Killara ride Thursday 20 May

Start. Woori 9.00
Route:  Mt.Evelyn, Lilydale, Coldstream, Gruyere etc.  Dirt or road bikes.

Cheesecake, Icy Winds & the Return of the Prodigal Son !

 After Tuesdays aborted effort Werner and self were determined to at least make it out of the car park. Jon was still ill, Jurgen & Kirsten MIA and Helen sent her written apology. We did though pick up our long lost mate Peter who presented at the Library car park with a long list of requirements. The ride should not be too long, too hilly, too rough or too fast - when we realised that the only ride meeting all those requirements was one involving a couple of laps of the library car park we instead suggested that we ride the trail ride to Gembrook which Peter took in his stride pushing Werner for front spot.

Battling the Icy winds we made the Gembrook bakery where Werner pulled out a 3 huge slabs of delicious homemade Cheesecake (he'd made enough for 6 people) which was enough to weigh us down nicely in the wind for our return effort. With rain forecast we made it back just in time for the warm sun (go figure) and with Peter almost breaking into a sweat loading his bike back on the car - another good days ride !    

               

Mystery Ride - Thurs 13 May - 9.00a.m. Emerald library

The main mystery may be will anyone turn up after Werner and I settled for a coffee instead of a ride today - way too foggy and wet. Ride option is up for grabs on Thurs maybe aim for a coffee at new Lysterfield Cafe maybe.       

Our Amazing World

 Some aerial pics taken recently of our local area - 

 

Tues 11 May - 9.00 a.m. start Emerald Library - Cafe and Creek explorer !

Dirt bikes preffered for this as we make our way past Uppert Beac to Harkaway past some lovely scenery and one possible ankle high wet creek (I'll bring a small towell - bikes can be carried across). From there a choice of coffee stops at Narre Warren or Lysterfield where we can take either the shorter option back through Birdsland or longer option back through Churchill, Wellingon, FTG etc     

A Possible future Tour

In spare time been looking at a route that might encompass best of nearby scenery Gippsland scenery. It's a bit pie in the sky stuff and I havent even looked at accommodation options but i reckon i have a beauty. It would essentially entail - 

 Day 1 - Gembrook - Noojee (60km's) over the top maybe along Beenak Rd       

Day 2 - Noojee - Willow Grove (45km's) - time to take in the Noojee falls

Day 3 - Willow Grove - Rawson (55km's) - stunning road as have driven a number of times 

Day 4 - Loop Rawson - Thomson - Walhalla - Rawson (65 km's - without panniers) - go search for gold 

Day 5 - Walhalla - Mirboo Nth (70 kms) - quite back roads

Day 6 - Mirboo Nth - Drouin (65 kms) - along the beautiful Grand Ridge Rd  

Day 7 - Drouin - Gembrook (70 km's) - a  classic finish - along beautiful back roads including rail trail to Neerim Sth - then adventure ride through Jindivick / Labertouche (sealed) and Bunyip NP (unsealed) to exit along Black Snake rd      

Henk stars in Carrum Ride

 Short video taken during yesterdays 75 km ride with Henk - ...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K6mwpnl6mk  

Carrum Ride - 75 kms

 

A few pics taken on yesterdays ride to Carrum with Henk

Krasher Kotnic & the "Cursed" Chalet

 I had a mixture of feelings when John Bird rocked up to join Werner and self for another adventure starting from Monbulk. Pleased because we needed John's navigational expertise and worried because of John's awesome form on his Abrahams Tank looking bike. 

