Rediscovering my own Backyard

It had been over 3 months since I had last ridden around the bike path network in my own neigbourhood. Considering the incredible rate that new paths are being constructed, that is something like a lifetime. Now was my opportunity to take advantage of the spell of fine weather to see for myself what had been going on in my absence.

I have now spent the past two days rediscovering my own backyard by bicycle. On Thursday my first stop was the big level crossing removal project on Cardinia Road. After months of preliminary work, it was interesting to see that that have now erected the first three supports. It is still a long way from competion, but it will certainly make a big difference to the traffic on Cardinia Rd at peak times.

My next stop was the Toomuc Creek, still running at high level after the spell of heavy rains. I stopped to have lunch by the creekside, before continuing along the creek to the new trail alongside the Monash Freeway. I soon discovered that many of the previously missing sections of this trail have now been filled in, so that it is now possible to ride it all the way from Toomuc Creek to the centre of Officer. I understand that it will soon connect right through to Beaconsfield.

The next hour was spent exploring the network of wetlands in Officer, before riding through to Princes Hwy and a little cross country riding alongside the highway, before rejoining the sealed paths and returning home.

Yesterday I headed straight down to our lake and was amazed to see just how many people were taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine. I have never seen so many walkers, joggers and cyclists all riding around the lake. After a long period of closure, the lakeside cafe had also reopened and was doing a brisk trade in take away food and coffee. I bought a coffee and toasted sandwich and sat down by the lake to enjoy it. In so many ways it has been a bleak and anxious autumn, but maybe we are starting to see some relief in sight.

I then decided to ride in the opposite direction and complete a circuit of the Toomuc Creek park, before continuing towards Pakenham. A few minutes were spent savouring the view from the lookout near the old shire offices, before cutting back through some side streets to rejoin the highway. A meandering route then took me home via the long way.

Maggie will soon be joining me in Pakenham and I look forward to doing some longer rides with her in the coming days.Читать далее