Great Ocean Road (Part 1, Cape Patton)
Distance: 25.63 km
Elevation Gain: 226 m
Elevation Loss: 220 m
Difficulty:
144 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.03 FIETS
Avg Grade: 3.35 %
Max cat climb: 5
Min elevation: 26 m
Max elevation: 99 m
Ride Category:
Rollers
The Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, was built between 1919 and 1932 by about 3,000 returned servicemen, working mostly by hand, as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. Its last stretch, between Lorne and Apollo Bay at the foot of the Otway Ranges, was finished in November 1932. Until then Apollo Bay was reached almost entirely by sea, and its timber cutters floated their logs out to waiting ships; the road turned the town into a tourist destination and a fishing port. In 2011 the Great Ocean Road was added to the Australian National Heritage List.
This ride follows the Great Ocean Road north-east from Marengo, on the southern edge of Apollo Bay, to Kennett River. At Skenes Creek it passes the foot of Skenes Creek Road, which climbs inland into the Otway Ranges, and from there the coast road is used each September by Amy’s Gran Fondo. The event is named after Amy Gillett, an Australian cyclist who was killed by a driver while training in 2005. The road also carries the Great Ocean Road Marathon, run between Lorne and Apollo Bay. Cape Patton, the highest point of the ride, is thought to be the headland Lieutenant James Grant named after Vice-Admiral Phillip Patten as he sailed the Lady Nelson along this coast in December 1800. The ride finishes at Kennett River, named by the surveyor George Smythe after the River Kennet in England. Wild koalas are often seen here in the manna gums along Grey River Road.
