Ride like the wind
As we settle in for a brunch briefing over a cheese platter and wines by the fireplace at Berridale’s Shut the Gate Cellar Door, the anticipation for the next day’s adventure grows. Our mission for this edition of the Big Ride is to tackle one leg of the exciting new event, Drops + Hoods, which will take place on 2-5 December 2021 and which is organised by the same folks who brought you L’Étape Australia by Tour de France.
It’s early winter, and the snow has already begun to fall in the nearby Snowy Mountains, leaving skiing and snowboarding types salivating at the prospects of the season ahead. When the summer rolls around, those roads high up in the mountains become some of the best cycling roads in Australia, and will feature prominently on the multi-day, multi-distance, multi-surface Drops + Hoods itinerary. For now, though, those roads are best left to snow chains and ski racks rather than chainrings and bike racks.
But further down, on the Monaro plateau, even the depths of winter cannot freeze out the wonderful riding on offer. Our planned route explores the roads around Berridale and Dalgety, and it also happens to be one of the key routes of Drops + Hoods. The organisers call it ‘The Expedition’, a 126.6km belter with 1,649
