The route: Bright – Mount Buffalo – Tawonga Gap – Mount Beauty – Falls Creek – Omeo – Mount Hotham – Bright
With an eye on an upcoming trip to the French Alps, CyclingGravel and a mate decided that it would be smart to do a test-run. The aim? Confirm (and if necessary refine) the bike configurations and gear selections before heading half way around the world. And if we were serious about this we needed some climbs – big ones. So, to the Victorian Alps we headed and four decent ones: Buffalo, Tawonga, Falls and Hotham.
Day 1: Bright – Mount Hotham – Tawonga Gap – Mount Beauty
If you want to do a loop between Bright, Mount Beauty and Omeo you don’t need to climb Mount Buffalo – as per the one day nonsense that is the Peaks Challenge. But with the objective of doing a multi-day 2000m+ climbing trip we threw in Buffalo for our three day adventure. Getting there from Bright is easy – the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail (see more on that here) runs directly from Bright to Porepunkah.
CyclingGravel had climbed Buffalo a number of times previously, although not with bikepacking gear in-tow. It is a lovely climb, and one frequented by roadies for the 20km steady rise to the chalet (the 18km climb to the Gap averages around 5.5%, with some up and down to the chalet after that). What is less frequently cycled is the further 11km to the Horn – in part because the last few kilometres are gravel. But it is totally worth it – the views here are epic and the scenery across the mountain top (where there are basic skiing runs in winter) is stunning.
Of course the best thing about a climb is the descent afterwards. The views back down into the Ovens Valley are tremendous, but it is worth getting off the bike to check out the scenery from the lookout at the chalet (per the photo that is the header for this post).
After a lunch refuel in Bright it was time to head to Mount Beauty. Getting there requires tackling Tawonga Gap – whilst it starts mildly it ends up with the hardest climb of the day – the final 5km averages 6.8%. Once you get to the top (and also at Sullivans Gap part way down the descent) it is worth checking out the epic Kiewa Valley and Mount Bogong views.
Day 2: Mount Beauty – Falls Creek – Omeo
If Mount Buffalo is a nice climb, I reckon the “front” of Falls Creek is just as nice – even perhaps nicer. Unfortunately our day was a little damp (thankfully while it rained heavily overnight it just showered a little during the morning), but the 29km average 4% gradient climb doesn’t seem bad at first look. I can’t quite figure out where the maximum gradient of 18% is (see first photo above), but it is worth noting that one of the reasons it is an average of 4% is that after the first few kilometres out of Mount Beauty the road undulates for about 6km with no net elevation gain. The final 13.5km to Falls Creek Village averages a 5.9% gradient.
Unlike the climb to Mount Hotham, there is not much exposure to high altitude winds until you pass the Falls Creek Village – it is here that the scenery becomes more alpine, and there is also some further climbing to do to reach the maximum elevation for the day. Make sure you take the time to stop off for a coffee at the Village Bike Cafe for coffee and sausage roll if passing on a day it is open – and admire the views. This is the hub for mountain biking goodness – something CyclingGravel can recommend from a previous sojourn (a few photos are at the bottom of this post).
Once refueled the top of Falls is exposed as you wind across the high plains. The views are, however, really stunning.
Unlike the descent from Hotham and Buffalo, the descent at the back of Falls is not a steady one – there are some occasional short punches up before the flow goes back down the hill. Tree-lined for the most part, there are some great views down into the valley towards the end. The final 5km is steep though – averaging 9% – which explains the back of Falls’ brutal reputation when climbing from that direction.
The highlight of the day was the cycle along the Omeo Highway. While the elevation profile made it look a little uninteresting, this is a beautiful twisty cycle with limited traffic that clings to the side of the hill as you follow Big River. Really scenic and quite fun.
Also fun is the final descent into Omeo. The route opens up with beautiful farmland and valley views. Just brilliant. Unfortunately there is a steep little climb as you enter Omeo, but thankfully it is then a short run to the pub for an end of cycle refreshment.
Day 3: Omeo – Mount Hotham – Bright
There is no gentle start to the cycle out of Omeo – after a short distance the road kicks up for 6km @ 7.5% – Make sure you are warmed up! Towards the end of the climb there are some beautiful views back down the valley to Omeo, giving a good sense of how far you’ve climbed. Unfortunately most of the other views (e.g. at the lookout towards Kosciuszko) were unavailable due to the weather.
Having said that, the descent into and cycle through the Cobungra valley was stunning. Apparently home to the largest cattle station in Victoria, there were plenty of livestock lowing when we passed through.
After traversing the valley the climb up to Dinner Plain and Hotham starts with a steep ~4.5km section (averaging 6.9%) but once you get over this the incline becomes gentler. There are a few highlights on this trip, including Emu Plain where we were lucky enough to see an adult emu and offspring. Cute. The weather really closed in towards the top and made for a damp cycle. Thankfully it was possible to stop and warm up at The General – which is a couple of kilometres from the summit but a reliable open all year-round place to have a coffee and refuel.
If you want to have a look at what this ride can be like when dry, then check out Day 6 of this trip. The views were definitely better that day.
Once over the top (and after almost being blown off the mountain by winds in the exposed descent near the aptly named Mount Blowhard) the northern side of the mountain was away from the weather. Hotham is a lovely descent once you pass the two horrible short steep climbs (at Little Mount Baldy and Mount St Bernard, each at or over 10% for about 500m) – just make sure that you watch the road not just the valley views! To top it off the run from Harrietville to Bright is also a gentle constant descent for a further 24km. A very nice way to finish off the day’s cycling.
Making it all work
Accommodation
We started the trip driving to Bright in time to stay the night and then cycle the next day. There are plenty of accomodation options in this town – we stayed at Westwood Lodge, which had a cute two bedroom apartment that worked out much better value than two motel rooms. For the next night I can recommend the basic but central Snowgum Motel, which is useful as many places in Mount Beauty want a two night stay on weekends. Then in Omeo the super fantastic JJ’s (on Airbnb) has great views of the mountain bike park and is in the centre of town. I really want to go back there for a few nights and tackle the downhill single track!
Beer
It would not be a CyclingGravel trip without a brew or few. Thankfully, there are a number of breweries on this trip:
- Bright Brewery – I enjoy the beer garden and food here, and also the tremendous selection of experimental and seasonal beers.
- Crank Handle – IMHO the best beer brewer in this part of the world (a very close run thing with the also excellent King River Brewing), the Bogong Bitter is a CyclingGravel favourite.
- Mountain Monk – great food selections, and a Cold IPA that I’m particularly partial to.
Regrettably New Rush Brewhouse was closed when we were in Omeo. Thankfully the Golden Age Hotel offered an excellent selection of cans from Sailors Grave – a brewery that is well worth a visit if you are near Orbost.
Other things
On the final day, we arrived back in Bright in time to head home. There is nothing nicer than being able to wash off and change after a cycle, and in Bright there is the opportunity to do this in the Ovens River. Just be prepared for the water to be fresh! There are change rooms on Mountbatten Avenue, just opposite the kids splash park.
CyclingGravel 