Cycling to Falls Creek - a bogan in the Bogongs

For the third day in a row, the temperature is expected to peak at over 40 degrees. Which is why on Sunday at 7am, when all good poets should be in bed, I'm unloading the bike from my car at Mount Beauty to begin a 32-kilometre ascent to Falls Creek. It's very quiet this morning - an old lady walks her two pug dogs, three parrots flutter in a pine tree and I cross the bridge over the West Kiewa River. The road climbs past a terraced golf course and a swish new ski development on the hillside overlooking the valley.
Meanwhile, this bogan is cycling to Bogong, an alpine village fifteen kilometres up the road. As a child, I was always thrilled by the story of the Bogong Moth, a night-flying brown stealth bomber of an insect that diverts to the bright lights of Canberra on its yearly migration south to the Bogong High Plains. Sidestepping the issue that anyone (or anything) would be attracted by the bright lights of our nation's capital, I longed to go to the mythical high country where these moths congregated.
And look, just to my left is Mt Bogong, the highest mountain in Victoria. There's debate as to whether the iconic moth is named after the high plains where they return every summer, or that the mountain range was named after the moth. Either way, it's widely agreed that 'bogong' means 'big fellow.' It's a pity the 'big fellow' is not just a touch taller as the sun has already crested the summit and is starting to heat the day. 
Today's accompanying perfume is provided by that white-flowering bush over there... and there... and there. It looks like crepe myrtle?
Despite the early hour, a few hardy cyclists descend in a blur of advertising lycra. Only one deigns to respond to my cordial 'good morning.' He nods his head... slightly. Okay, I know they're whirring past at over 60 kph, but a grin, or nod, or quick 'hello' doesn't require much attention, does it? Ggggrrrrr. 

It's a lovely morning with the sound of birdsong accompanied by the rushing water of the river in the gully below. The forest provides cooling shade and the undergrowth is a parade of native ferns filing down the ridge. 
Another posse of pedallers pass in a speedy descent. They all nod hello. And then I realise the difference - they are women. Chalk up one for the friendlier sex. 
At Bogong, I nod reverentially to the mountain and begin the quick descent to cross the Pretty Valley Branch of the East Kiewa River. Nice name, lovely river. With fourteen kilometres to the summit, the real climbing begins. Last time I cycled this road, a raging thunderstorm accompanied me for the rest of the climb. With the temperature now reaching 30 degrees, I'd welcome a brief shower.
Unlike the previous two days, the road surface today is smooth and bike-friendly. When you're pushing hard uphill, every little assistance counts. In celebration, I take one hand off the handlebar and tip a bottle of water over my head. Lovely!
Four kilometres from the summit, I pass the Falls Creek Tollbooth and the gradient kicks up noticeably, but the reward is unhindered mountaintop views with stark ghost gums against the luminous blue sky.
Ski Villages in summer are always faintly ridiculous - snow ploughs parked outside of steep-sided chalets, ski-hire stores closed for the season, chairlifts swinging in the summer breeze. And a few cyclists waiting to have the Seven Peaks Challenge passport stamped at the only cafe open this early on Sunday morning.

My reward for the third mountain climb in three days? A pair of Gang Gang Cockatoos screeching encouragement from a roadside tree. 
And a vanilla slice and a coffee, quickly followed by a cooling descent... where despite the speed I say hello to every climbing cyclist. So there!
Falls Creek is a 'hors category' climb of 32 kilometres with an average gradient of 6% and a maximum gradient of 10%. The elevation gain is 1300 metres. Watch out for bogong moths.



I have recently published an eBook about my bicycle journey across France, including a number of Tour de France mountain climbs.
     baguettes and bicycles  is a travel adventure, a restaurant safari and a guidebook for those who enjoy slow food, easy cycling and... fast descents.
     To purchase this book for $2.99, go to my Amazon page, here.