Went on the Tassie toy run last weekend and my son took some secret video while we were going up the Poatina road. You get to see me get a cramp in my left calf muscle when I downshifted going into a real tight hairpin and then I involuntarily kicked the road. I followed behind him then and did a bit of standing up on the pegs to stretch and relax the muscle. My anti-cramp tablets I took before I left home did not quite work for me. The first part is level road and then drops down steeply to the 4min 20 mark where the power lines cross the road and the whole Poatina power station is deep underground on the left. At 250m above sea level the road then goes uphill to about 1120m asl. That means we went up nearly a kilometer and this takes us about 8 minutes. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://vimeo.com/17538314">http://vimeo.com/17538314</a><!-- m -->
those roads look really nice to ride on mate, im jealous <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s -->
That one is also a good ride coming down. Just a bugger if you come across cars or trucks.. The road was built years ago by the Tas. Hydro Electricity Commission as it was known as then. Like all the roads they built, they had to be able to get the heavy turbines and alternators in, so the roads were reasonably wide and corners constant. Occasionally there had to be a tight hairpin corner because the terrain dictated so. Other roads they built are Anthony Rd, Pieman Rd, Mt Jukes Rd and the Strathgordon Rd. All good rides.
But wait!! There is more.. Here is the Lake highway traveling from Bothwell to Melton-Mobray later in the day after we had lunch and getting closer to Hobart. Video stops when we hit the main highway. Nice cruisey bit of road with a bit of a tighter section in the middle. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://vimeo.com/17757980">http://vimeo.com/17757980</a><!-- m -->
I thought it was on the cards that I would cramp on such a long journey as I have ridden very little this year. I was about the 4th time this year that I have been on a ride of more than two hours ride time.