well, i just got back a couple hours ago, and am only going to post this one overview of the trip. after a bit of a mess, we eventually left melbourne at about 3pm. we had a couple of stops and arrived at the lodge a tad before 8pm (where mike and his buddy, anthony, were already sitting comfy). it was a pretty straightforward journey (i did get a look at what i had to do if i wanted to climb the mountain 
), just the one slip when we went past the entrance to the lodge area. we had dinner, and then just settled in for the night, played some texas hold 'em, which i must say, i ended up with the most chips 
(finally all that late night poker watching paid off!!).
the next day, we decided what we were going to do, roger and the girls went for a hike up at falls creek, while mike, anthony, and scott decided to head to anglers rest for some mountain biking. i had my heart set on climbing mount hotham (30km), so i decided that was my day, descending, then climbing back up (i hoped three hours to climb). i'm going to start by saying, this mountain certainly taught me humility when it comes to estimating one's own abilities. even the descent was ridiculous, the first 2.5km are actually uphill (with some steep hills, combined with the altitude, i was stuffed already). then it steadily descends into the valley, with some very steep drops and sharp turns.
it took me about an hour to get to the bottom, with an average speed of 30km/h (obviously), and a max of 63km/h, i didn't want to push it too hard, knowing my bike handling ability. i went to the general store at harrietville (the town at the base oh mount hotham), and got a snickers (for lunch!!). had that, and went back for the ascent, the first 10km are scary, i was basically in first gear the whole time (going about 10-12km/h). i died just before the meg at 5km, and had to stop, went around the corner, and had to stop about ten metres later. from there, i was basically stopping every kilometre, as well as zig zagging across the road to minimise the effect of the steep gradient.
after about ten kilometres of steep climbing, it levels off for about the next ten kms, i rode about two-three more kilometres before realising i had absolutely nothing in the tank (and stopped for about twenty minutes). i rode another km and stopped dead with absolutely no energy to continue pedalling up the hills. i just sat on the side of the road, leaned against a tree, and pondered what was to be. a few people had stopped to ask if i was all right, i just brushed them off, then after about half an hour, i decided enough is enough, the next person that stops, i'm asking for food (like a beggar ). a very nice woman (i can't thank her enough), gave me an apricot, and a nice piece of sour dough bread. i inhaled it, and started on my way again.
the food gave me enough energy to continue up the less steep sections, and to push the bike up the steeper parts. the last ten kms were a nightmare, steep hills, and all my energy drained again, i was struggling to move 500m at a time. i did manage to get back onto the bike for some short descents, but they were few and far between. at about the 25km point, it started raining (i was riding at that point), and then it hailed, and then it eased back to rain, and when it stopped, i was about 3km from the summit. totally drenched, i pushed the bike up the last climb (which seemed to go forever), and managed to actually ride the bike over the summit (which had a neat king of the mountains chalk message written on the road, for the race the next day), and rode the rest of the way to the lodge. after five hours of miserable, and extremely annoying (flies were everywhere) climbing, i finally managed to get back. i wanted a warm shower, but the hot water system was stuffed (i didn't manage to have one hot shower in three tries), and so i had to settle for a cold one.
roger, and the girls showed up a bit after that, and we had dinner (chicken burritos 
).
that night, we played "presidents and arseholes", which is a really cool game if you have the numbers, i managed to get a few terms as president, but cos i'm a people person (not), i had a go at all roles.
we decided to do a short hike to mount loch for our last day of the trip, it's a short car ride from the lodge, then a four km hike. i was still hurting from the previous day, but managed to make it, albeit panting, and sore. it was up and down, so a bit annoying, as it's tiring getting there, and tiring getting back. all up, that took about two hours, and we headed back to the lodge to pack up, and sort our stuff out.
we left around 2pm, and got back to melbourne a bit after 7pm, and i finally got home a bit after 8pm. that's it, the weather wasn't particularly great on top of the mounain, rain and and heaps of fog, hot and humid in the valleys, but despite the disappointment of my hotham ride, it was a fun weekend. the only thing i didn't like, was the constant attack of flies, i didn't think they would be such a nuisance at that altitude, but they just swarmed.
at least now i know my limits, 30km mountains with ridiculously gradients is too much . it has only deepened my respect for the pro cyclists (those that don't take drugs), i don't think i'll be trying anything like that again anytime soon (there were heaps of other people cycling up there though), i'll stick to the flats of melbourne for now . i'll post some more pictures, and a video (i wish i took some video of the crazy climbs).
Last edited at 5:35 4th-dec-2007
LOL sounds like a fun weekend!!! 
I can't believe you could be bothered going for a hike after that.
alf
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6:10 3rd-dec-2007
i had to warm down somehow , i reckon if i had eaten properly, i might've been able to get a lot further (maybe stopped only a couple times in the first twenty km), i might just be crazy enough to try it again some time .
dtra
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6:35 3rd-dec-2007