back. Stopped to pee here in the open. No one cares.

Back where we started 🙂

First 26.2 Miler Countdown: 14 (First 50k ride)

This weekend was fantastic! I achieved the goal of running 30k towards the marathon training and the following day completed a 50k bike ride with friends. Not only that, I learned a few tips and tricks about riding a road-bike and realised how wrong I was all the way until now.

The plan was to get to the airport from our university. There is a well established trail running most of the way offering quite a scenic view as it sits alongside a creek. It’s called Moonee Ponds Creek Trail. I won’t be wrong if I say that we followed the trail for at least 15k.

I wonder who sits there?

Once the trail was over, we followed standard roads to get to the airport to stop at the aircraft viewing area. It’s a pretty cool experience to just sit/stand in the middle of nowhere and see some planes taking off and landing.

We ain’t alone!

Ready for action!

Only when the winds started to freeze the bones within us, we decided to hit back the roads and make our way back. Surprisingly, the return trip was much faster than the way around. And not to forget, our bikes didn’t breakdown unlike the last time. I love these rides not only because we get a chance to explore the city, but also some part of the personality of the people you are riding with and for that matter, I am lucky to have such a great bunch of people to hang out with.

THIS RIDE ON STRAVA

First 26.2 Miler Countdown: 29 (Riding around the French Island)

The conversation usually starts like:

Me: Hey! I am going to French Island tomorrow. The plan is to ride around the island for as long as we can. You know how bad cyclist I am!
Friend 1: Aww that’s so cool. But where is this place?
Friend 2: Never heard of it man.
Friend 3: Why are you going to an island to ride? You can just do that here, no?

For the first two questions, the answer is somewhere north to Philip Island (which is famous for it’s Penguins Parade aka tourist attraction). Unlike Philip Island, French Island is actually an island with no road connections. Perhaps that’s the reason why it is not so popular/known to people living in Melbourne. With it’s population of about 100, it offers a lot of land with nothing built on it. It is a classic countryside with not-so-well developed roads, more than half of the island being a national park (where no-one visits), huge and numerous farms and rare sights of humanity every once a while.
For the last question, I’d say it’s a cool idea. You get to see an entire island within a day, without any travel van or tour bus! You can stop wherever you want, you don’t need gasoline on the way and in the end, you’d be proud of yourself for doing something that not many would prefer to do.

My vision of this island was not as barren as it really was. There was one, only one, general store cum post office on the island. No other restaurant/convenience store/grocery store/hotel/motel/you name it. If you are going there, you can count on your fingertips the number of houses you’ll see. I don’t think I’d be wrong if I’ll tell you that there are more cows than humans on this island!

Our original plan was to get to the farthest “view” point called as the Albions. It just seemed like a good turn-back point for the whole-island plan. Though I have never rode this far, I thought that if we’ll just go slow, I could make it without passing out on the way back. But as the mighty Forrest Gump once said “SHIT HAPPENS”. It happened with us too.

One of our friends got a flat tire a couple of times during the way. It was not always his fault, thanks to the bumpy ride (I hope it’s okay to be a little sarcastic 😉 ). We mended it less than a couple of times before finally calling it off. Alas! We couldn’t get to the point where we wanted to but it was hell of a ride amidst those muddy roads and the beautiful landscapes offered by this tiny piece of land.

That’s where we stopped and headed back.

With a bike punctured completely, we resorted to a hike back to the ferry terminal. Due to limited number of ferries, the change of plans was inevitable. We reached half an hour earlier before the last ferry departs. In the meantime, we enjoyed the clear night sky and let me give you the privilege to enjoy the scenery of this place 😉

Mud! More mud!

Our group!

Aftermath of the muddy island

Farms

A long long road.

Pier

Mechanic-al Engineers at work

On the way back taking the last ferry, it was a bad idea that we didn’t check the train schedule as the last ferry that arrives stony point at 6.45, the next train is 8.30!! Had we taken the previous ferry (which arrives SP at 6.15), the next train would had been at 7. Much better! Anyway, we hung out with the kiosk guy until 8 (when they were closing). He made us some nice hot chips which was a treat in the shivering cold.

