Originally posted by martin schindl
You've come to the right man here. I did it for the first time last year. Very hard, especially when you have to race from Warragul first. If you have the money (under $100) I would recommend what I did: I went to Cycle Science (my bike store) in Glen Waverley, victoria, and they made me a 'custom-made', 'alpine drive-train'. It's a 9-speed trekking fox (cause it's cheap) mountain bike cluster (largest one possible) with a shimano 'altus' mountain-bike derailluer. The guys there are experts. Ask for Daryl, if not Paulie will be there. You will love having the spinning capability when your legs are tired. Exactaly what Lance does. I would also recommend you go there the week before and just do the 6km ascent from the gate house to the top of Baw Baw if you can. I did and it helped. If you don't know what you're in for, it will mess you up when you race. Be warned it is a very serious climb