Oh, the pictures are at the bottom of the page.
The ride started at the Garston township (315m above sea level), then a merry little jaunt along the flat until the first really mean hill, with a summit of 1100m. That was a climb of 800m in 12 km - about 1:14 gradient. Absolutely amazing views from the summit, but almost too knackered to appreciate them.
Then it was a long ride down into the valley with around 25 fords to cross, before reaching the Nevis Crossing bridge, some 52km from the start and at a height of 660m.
Now the fun began. The next hill climb was to Duffers Saddle at 1300m, so that was another 640m to climb at a gradient of 1:12.
After that it was an easy (hah!) 8km plummet down the gravel road to the Nevis turnoff then a final 5km wind-down to end up at the Bannockburn pub at 252m above sea level.
Or if you prefer, the profile created from the GPS track:
And for those interested in the gruesome details:
Distance of ride: 75km.
2010 Time: 5:35, older, fatter, but a couple of minutes faster! 7 caches were tempting but avoided. 2005 Time: 5:40ish, but a flattie 10 min from the end killed the time incentive! 2004 Time: 5:52, position 288/350+? But over 30 min. faster for time in the saddle.
Why? Found one geocache, couldn't find the other.
2003 Time: 5:40:03, position 245/345 (first rider across the line in 3:02!)
2002 Time: 5:42:40, position 245/307
2005 Weather: just brilliant the whole way!
2004 Weather: S N O W ! That's cold, wet, and muddy for the first half.
2003 Weather: glorious sunshine with a bit of high cloud, slight breeze for a tailwind.
2002 Weather: cloudy with enough sunshine for some major sunburn on the legs!
