Mountain Double Up 5/10/25

Another mountain done and dusted 5/10/25

Ray has a remarkable ability to make things hard. After ascending to 1200m yesterday, we had to back it up with another ascent only 100m lower today. The road was not quite as bad today, but it saved the best for the last attack at the top. Actually, we weren't supposed to go all the way up, but we made a wrong turn and ended up doing an extra km on a rough as guts steep climb. But the view was good. Something about the name Demon Ridge Track should have alerted us. 

Initially, when at the top, we thought the road disappeared over the cliff and was the steepest roughest track I have ever seen. Fortunately Ray discovered our mistake and we retreated down the less steep path to where the demon track went in two different directions. We made it down the mountain unscathed, mostly on a new smooth gravel road. If you were in a car, you would have needed your chainsaw, as several trees had fallen across the road. 

We stopped at the Wandi pub for a cold drink, just a few kms from Bright. Out of the 11 bikes that were parked, 9 were e-bikes. None of them looked as though they had gone off road. Sensible people.

Today is the start of daylight saving. Oh how I wish we could have it. I am very hopeful that there will be no mountains on the schedule tomorrow. Ray's watch told him that he needs 71 hours in recovery. Thank god for technology. 

Another silly old bastard making his way up a rocky track

Snow gums and ferns? Doesn't seem right.

The town of Bright settled in the Ovens Valley

Some serious water has been coming down this gully

No wonder the new road looks like it is going to run downhill

The snow gum looks safe but maybe some of the other smaller trees might be going downhill with the road

Someone must have been trying to tell us something

And kept telling us. And even a third one down across the raod didn't stop us. By that stage we were sick of taking pics of fallen trees,

Little wild creeks and rivers everywhere.

Ride Notes

• This was a pretty good ride (although maybe not after you have done 1200 mts of climbing on really rough roads the previous day.)
• Road was generally good, although there a few pretty rough spots but nothing on our Mt Porepunka ride
• The downhill ride home was on a newly upgraded road.
• The map below is what we based our ide on although it is not our map
• We took the road to the Clear Spot Lookout which was just under 1klm long and pretty rough, but there were great views
• Just take Demon Ridge road to the left when you reach that intersection, intsead of going straight ahead