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2024 Central Victoria Cycling2024 Central Victoria Cycling
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A week long cycling trip to experience some of the very best cycle trails in northern and central Victoria Read more
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  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling

    Testing Missiles

    April 17 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    There is something about preparing for an extended trip that always involves chaos just before departure. This trip is no exception. Looking around my house you might be excused for thinking that someone had been testing missiles.

    With the proliferation of suitcases, food and a veritable mountain of electronic devices, cables and chargers, it is certainly not a pretty sight. Our task tomorrow morning will be try to squeeze it all in to our modest sized car. This is always where a working knowledge of the principles of Tetris comes in handy.

    If we succeed in getting everything packed, then we will be heading off on the long drive to Albury/Wodonga. At least the weather forecast for the next few days looks very promising, with a succession of fine, warm and dry days ahead.

    Although the weather looks perfect, the news about our booked accommodation is not so perfect. When we booked the room in Wodonga some months ago, we specifically asked for the same room we had last time we were in the motel. We were assured that this would not be a problem. When I rang today to confirm the arrangements, I was told that they had given our room to someone else and that it could not be changed. He promised that our new room would be "just as good" as the requested room. I am not convinced that this will be true.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 1

    North of the Divide

    April 18 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    When I was a child, I quickly learnt that one of my father’s basic tenets of his belief system was that “it is always sunny north of the Divide”. To my inquiring young mind this always invoked my immediate response “Gee dad, if it never rains there, what do the poor people do for water?”. I never received a satisfactory response to that question, but the mantra was repeated so often and with such sincerity, that of course I just had to pass on this same piece of truth to my own children.

    Today we had the perfect opportunity to put it to the test. As we left our home in Melbourne, we were greeted by a dismal grey sky, cold temperatures and steady rain. This could have constituted something of a setback for us, but did I worry ? Of course not, because I knew that it absolutely NEVER rains north of the divide. Since we were going to be driving to Wodonga, and since Wodonga is well north of the mystical divide, I knew that we would be greeted by perpetual sunshine.

    And that is pretty much how the day unfolded. For the first hour or two the windscreen wipers beat out a steady rhythm, trying to keep the road visible, however by the time we reached Yea, the rain had stopped and patches of sunshine were breaking through.

    We joined up with 8 others from the team to have a coffee, before continuing on our way to Wodonga. The further north we travelled, the better the weather became. As we pulled into our motel in Wodonga, the temperature had risen to a balmy 20C and the sky was almost completely clear. I guess that vindicates what my father always tried to tell me. I suppose I should now share that truism with my grandchildren…..    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 2

    Riding the Wagirra

    April 19 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Today was Day 2 of our Central Victoria Cycling Adventure. With three more riders joining us this morning, we now have 18 in the peloton. We awoke to a perfect morning, with blue skies visible in every direction.
    The purpose of today's ride was an easy 45 km ride along some of the best bike paths on both sides of the Murray. It was an absolutely delightful start to our week of riding.

    We met at the Brekky Box cafe, just opposite our motel, in time for a start at 10 am. The first stop along the way was at the nearby park for the obligatory group photo shot. Then we continued along the bike path across the river and into NSW.

    The scenery along the way was magical, and the path was smooth and fun. Water was around us on all sides, and we even saw a car up in a tree. This is not something you often see in Melbourne, but we assumed it had been deposited there by a past flood, and that it had been too hard to remove. So that is where it stayed.

    We even stopped to watch a couple of turtles enjoying the sunshine. The highlight was exploring the beautiful Wagirra Trail. This was an extension to the rides we had done in this area before, and we all loved it.

    After ring the Wagirra Loop we retraced our route back to Wodonga, where we stopped for lunch at Gumtree Pies. At that point some chose to finish the ride at that point, while the rest continued to complete another 12 km in the Wodonga region. We somehow managed to accidentally enter ourselves in a primary school cross country run, where I think that Allan and I managed to secure first and second places.

    Tomorrow, we progress to a longer ride when we ride to the Old Tallangatta Lookout and back.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 3

    Herding the Chickens

    April 20 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Yesterday afternoon Maggie and I decided to drive out to the previously designated start point for today's ride, just to confirm that it would be suitable. We discovered that there was only about 3 parking spaces - nowhere near enough for our fleet of cars.

    After driving around Bonegilla for a while we found a much more scenic location by the lake, and it even had the always essential public toilets. We sent out a revision to the group to let everyone know of the change of plans.

    Our message advised everyone to meet at "Kookaburra Point at 10 am". Although even Blind Freddy could have understood such a message, it was obviously far too complex for a group of geriatric Ghostriders, We immediately received a string of queries.
    "What type of kookaburra ?"
    "Is that near the St Kilda boat ramp ?"
    "Are the toilets clean ?"
    "Is it possible to get there from here ?"
    And so on it went. We eventually had to tell everyone just to drive to Kookaburra Point, and the rest will take care of itself. And it did.