More information: http://interislandferries.com.au/

First 26.2 Miler Countdown: 52 (Beautiful morning, cycling, badminton and eBay)

Thursday could not be any more active or inspiring for my training. I got up early as I promised to myself. The motivation to do this was pretty easy: I know how I feel after my morning ritual i.e. a more-than-little walk, some jog if I feel like that. Then it becomes easier to get rid of warmth of a loving blanket.

Explore the dawn. You’ll be amused at how b’ful and refreshing it could be.

I got up at 4.45 and was out the doors at 5. I walked for around twenty minutes before jogging to a nearby park where I ran barefoot. It was the best start to the day I could ask for. My legs felt cold but I was warm and fresh within.

To end this day was the Thursday badminton game. I rode to the court, played some good shots and rode back home. Riding to the court is always easier than riding back home. The games were more intense than usual and I felt that on the way back. If you could have seen me, you’d probably walk faster than me. I was more than happy when I called it a day because I rode 27k for the second time in my life (yeah I really suck at cycling). I had no energy left inside when I headed to the bed and then out of nowhere I saw a 15% off SALE at eBay and ordered a new running watch on which I had my eyes locked at! Now, I can not wait to try to-be-my-partner Garmin Fenix 3 😉

WFLWR Training Log – Week 2

Last week, I decided that instead of writing training posts on a daily basis, I better combine them into a weekly log. For this week, my goal was to achieve 35k of mileage which was almost 40% more than the last week’s i.e. 26k. I knew I could do it because I had skipped a run last week.

Monday: On Mondays, I do a easy to moderate pace run. Last week, I ran for 45 minutes and so this week, I capped 5 minutes. Nothing too much! I had thought of a running route beforehand which was just enough long to put me back home right on time. However, I missed a street marker in between and ended up somewhere else. Although, I had a sense of direction in which I should be heading, I still confirmed it by asking a lady walking in the streets. I actually liked this feeling of running with no rigid route. I’ve always loved running on new streets so perhaps, this run was meant to give me the same feeling. My final stats were 48 minutes of running (8.8k).

These inverted peaks are where I stopped, to find myself the correct route, which mostly I didn’t. At 41 minute mark, I asked the lady.

Wednesday: Now this is a special day to me. It’s the track time. I run up to the track, exhaust myself there and run back. This running back and forth usually requires 15 minutes in each direction and so I have a sense of how much time I should spend on track. Last week, I did 5 sets of 100m fast accompanied with 300m jog. So, this week I wanted to make this harder. And at the same time, I did not want to increase the mileage (or time) significantly. I ended up doing still 5 sets of, 100m fast followed by 100m walk. This allowed me to effectively run half a lap as compared to quarter a lap the week before. As I got back home, I’d run 7.4k in 44 minutes.

You can see the laps around the track, right?

Friday: My schedule says that on Friday, I should have a recovery run. Now I know why it is important. Because I have a long run the next day (at least that’s what I think). If I don’t include this run, I’ll have a two days gap until Saturday. So, this run prepares me for the long run the next day. But I messed it up. I changed this recovery run into a tempo run because of lack of time. I couldn’t even cool myself down after the run (so I was a bit scared that my tender body might collapse). Anyway, I ended up running 5.25k in 28 minutes and most of it was under 5-min-km pace. I’ll seriously recover next week.

Saturday: My favourite. I love long runs. It allows me to stay on my feet for long times and to explore a lot of places. I extended the route on which I ran last week. Also, instead of running on the walk-way, I ran on a trail which runs besides it the whole time. Running on a trail is wonderful. Surrounded by trees, it doesn’t feel like I am running around any urban traffic. Before the run, I didn’t intake anything, no carbs, no water. I wanted my body to stay away from carbs on these longer runs, so that if needed, it could learn to extract energy from fat stores, which in my case must be abundant. However, during the run, I had diluted coconut water to keep me hydrated as well as, as a minor source of sugars. By the time I stopped my watch, I had logged 14.2k (thereby completing my weekly goal) in 1:22 hours. Though the pace wasn’t great, but I don’t mind it.

Route: Extended down the Black Rock

Final summary of the week as recorded in my diary, including the morning walks, is:

 

Please do not comment on my bad handwriting 😀

 

For the next week, my target is 40k (including the same long run as this week, maybe 15k). I want to make my body re-familiar with longer distances, but without a lot of carbs.