Distance: 4.3 km
Average
Gradient: 3%
Elevation
gain: 160
metres
Traffic:Light
Terrain: Residential/Rural
Road Surface:Good 
Robinson Road offers a scenic & challenging set of rolling hills. At 4.2km
@ 3%, don’t be fooled by this average gradient. There are several really steep pinches going upwards of 12%, and four descents along the way that bring the average gradient down.
The climb starts at the corner of Memorial Drive and
Robinson Road.
The first kilometre has a fairly steady gradient around 3
– 4%, and it is easy to get into a rhythm.
There are scenic country views to either side of the road
The road then ramps up and
peaks at just under 10% as you leave the suburbs and enter the country.
Houses become more sparse and you start to pass farmland instead.
Just
under 2km’s into the climb you will come to a road sign signalling a descent, and there is a sweeping
right hand descent at a 7% average for just over 100 metres.
You may feel like a rest after the first part of the climb, but it is
important to get as much speed up as possible to get a running start at the
hardest part of the climb.
You round the bend, and the road flattens for
a couple of hundred metres, and you can easily get lulled into a false sense of
security as you look up and see this mighty steep pinch in front of you
There is 800 metres of climbing at almost 8%, but much of this climb is between
10 – 12%. As you near the intersection of Brundrett Road, you can be
fooled by thinking the climb is at an end.
As you swing left around the
bend the gradient drops to 5 – 6%, however there is still another 200 metres
left to survive.
There is
a short 200 metre descent which follows, and you may be tempted to slow down to
catch your breath, but this section is like a rollercoaster, with another pinch
of 9% for the next 200 metres to follow, so the quicker you descent the easier
the next pinch is to get up.
There are some great views to the right side of the road.
As with any rollercoaster what goes up must
come down, and there is one last descent of 200 metres before you come to a
roundabout at the intersection of Robinson & Harkaway Road. Take care
to make sure that there is no traffic as you cross the roundabout for the final
climb.
There is
400 metres left to climb, and this section peaks at over 9%. There is a
Milk bar to your right, and after such a taxing climb it’s hard not to think
about getting a good cold drink.
The climb finishes just after you pass the Harkaway Primary School on the right hand side of the road.
Robinsons
is a fantastic road to ride on, and has some great scenery along the way.
It is more of a rollercoaster than a climb, but offers a number of challenges
which will test the best of climbers. The section after Harkaway Road is
called King Road, and if you continue down this road it turns to gravel, and
there are several really taxing climbs further down the road (this is a dead
end road).
Near the
base of the climb is an incredible Bakery called Pane Difiore Bakery, at the
Narre Warren North Village Centre. This climb is worth doing just to
visit this Bakery. There is another climb A’Beckett Road which forks off
this climb, and can easily be done in the same ride.
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| View from the top of the first part of the climb |
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| View from top of Brundrett Road |
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| View from corner of Robinson Road & Brundrett Road |
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| View from lookout at Kurll Park |
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| View from lookout at Kurll Park |
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