388 is one of those lovely stages where most of the hard work is done by halfway. It continues to climb from the off, following on from the previous stage heading away from Melbourne, but the climb peaks around halfway, leaving a much more sedate second half to the stage that gives up around three hundred of the hard earned ascent that was previously gained.
The rollout in Beverage climbs immediately as the route swings left off Lithgow Street back onto the M31 Hume Freeway heading north. However the climb flattens out after a mile and a half and as the road snakes left and right through Wallara Waters, it remains pretty flat. However from the service area at six miles, the climbing starts again and as the road takes a long left hander around the eastern side of the Hidden Valley Estate, so it climbs almost two hundred feet to the eight mile mark.
The highway drops down to Wandong at nine miles before climbing back up again to the right hander adjacent to The Mound at twelve miles, and that’s where the long descent begins. Off the top, the road straightens out, passing by Waterford Park at fourteen miles before climbing again, albeit briefly, to seventeen miles where McDonald Road meets the Fire Track road heading out east into the bush.
The descent continues as the route approaches Broadford, passing the State Motorcycle Sports Complex at twenty miles before one final climb sets up the finish close to Daby Minga Creek Bushland Reserve on the northern side of the town.
Distance: 23 miles / 37 kilometres
Ascent: 702 feet / 214 metres
RGT Magic Road: 1uWZlP1SIf4u
Max elevation: 1298 ft
Min elevation: 750 ft
Total climbing: 703 ft
Total descent: -795 ft
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