The story behind Michael Small completing the infamous 3 Peaks Bike Race.

Well, I did it …. I can officially call myself a Peaker now. Not to ruin the ending but I think it’s important to celebrate early (and often) when you achieve something such as at this stage of one’s life.This is the story of me … a middle-aged (just turned 50) cycling enthusiast with relatively limited time and even less natural ability undertaking one monumental journey over the last 12 months.

The context …

A little background first to set the scene first.I entered the world of multisport pretty late in life doing my first sprint distance triathlon at 34 years of age.I was lucky enough to run across someone in the workplace that knew a bit about the sport, and he agreed to take me on and coach me – a decision I expect he still regrets to this day after seeing my swimming technique and ability for the first time.His philosophy was always, if you can complete a Sprint Distance you can do an Olympic (Noosa Tri here I come), if you can complete an Olympic you can do a 70.3 (Cairns is nice in June) and if you can do 70.3 you can complete an Ironman (back to Cairns the following year).I learned a lot about training, fuelling and managing time in these early years being busy with both family and work.I can’t understate the importance of a supportive spouse when signing up for these adventures and even better if they come along for the ride so to speak!

Never in contention or at the pointy end of the field, for me it was about taking on the challenge, signing up for something that scared me and feeling that sense of fulfilment as you cross the finish line knowing you have done something that most people can’t even fathom was almost addictive and kept me coming back for a number of years.An injury (torn meniscus) and change of jobs in 2022 saw me with even less time, less motivation and less ability to get out and train.The only thing that was consistent at this point was the kilograms of mid-life man spread growing under my belt each month.I still vividly remember standing on the scales and seeing three numbers (and no decimal point truncating any of them) and thinking enough was enough.At this point I made the decision to head back to the pool and get back on the bike in the first instance and see if my knee would hold out.Solo training was my normal routine.I was lucky I was never one of those people that struggled to get out and train by myself and needed the company of anyone else to make me do it and things ticked along quite nicely for a couple of months.A little weight dropped off but most of all I was enjoying being active again.

A chance encounter in the local supermarket (the Chocolate isle to be precise …and honest) with a local legend and ex-Pro athlete Cal resulted in me being added to the local Peregian Cycling Club chat group and my regular bunch rides on Tuesday, Thursday and weekend were now underway. Cal too was returning from injury and had a similar story to tell to be honest and so it was great to know someone else was on the road and battling the same demons and trying to get the small wins ticked off. As the consistency improved so too did my expectations so I made the decision to see if I could qualify for (Aquabike) the World Championships being held in Wollongong in 2025.I’d even started a return to run which was going ok and saw my knee show no signs of the meniscal tear that brough me to a screeching halt a few years earlier.A bit of local cycling club racing, a few aquabikes here and there but mostly just enjoying the camaraderie of the bunch saw me starting to regain some reasonable fitness.

The commitment …

What started out like any other regular Tuesday bunchy from the corner on the David Low Way at Coolum quickly turned into one crazy 12 months. Cal asked me if I’d be keen to do a bike race down in Victoria called 3 Peaks.Never really heard of it, didn’t know anything about it other than I assumed there were three “climbs” somewhere along the way so kind of agreed in principle without too much other thought.I’d just completed the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race a few weeks earlier and thoroughly enjoyed the event – so naturally assume it would be something similar.I was wrong!I descended into a rabbit hole of Googling, YouTube videos and articles such as this one, only to feed the fear and sickness that was now growing inside my gut.What the hell had I just agreed to?Cal too had started the same process and quickly realised that this wasn’t going to be your average bike ride.For those that don’t know, the 3 Peaks Bike Challenge is generally considered the hardest single day bike race in Australia and the closest thing that your average amateur cyclist will ever get to experiencing a Tour de France Stage.235km in length with 4500+ of elevation across 3 climbs …. Tawonga Gap, Mt Hotham and Back of Falls.Starting in Falls Creek Victoria your ride starts with a 45-minute descent in some pretty chilly conditions for a Queenslander.

