There are a number of things you’ll need to do before the ride:

• Decide whether to enter the 1200 km evening start, 1200 km morning start, 1000 km or 300 km event;
• Complete a qualifying ride;
• Decide if you need pre- or post-ride accommodation;
• Decide if you will attend the pre-ride dinner or post-ride breakfast;
• Work out how you will get to the start;
• Register (full payment is required); and
• Order an event jersey!

The TDT 1200 will be held from 18-21 February 201921. In the mean time, planning is underway and the key dates are shown below.

• 16 Feb 5.30 pm Rider Brief, La Mensa Italian Restaurant, 93 Salamanca Place, Battery Point.
• 17 Feb 5.30am-5.50am Overnight control luggage loading. The Whaler, 39 Salamanca Place, Battery Point 7004.
• 17 Feb 5.50 am Final rider brief.
• 17 Feb 6 am 200km Ride Start, The Whaler, Battery Point. 7.30 pm Finish Overnight Control: Freycinet Peninsula. 
• 18 Feb Day Off: Freycinet Peninsula.
• 19 Feb 5 am 300km Ride Start, Freycinet Peninsula. 1 am 20 Feb Finish Overnight Control: Deloraine. 
• 20 Feb Day Off: Deloraine.
• 21 Feb 5 am 400km Ride Start, Deloraine, Overnight Control: Launceston. 
• 22 Feb 8 am 400km Ride Finish, Overnight Control: Launceston
• 23 Feb Day Off: Launceston. National Penny Farthing Championships, 10 am-4 pm, Evandale.
• 24 Feb 5 am 600km Ride Start, Launceston. Overnight Control: Queenstown.
• 25 Feb 9 pm 600km Ride Finish, The Whaler, Battery Point.
• 26 Feb 10 am After ride breakfast, Tavern 42 Degrees South (T42), Elizabeth St Pier. Breakfast Menu

Riders shall require a qualifying ride between 1st May 2018 to 31st January 2019 of either:

• A 600Km (or greater) Audax Australia ride (or international ACP/BRM/LRM) ,
• Or an Audax Australia 600km Permanent, subject to prior Ride Organiser approval.

As well as Lighting requirements, you are required to wear reflective clothing – see the Audax reflective garments guidelines for details.

You should make sure that you’re equipped with clothing for a variety of weather conditions – weather can be highly variable and change rapidly. See the Weather page for further details of expected weather in November.

Remember the old adage – “There’s no  such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing.”

In Victoria all cyclists are required by law to wear a helmet.

See https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/cyclist-safety/wearing-a-bicycle-helmet.

Lights are required on your bicycle for this event. You will not be allowed to start the event if your lights are not appropriate. See the ride schedule for times when lighting checks are operating.

Lights must comply with the Audax Australia lighting requirements. It is entirely your responsibility to ensure that your bike complies with the requirements.

Lights must also comply with Victorian Road Rules.

In general, the requirements are:

• You must have 2 separate, independently mounted, front lights (preferably which operate in steady mode)
• You must have 2 separate, independently mounted, rear lights (preferably which operate in flashing mode)
• You must have a rear reflector mounted on your bike which complies with Victorian road rules

However, you are strongly advised to check the detailed requirements in the link above.

A pre-ride dinner will be held at the Anglesea Hotel on 13 November at 4:00 pm prior to the 1200km evening start at 6:00 pm. See the dinner menu here.

After the ride, there will also be an organised breakfast at the Anglesea Hotel on 18 November at 8:00 a.m. The breakfast menu is here.

Please indicate on the registration form if you would like to join us for the dinner.

Victoria will be in late spring in November, and typically the weather will be fine and warm – it can be a wonderful time of year to ride in great conditions. But it’s important to be aware that the ride includes a wide variety of landscapes from winding coastal roads to the hills of the Grampians, and that the weather can go through several extremes in a short period of time.

In general, prevailing winds will be from the west to southwest. You will need to be prepared to face strong winds (particularly on the exposed parts of the coastal Great Ocean Road), sudden squalls, extreme cold if the wind swings to the south and brings cold air from the Southern Ocean, or even extreme heat if the wind swings northerly and brings in hot air from the red centre of Australia.

Temperatures can reach into the high 30’s (centigrade) during the day on the coast – as high as 100F – or be as low as freezing (0C, 32F) overnight in the Grampians. Melbourne is well known for having 4 seasons in one day, so do make sure that you’re well prepared.

Anglesea

(data from the Bureau of Meteorology’s data for Airey’s Inlet)

The daily average maximum temperature is approximately 20C but can be as low as 12C or as high as 37C. Notably, both of these records were set within a fortnight of each other, which indicates how variable the weather really can be.

The daily average minimum temperature is around 11C but has been as low as 4C.

The average rainfall for November is 60mm, with around 11 days of rain.

Port Fairy

(data from the Bureau of Meteorology’s data for Port Fairy AWS)

The daily average maximum temperature is approximately 20C but can be as low as 12C or as high as 38C.

The daily average minimum temperature is around 11C but has been as low as 2C.

The average rainfall for November is 45mm, with around 11 days of rain.

Halls Gap and Stawell

(data from the Bureau of Meteorology’s data for Hamilton Airport and Stawell Aerodrome)

As you travel through the Grampians, the weather will be changeable. Daily average maximums are between 21C and 24C, but maximums may be as low as 9C and it has reached 41C in Stawell before in November.

Daily average minimums are around 8-10C, but again it may drop considerably lower and frosts are not unknown with lowest minimums around 0C.

The average rainfall for November is 44mm, Stawell has only 7 days of rain, but Hamilton is higher with an average of 12.