    If anything, today's weather was even more perfect than the weather we have enjoyed for the first two days of our Central Victoria Cycling Adventure. In fact, not a single cloud appeared to blot the sky all day.

    With the arrival of Paul Cowen, our peloton has swollen to 19 riders. Unfortunately, although Paul and his bike arrived safely, he realised to his horror that he had left his battery charger back home in Cockatoo. This was not the ideal way to start a quite long ride.

    The aim today was to ride from Bonegilla to Old Tallangatta and back - a round trip of around 70 km. That was the plan, but it was not the way it actually turned out,

    When I arrived at Tallangatta I assumed that the rest of the riders were ahead of me. I put my head down and ploughed ahead, little suspecting that EVERY ONE OF THE OTHER 18 RIDERS had chickened out and headed to the Tallangatta Bakery for lunch.

    I pushed on, slowly increasing my speed and wondering how they had managed to get so far ahead of me. If only I had known that they were already sitting in the park at Tallangatta, happily eating pies and cakes.
    It was only when I finally got back to Tallangatta that the full truth emerged. By that time the others had finished their lunches and were already mounting up to head back to the start. At least I could take some comfort in the fact that I was the only one who had occupied the moral high ground.

    Back at the car, my computer told me that I had ridden about 70 km, while the others had ridden a somewhat piddly 50 km.

    Tomorrow we leave Wodonga and head to Beechworth. Our next ride will be the Beechworth to Yackandandah trail.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 4

    Beechworth to Yackandandah

    April 21 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Central Victorian Cycling Adventure - Day 4. With the succession of absolutely perfect days we have experienced ever since we left Melbourne, no one could possibly ask for a better reason as to why we chose this time of the year to do the rides. The combination of beautiful weather and spectacular autumn colours is impossible to beat.

    Today we left Wodonga and drove the short distance to Beechworth. Eighteen Ghostriders gathered at the Beechworth Railway Station. At the same time hundreds of other riders were gathering all over town for some sort of charity ride. Fortunately they were not all heading in the same direction as us.

    Our task today was to complete a 52 km round trip to Yackandandah and back again. The last time we rode this trail, we encountered a terribly rough section along Kibbals Lane. We were all hoping that this section had now been upgraded.

    To our immense relief we soon discovered that this entire section has now been replaced with a beautiful smooth bitumen trail. It is SO much better than it used to be.

    After lunch at Yackandandah, we climbed back on the bikes for the uphill ride back to Beechworth. Although it is still hard work, the improvements to the trail meant that it was actually quite enjoyable.

    Tomorrow is an optional riding day from Everton to Beechworth. Quite a few of our riders are feeling weary (due to their great ages) and have decided to spend the entire day in bed instead of riding.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 5

    Pelotonic Disintegration At Work

    April 22 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Central Victoria Cycling Adventure - Day 5.
    After three days of cycling, I thought that one or two of our much older riders might need the option of having a day off the bike. Little did I suspect that over half of the peloton would decide to take the easy option and leave their bikes unused for the day.

    I could understand Michael and Christine spending the day in bed, as they have done this on many previous extended rides, but I was horrified to discover that even our reigning King Gordon also decided to pull the pin and go for a walk instead.

    That left only eight of our riders to assemble at Everton Station. We had another guest rider in the form of Karlo Lavicka, who was going to join us for the day, thus binging the final tally to 9 riders.

    Our challenge was to ride from Everton Station to Beechworth. This constitutes a climb of around 450m at a gradient that was apparently the steepest on the entire Victorian railway network. In fact it was such a challenge that the trains needed two engines to push/pull them to the top.

    John Blain took the opportunity to unveil his secret weapon - a turbo charged ebike with a 1500W (illegal) motor. The bike had so much power that it took off with a rush and almost left John behind.

    The only rider on an analogue bike was David McMorran. While the rest of us could rely on such blessed electrical assist, David had to work the way up all by himself.

    At least the weather pattern continued unchanged. It was yet another sunny and cloudless day with a top temperature around 24C.

    After lunch at the Beechworth Bakery, we enjoyed the much easier, and much faster return ride back to Everton.

    Tomorrow, we ride the new trail from Bright to Harrietville and back.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 6

    Attack of the Bees

    April 23 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    Ghostriders Central Victorian Cycling Adventure - Day 6.
    Today it was time to check out of our motel in Myrtleford and move on to the next stage of our adventure.

    We all packed our cars and our bikes and drove to Bright. This was the designated start point for today's ride from Bright to Harrietville and back - a distance of around 56 km.

    The route took us along the comparatively recently constructed bike trail along the Ovens Valley. This surely must rate as one the most scenic trails in Victoria. Not only is it sealed for the entire length, but it meanders closely along the bank of the Ovens River. Combine this with the towering mountains as a backdrop and the spectacular autumn colours and you have an unbeatable combination.

