Well what can I say about completing my first 1000km bikepacking event (furthest that I have ridden in a single event so far) but what an adventure. This inaugural ride had a good mix of elevation and flat, with hot days in the north and cool nights in the ranges. I hit a couple of personal goals throughout this ride with the most notable being the last day, riding 235km from 6am to 12:30pm. Completed the ride in 126hrs 46mins elapsed time, 61hrs 45mins moving time, averaged 17kmph and had 8,000m elevation gain.

Little fingers and butt still kinda hurt after the second day off the bike but I’m sure it won’t take long to fully recover with all the rest, relaxation, eating and hydration therapy I’m currently partaking in. Great to see so many others participating in this ride and enjoyed chatting with some during the ride.

Learnt a few things whilst on this ride, mostly minor things, but the changes that I plan on making, will make it a little more comfortable on longer rides. I plan on using full fingered summer gloves and leg coolers, along with putting lipbalm on every time I eat during the day light hours of the day. Remove the handlebar clip for the hydration hose as after multiple days of riding, it was getting difficult to repeatedly insert the hose back into the clip. I will just tuck the hose underneath or between other items attached to the handlebar. Find smaller bottles to use instead of one larger bottle of chain lube. Turn closure system of my stem bags into magnetic instead of draw cord, as it was difficult to repeatedly open and close it after multiple days of riding. Use time trial (TT) handlebars to take the pressure off my palms.

Thanks to my friends for hosting me after the ride in Mornington Victoria. Had a great time catching up with you, along with eating, resting and recovering, a lot.