I would recommend dong the 179km route, On the long route the first 50km is riding on cycle tracks(2 abreast with traffic calming)/main roads escorted by police motorbikes in the dark. You have to leave about 4am? to cycle to bus then have 1-2 hours coach to start, done this twice and probably the worse two hours on a bike, followed by 179km of perfection. Skip the bull and enjoy the real route.