    Once again, the weather put on its very best behaviour, with blue skies and a top temperature of about 24C. This is the sixth day in succession with these sort of conditions, and we all hope that it will continue for the remaining two days.

    The outward ride is a gentle climb from Bright to Harrietville, but the gradient is slight enough for it to be hardly noticeable. It does make the return ride easier however.

    Everything was going exactly according to the script, until Greg and Maggie both got stung by bees about 10 km from Bright. It did add a degree of excitement to the ride, especially as Maggie is quite allergic to bee stings.

    After completing the ride, we loaded the bikes back onto the cars and drove for around 90 minutes to Benalla. That will be our home for the final two days of our trip. Tomorrow we ride the bike trail from Benalla to the Winton Wetlands and back again.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 7

    The Going Gets Tough

    April 24 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Central Victorian Cycling Adventure - Day 7.

    Our challenge today was to complete a 42 km ride from Benalla to the Lake Mokoan Hub. We thought it would be something of an easy doddle. It wasn't.
    As soon as the ride started, we discovered that the track surface was quite rough and somewhat difficult to stay upright. I am not sure what it was made of, but it looked like fine black sand. Also added into the mix were hundreds of wind blown tumbleweeds. It certainly was a contrast to the ride we had done the previous day.

    The rough surface started to take its toll when John had his first puncture of the day. Not long after the ride restarted Allan and I nearly got killed by a huge alpha male kangaroo jumping across the trail just in front of us. That quickly got my heart pumping.

    As the condition of the track deteriorated further, we were met by several other kangaroos. The ride was anything but a doddle, but we finally reached the Mokoan Cafe and settled down for lunch.

    Although the skies were mostly blue, the temperature was 10C cooler than the previous day, and the rising wind added to the chill factor.

    After some discussion, we decided to cheat a little on the return ride and ride some of it on the road instead. It was a delight, but it could not go one forever.

    As soon as we rejoined the trail, John suffered his second puncture of the day This time the tyre was not reparable, and we had no other alternative than to leave him behind. We figured that, sooner or later, someone would come to his rescue. (Actually, we did send a driver back to collect what was left of him and his bike).

    The final 10 km or so were straight into the teeth of a howling headwind. so we were not sorry when we finally reached the end. It had proven to be a much harder ride than we imagined.    Read more

  • The World on Two Wheels2024 Central Victoria Cycling
    Day 8

    The Final Few

    April 25 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Ghostriders' Central Victoria Cycling Adventure - Day 8
    Not only was our cycling adventure coming to an end, but it appears that our peloton is also rapidly coming to an end as well. Only a couple of days ago we had 19 riders enjoying the warm sunshine, this morning only 10 riders presented themselves at the start of the ride in Boonie Doon.

    After dinner last night, another 5 riders indicated that they would not be completing the final ride. I guess it takes a unique combination of extreme mental and physical fitness to complete 7 rides in 7 days and not all of our peloton are equally blessed in that regard.

    Since it was Anzac Day, we started the ride with a short Anzac Ceremony by the war memorial in Bonnie Doon. Allan Barlin led the service, just like the way he had led us 12 years ago at Anzac Cove in Turkey. It was a meaningful way to recognise the sacrifices made by so many in the armed forces.

    The balmy weather that we had enjoyed up to now was now nothing but a memory. Not only had the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees, but it was actually raining. Faced with this unexpected challenge, there was even some discussion as to whether we should just cancel the final ride and head home instead.

    We finally opted for a much better alternative - to head to the coffee shop just across the road, and enjoy coffee and cake instead. It turned out to be a wise decision, as by the time we had finished our coffee, the rain had also finished. We could ride after all.

    The plan was to ride from Bonnie Doon to Mansfield and back, a distance of around 45 km. It didn't take long for us to decide that the trail was a real gem. Not only was the scenery amazing, but the surface of the trail was smooth and well packed. It all made for most enjoyable cycling. It was a pity that it was just so cold.

    At the ten kilometre mark, our peloton shrunk even further when Michael, Christine and Bob all decided to Uturn and head back to the start. We were down to seven riders.

    The ride to Mansfield is slightly uphill, but the good surface and gentle tailwind made the going easy. One surprise discovery was a mobile phone tower that had been distorted into a piece of sculpture. We stopped there for a closer look and a few photos.

    When we made it to Mansfield, we discovered to our relief that the huge bakery was doing a roaring business. We would not be going hungry after all.
    After lunch we began the 22km ride back to the start. The return ride was just as much fun as the outward ride (apart from the head wind and frigid temperature).

    When we reached Bonnie Doon we shared a few hugs and fond farewells. It really had been a fantastic week of riding and fellowship. All seven rides had been quite different, each one special and memorable in its own way. We are truly fortunate to have the opportunity to explore our state with such good friends.

    Now we need to make plans for our next adventure. The ideas are already forming.....    Read more

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