Our first climb out of Monbulk by Woolies was nothing compered to the warm up at Mcarthy Rd on the corner of Silvan Dan and that was nothing compared to what was about to come on Chalet Rd

I say Chalet Rd simply because on Google it shows as a road that connects Monbulk to Olinda. In reality it is an amazingly steep walking track that in terms of pain was never ending. Werner had already fallen prior to the track failing to decleat so was in no mood to attempt the impossible ride, As it was just walking with the bikes on the slippery clay like surface was hard enough. After much "cursing" the track finally emerged beside Hamers Arboretum. Taking in the altitude rich oxygen we did what cyclists should never do and that is give up our gain by descending straight back down to the Silvan Dam car park !. Here we used John's expertise to navigate along some lovely forest trails (why haven't we done this before) to the start of the Mt Evelyn Aqueduct trail. 

Although short this is a really beautiful trail. Exiting the trail John gave fair warning (about 2 seconds) that we were soon about to turn sharply right right up a steep climb. The warning was heard by all except poor  Werner resulting in crash number 2 ! Emerging near Mt Evelyn we "stretchered" Werner to the appropriately named Paschendale Coffee shop for some welcome recovery time

With John in charge we descended through back streets to Montrose and took lovely Glasgow Rd all the way through to the Basin where another climb took us all the way up the one in twenty. From here we descended by way of the Crescent with one final climb along Holden Rd to the Wall before a fast descent into Monbulk to complete an amazing days ride (46 kms and approx 1200 meters climbing)        

        

Change of Plan - Tuesday’s Ride May 4 moved to Thursday May 6

Due to promised inclement weather we shall now meet at Emerald Library at 9am on Thursday May 6 (for the rescheduled Tuesday ride) via back roads to Monbulk , across to the Patch and home via Menzies Creek. Dirt bikes better.
Helen

Sent from my iPhone

Warragul Recce

Took the opportunity when down Warragul way to suss out some nearby locations and came across a couple of beauties that could be linked. Drove the back way from Drouin through beautiful countryside along quiet roads to Rokeby to the start of a lovely Rail Trail that seems to go all the way to Neerim Sth 9+kms. The Road that goes to Jindovick from Neerrim Sth is a stunner through rolling hills with magic countryside. Jindovic is a lovely small town on a plateau with a cute coffee shop. You could loop back then to Warragul / Drouin or its even possible to launch an attack on Labertouche and Gembrook - one for the books

       

Gruesome Twosome - "Glug Galore" !

 I thought Werner was being a bit pessimistic about the mornings weather conditions until I realised i had my 100 x brightness bike riding glasses on. In the gloom we set off for one of our "fave" ride the Bourkes / Bessi Creek double with a few subtle and challenging variations. 

Discussing recipes it was appropriate that the weather create its own with the rain now combining with the freshly graded dirt on Morrison Rd to create a beautiful quicksand like "glug". With the rain increasing (didnt know 1 mm of rain could be so much) we made it to Bessi Creek where self decided it might be interesting to go by way of Mount Ernie Rd to Gembrook

The clue about what was about to come might have just been in the roads name but still this was a beautiful detour from our normal route past a couple of amazing properties till we eventually located the main Gembrook Rd 

In Gembrook we took time out for a coffee and a meaning of life discussion talk with our good friend Grant. Revitalised and almost dry we took on Avon Rd on the way back before one one final surprise a cross country cycle through the former Emerald Golf Course. Another great days ride and one to be repeated I'm sure with our missing group members.      

Ride Tuesday 4 May

An old faithful for we-out-of-form cyclists. Depart 9am from Emerald Library, down to Butterfield Reserve, using the backroads to make our way to Monbulk before dropping across to The Patch and return via Menzies Creek. Dirt bikes best.  