We managed to get one of our other Peregian CC members Whitey to commit along with one of his mates from Sydney (Stopps) and all the relevant entries and bookings were made. Cal and I had been racing the local Crit and Road Races with SCCC to mix it up a bit and it was in one of these races that we met Bel who saw our kit and asked if we were a fellow Peregian local.What started with a friendly invitation to join our bunch progressed to cheeky banter of “you may as well do Peaks” saw Bel joining us for our longer rides each week.For the next 11 months our Peaks Posse met 3 to 4 times per week and set off to explore the Sunshine Coast roads.All pressed for time with family and work commitments; our mid-week staple was 45-50km south on the DLW with a few harder efforts thrown in or the rolling DLW hills north with the steady climb of Gyndier Drive or Noosa Outlook thrown in for good measure.Weekend rides were the serious Peaks investments for us with most of us doing 2-3 hours on Saturday (on our own, with other groups or pairing up) and backing this up with Funday Sundays of 4-6 hours and 120 – 200km of various routes.We got to see some fabulous parts of the Sunny Coast and some absolutely speccy days (and some awful ones too) but no matter what, the team stayed together and knowing that someone was waiting for you on that corner with their bike made all the difference to dragging myself out of bed and getting the job done.

For me, being flexible with getting my k’s in each week was really important.I didn’t have the schedule to do ridiculous volume and didn’t live where we had long those long steady climbs that Peaks offered.Looking back now, Strava tells me I averaged 3 rides, 8 hours and 250km per week during the 12months in the lead up to Peaks but in the final 3 months I managed to increase this to 4 rides, 12 hours and 360km each week. My biggest week never exceeded 450km.I still swam 2-3 times per week (except for the last 6 weeks) and ran 1-2 times per week (10-12km total) and felt that the time off the bike and adding to my aerobic base in these ways was of benefit.I also spent some time in the gym 2 times per week doing a pretty standard all round session but certainly with a focus on leg strength and core stability. You can google this kind of stuff pretty easily these days with most pro cyclists and their coaches p roviding a range of exercises that they are using to improve their performance. To be honest, I was worried about still being underprepared but accepted that this was what my prep would look like but if I was consistent and used the Christmas holiday period to add some extra where I could, it would ultimately come down to mental toughness on the day, sticking to a plan and remember that I was here to finish not set new PB’s.

For prospective Peaks Riders I would suggest getting in early for your travel bookings.The first thing we wrestled with was whether we stay on the mountain (at Falls Ck) or off the mountain (at Bright or mt Beauty).It’s certainly cheaper in the valley but now I’ve seen it and done it I definitely think it was worth the extra to stay at Falls Creek and decrease the extra driving back and forth for check-ins and briefings as well as race morning. In 2026, the event coincided with the F1 in Melbourne, so flights were on the rise for us but still not too bad.We decided to fly Friday but in hindsight I would have made it the earliest flight possible rather than a mid-arvo arrival as we completely underestimated the length of the drive from Melbourne to Falls.We didn’t arrive at the resort until almost 10pm after a few detours and stops along the way.It’s a long day of travel to be honest, take this into consideration if you sign up I would even suggest doing the big travel day Thursday so you have 2 full days there before you race or split the travel – Melbourne Day 1 (arvo) and then drive Day 2 (morning) so you can relax a bit, do a ride and adjust to the surroundings.There aren’t a lot of food options with so many places closed out of a ski season but do a small shop before you head up the mountain as you leave Melbourne or in Bright and take a few things up with you.There are a few cafes and restaurants open for business and unless you are on the special diet team you should be fine to get a feed.

The conquest …

I truly believe that the journey itself was satisfying enough but having conquered this animal of an event I can honestly say the mix of emotions I experienced throughout the day … excitement, fear, WTF, doubt, WTF, utter exhaustion, panic, WTF, hope, relief and pride …. made the finish line feels mean so much more. It’s truly amazing what we can talk ourselves out of and into at the same time.

Setting off on a cold morning amongst the clouds down a sketchy descent off Falls with 2000 other people is interesting to say the least. Being dive bombed left and right at 50kph+ by other middle-aged men wearing camelbaks is both amusing and frightening at the same time. It was cold at 5 degrees but bearable with the aid of a Bunnings space blanket strategically worn under my jersey. It’s not long before you hit the first of the 3 Peak climbs. I’d heard Tawonga Gap was like an FTP test, so I was prepared for a constant push up the 6%average gradient but conscious not to burn too many matches. Riding with the 10hour leaders proved valuable. They were chatty and full of motivation inc Music and playlist requests. Consistently holding 235 watts, I crested the 7.5km 476km climb in a tick over 32 minutes and headed downhill again.The pace really picked up into the first rest stop at Harrietville with a pretty big bunch now on the road together. Arriving at the rest stop, we were greeted with cyclists running left right and centre and filling bidons, grabbing feed bags, taking off layers, shouting across the car park at one another looking for their bunches. It was hectic! I made a split decision to jump in with the 10hr pace group from here even though I hadn’t been there long which turned out to be a good call.

