the dandenongs, the hard way

Today I ride up Mt Dandenong—the hard way. I usually don’t feel the cold, but to add to the thrill, it’s bitterly chillsome.
There are a few ascents of Mount Dandenong from the Melbourne side of the range: Mountain Highway from The Basin, under the misnomer of the One-in-twenty that averages less than five per cent; the Tourist Road from Montrose, mostly four to six per cent; and the Tourist Road from Upper Ferntree Gully, a brute with long drags nudging double figures.
The tough way is known only by locals: Inverness Road. It runs off York Road and joins the Tourist Road just below Kalorama. Its gradients are all in double figures. The final pitch from the corner of the aptly named Wilkilla Road is a long straight of 13 per cent with a no-spare-gears ramp of 18 per cent in full view.
Throw in Ridge Road above Kalorama and the detour to the Sky High Restaurant and you have yourself a couple of extra clicks with grades in double figures.
I you want to add a bit of thigh-burn, scoot down Perrins Creek Road and swing right into Sassafras Creek Road at the bottom. It winds through the rain forest, gradually increasing gradient, morphs into The Avenue as it runs back up to Sassafras, and arcs up to a cool 15 per cent at the top.
This was my ride this morning.