The inaugural Grand Depart for the Victoria Divide 550; a new route traversing the Great Dividing Range across the state of Victoria.

When

Date: February 16, 2019

Time: 6:00 am

Details

Event Website

Organizer: Lewis Ciddor

Email: lewisciddor@gmail.com

The route starts in Melbourne; following the Yarra River North-East before climbing up into the mountains on dirt roads, 4WD tracks and even a little singletrack, finishing at the Murray River in Wodonga. This is not an organised event, there is no support, no feed stations, no sag wagon. You must carry everything you will need to complete the route in a self-sufficient manner.

That said, it is suggested that 6:00am on Saturday, February 16th, would be a good time to start. Ride the route however fast or slow you wish. Different strokes for different folks and all that. Some will race it without sleep, some will tour it over a week, but we all roll out from the Grand Depart; together. There is no right or wrong way to bikepack; the beauty is it’s whatever you want it to be. We all enjoy it in different ways, but we are getting out there and that’s what counts! It will be a hard, but fun and rewarding adventure regardless of how you slice it.

The route will travel through Woiworung (Wurundjeri), Taungurung, Gunai-Kurnai and Waveroo country. It’s especially important to acknowledge them as the traditional owners as we travel through and interact with their land.

The route is still to be finalised and you can expect a final GPX to be available by the end of the year, so you’ll have plenty of time to plan. However it will look something like Melb > Toolangi > Marysville > Jamieson > Mt Buller > Bright > Wodonga.