We headed South towards what was my biggest fear coming into this whole thing - Mt Hotham. The thought of going UP for 30km over 2 hours just seemed ridiculous, but on the day, I rode my tempo and tapped along despite losing touch with the 10 hour riders.Being strong willed isn’t just about keep on moving forward in a race like this, it’s also knowing your data and sticking to your plan when others around you are seemingly pushing harder and disappearing up the road - you can easily get caught up and quickly come unstuck in my opinion.Interestingly, there were a number of these riders that looked so strong and comfortable on Hotham that I finished well ahead of in the end.I hit the peak in 1 hour and 53 minutes which was bittersweet - relief I’d made it but quickly followed by shock with visibility at barely 10m and a temp of 4deg the descent into Dinner Plain was almost as hard as the climb!

Arriving at Dinner Plain which is kind of the designated lunch stop, I quickly grabbed by valet bag (you get 3 of these you pack and the organisers take out to pre-determined spots with what you want in them) and restocked bidons and my jersey with nutrition and tried to eat the chicken wrap but mid-second bite I once again heard the familiar call of the 10 hour pacers shouting they were leaving in 30 seconds. Do I enjoy my wrap, take a break or do I jump in and once again use this crew to keep me moving? Another split decision to ditch the wrap and grab my bike and go proved the right move. My triathlon background came in real handy with a flying mount out of the rest stop to try and catch back up to the group that was now a good kilometre up the road already.I pushed hard (averaging about 40km/h) for about 10 minutes to bridge this gap - towing 2 others up with me – still waiting for a thankyou btw.

The trip between Dinner Plain though to Anglers Rest is deceiving.Its rolling at times, a couple of fast descents but punctuated with another climb that, without having the other 3 more noted climbs, would warrant more discussion, I am sure.I didn’t stop at the next rest stop and kept going up the road and spent a significant time on the road solo before being caught by the massive 10h group that was hooking along.The final bit before hitting the last climb is a winding false flat across the back of the mountain and this train was moving requiring me to push more than 400watts at times coming out of the hairpin corners.A very quick stop at Anglers Rest it’s not long until you turn off the main road at the infamous WTF (what the F%$k) corner which saw my soul sucked from my body by the grim reaper standing in the middle of the road. Just avoiding crashing as the Peloton comes to an almost standstill while still pushing hard on the pedals is an art in itself. People walking, grunting, panting, swearing and the distinct smell of pickle juice as I myself, gasped for oxygen and started to seriously question my decision to do this. This comes at the 199km point of the ride by the way.

The next 22km is just relentless. Looking up the road and seeing a long line of riders barely moving, a procession of lemmings in Lycra all contemplating poor life choices and praying for some relief. While the profile says it averages 4% my Wahoo begged to differ with the climb profile showing red and maroon spattered with yellow with little relief of any green.Solid sections of between 10-13% were frequent with barely a turn in the road to even pretend to hide what lays ahead of you.This is hard… harder than anything I had ever done… when you see people almost walking their bikes up the hill as fast as others are riding and you are barely moving forwards yourself it’s just tough. It’s actually kind of hard to adequately describe the moment and writing this now it simultaneously brings back feelings of nausea and satisfaction.Even when you think you’ve finally hit the summit (for me after a mere 1 hour and 44 minutes) at the final rest stop I then heard one of the pace group leaders say, “just over 400m of climbing to go”.What a way to make a guy choke on his cold tasty Coke. As I rolled away Trapyard Gap, my Wahoo once again sang it’s familiar “climb mode alert tune” and threw up a 7km long 423m elevation profile, and it suddenly dawned on me I was about to commence a Montville-like climb at 215km into this ride. No training I’d done prepared me for this, this was that mental toughness moment that I knew would come and potentially be the defining factor in getting the job done.

Hitting the 10km to go mark at Mt Cope was such a relief as I’d ridden this the day before and knew it was a great run into the finish. Having a great little bunch with everyone willing to pull some turns and push to the end made this stretch fast (Avg 42kmh) but almost fun… if such a thing exists at 225km??Hitting the finish line in sub 10 hours (9:49) exceeded all my expectations and I was stoked. I could not have done it without my Peregian CC Bunch and while we got separated early in the ride and didn’t get to ride it together we all knew that each of us were experiencing this together and in the end stood arm in arm with that same feeling of relief and accomplishment.

The call …

If you have ever considered doing the 3 Peaks Challenge but like me your time poor, ability limited and unsure whether you have what it takes to conquer it …. just do it!Put this on your Bucket List or if its already there sign up and tick it off. It's a really well-run event in a beautiful part of our country.If you love cycling and want to set yourself a goal that really scares and tests you I couldn’t think of anything better than 3 Peaks.