Helen

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Mon 3 May - Ride Berwick to Carrum Beach

 9-00 Assemble Main Berwick Intersection near War Memorial - By Way of Trails and Dandenong Creek to Carrum   

Ride Thurs 29 April - Monbulk - Lilydale

9-00 Main Monbulk Football Ground - by way of Aqueduct Trail - Return over the Hill by Way of the Basin - Dirt Bikes     

Tue 27 April - Ride Emerald - Gembrook

 9-00 Emerald Library by way of Bourkes Creek Rd & Bessi Creek Rd - Dirt Bikes

Tea for Two - FTG to Lysterfield

With more absentees than the St Kilda AFL team (Kirsten practicing for upcoming Iditarod with Husky puppy, Jon Daka Rallying through NSW and Jurgen doing a "Burke and Wills" on the Hawker trail in Sth OZ) - It was up tp Jurgen and self to invent a typically adventurous Alt Thurs Ride

The adventure started early when i locked myself out of home. Thx to Werner I got a lift to Boronia to pick up a spare key from Monika. Starting nearby at FTG Train Stn we were soon exiting the Rowville "burbs" and heading along quiet Churchill Rd to the amazing suburb of Lysterfield Sth where every Mansion looks like its trying to outdo the one next to it. Entering the Lysterfield National Park we took on a challenging Mountain Bike Trail where the real danger was one of us falling and the other running straight over the top of them. Somehow we made it through unscathed. Looking for a coffee shop we  stumbled across the newly opened and beautiful Orchard Cafe right at the entrance to the Lysterfield gates, It was a bit of a wait but the cakes and hot coffee were superb giving us another lovely stopping point.

Well fed we this time ignored Werners "Cow path" and headed through Birdsland to the Belgrave - FTG trail with a couple of detours through Upwey and along the FTG Quarry. A lovely days ride - thanks to Werner for saving my day ha ! 

          

Mayday, Mayday .. I'm going down ... well my Tyre at least is !

For an aviation "disaster themed" ride it was appropiate that we set off in misty and cold conditions from the Johns Reserve plateau cycling to Kalista and then up the beautiful Crescent to Sassafras and Mt Dandenong. We had our own disaster shortly after when Kerri's tubeless tyre developed a leak  necessitating an emergency call to "Hubbie" Les to deliver some "gunk" all the way from Emerald. With bike experts Jon B and Werner on call the bike was up and running shortly before we turned into icicles. Our first visit was the site of th 1938 Kyeema disaster on Mt Dandenong before we then headed to Olinda for a cuppa and a big open fire. Descending to Monbulk we took in lovely View Road before visiting our 2nd disaster the crash site of famous racing car driver Ron Flcokhart in a converted WW2 Mustang in 1962. Heading back to Ridge Rd we covered a fair bit more of our 1,000 metres climbed for the day.      

   

Tues ride 13 April - Start from Johns Reserve Ridge Road 9.00 a.m. - An Aviation Theme

 Kallista Crash

Kyeema Crash

Cow of an Adventure !

It started off well enough with just enough dissension appropriate for a new ride .. "do you have a plan or are you making this up as you go along said Jon B" !. We (Jon, Werner, Self) made our way to the Manaster Round about near Cardinia Dam taking the no through "Foot and Chadwick Roads" to Harkaway by way of some lovely scenery and one delightful and pretty wet creek ! From here we breezed down A'Becket Rd to Narre Warren and a special "Werner" recommended  coffee shop that sold triple decker French Vanilla slices (yes Jon B had one !). A short ride took us through Lysterfield Park and across Wellington Road where we made our first mistake of the day. We can only blame ourselves as when Werner said he knew a track that went alongside Wellington Road back to Menzies creek as he'd walked his cow here 20 years ago we believed him ! The undulating track lasted for nearly 1 km before we were spat out on to to busy Wellington Road, Not being overly comfortable with no verge i suggested we take Ryans Road (mistake number 2) to Belgrave Sth. 500 of the 1,100 metres climbed for the day were covered on this one road including a section of bitumen that surely must be the steepest made road in Melbourne. While I struggled to walk it with Jon keeping me company Werner earned Mountain Goat points for his amazing uninterrupted ride to the top. More than knackered by now i took another cafe stop before we finally set off back home along the well and truly travelled Belgrave - Emerald route. Wow what a ride !  

       

The Flat bit of Ryans Rd