Mount Wellington

Jean and I (yeah, Jean's here now!) spent a few days in Hobart - the capital of Tassie, and a city of 200,000 with its suburbs. Faces south at the end of a long bay - so very well protected, but last stopping place before Antarctica. Did some mellow rides in the neighborhood and some touristy kinds of things.

Today, I took off alone to ride up Mt Wellington. Start right at the harbor, at sea level and climb to nearly 1300 meters (over 4,000 ft) in 23 km. Mellow low down, but lots of 10-12% grades up higher - through city, then suburbs and yuppie homes, up into eucalyptus forests and then above treeline tundra. Quite a dramatic ride. Cloud deck was below the summit, so intermittently in clouds but bright sunshine between. Cold winds made one of the long switchbacks brutal, but the final 3 km was a screamer uphill tailwind.

Great rock formations up high.

Huge radio transmitters at the summit. Signs all over the parking lot explaining how to get into your car if the transmitters disabled your remote key/keyless entry system and then to get your car started if the transmitters had scrambled your car's ignition system. Must be a powerful transmitter - nice to think of all those radio waves cooking my brain and other assorted body parts. Hope it didn't damage the carbon fiber bike frame.