The Panthers Tour of the Otways

First things first, despite appearing in this event calendar, the Panthers Tour of the Otways is a non-event. This means you take your responsibility for you and everything related to you. Please don’t blame anything on anyone other than yourself. There are no course markings or group leaders so your ability to navigate the course depends on you following said map. You will get lost without it. There is nothing obvious about Tour of the Otways.

There is no official mass start. Grab some mates and roll out from the Aireys Pub at around 8am on June 27th. Bring everything you need for yourself (bicycle, tubes, appropriate clothing, water, food). Dress ups and / or fancy dress are ok.

The Route

The route begins in Aireys inlet, a small costal town on the Great Ocean Road. After a short roll out of town the gravel begins and it’s time to settle in for some climbing. Bambra road (11km of it) takes you to the top of the ridge of the Otway Range.

Once at the top of Peters hill (389m), the route takes you around the Bambra pines before rolling along Seaview Road.

Take care on the Deans Marsh – Lorne Road, only 2.5km but can be busy with traffic, especially over Summer or school holidays.

Next up it’s a 15km mostly downhill run into Deans Marsh. Call into The Store Deans Marsh for Coffee and amazing Pies. Before leaving fill up your bar bag with cakes and treats. It’s also one of the few chances to fill up water bottles on the route.

After climbing back up to the top of the ridge, (most of the climbing is now done) it’s a quick tour of the pine plantation before exploring some farm lands.

Turning back south the route finishes with some surfcoast hightlights, Breakfast Creek Road and a descent down the Currawong falls track.

All done, it’s time to head to the Aireys Pub for some Beers and a bowl of chips.

Link to the route on Ride With GPS

Illustration credit to: Pete Arch & Kylie Pro

Go to event website

Organised by: Otway Panther Gravel Collective