Sandringham to Jeff's Shed via the Bay

Friday 21 December 2018

On a perfect riding day,seven of us had a great time riding along the beach. We ambled along with a slight tail wind that made us feel like we were gliding along rather than riding. There were few other riders – nice! An advantage of beach rides is that the sea is ever changing, and this time we were treated to little choppy waves with interesting clouds above.

We wended our way along the coast through Hampton and Brighton to find our first photo point – the lookout at Pt Ormond. A couple of us had not been up the hill and were impressed by the city views, Oh, and the flatness of Melbourne. It was pointed out that this hill had been the quarantine station in Melbourne and that we were standing on a whole lot of dead bodies.

Then we headed off on the quest for coffee. In St Kilda we noticed that the sculptures Angelina Rabbitgirl and Dogman had disappeared and been replaced with Gillie and Marc's "The Wonderful Two", a large two-headed rhino. Photo opportunity!!

Oh no!! The Sandbar was closed for a function. So we found ourselves at La Noisette in Bay St, Port Melbourne not far from the beach. This lovely french cafe is a great choice for a small group of riders with wonderful french pastries and coffee. It was a short ride across to the bike path next to the light rail and to Jeff's Shed.

This ride is a variation of Bay Explorer.

Traralgon to Stratford via Maffra

Ride on 27/28 November 2018

OYB cyclists together with family members set off on paths unknown through the Gippsland Plains. Our grateful thanks go to our cheerful support bus driver whose smiling face greeted us at our stops, and who delivered our bags to our accommodation and top ups for our water bottles. It is great that the Yarra City council provides this bus free of charge for us.

It was a most successful two days as we wended our way along the trail from Traralgon, through Heyfield and Maffra, to its end at Stratford. After recent rain Gippsland was looking its best: lush fields of crops and pasture, sleek cattle and, as a backdrop in the distance, the outlying hills of the high country silhouetted against the western sky. Much of the second day the trail ran alongside magnificent avenues of exotic and native trees providing welcome shade. Grades were gentle, threatened showers and storms held off, the group managed the whole distance without a single puncture or mechanical mishap, and the worst medical emergency was a serious case of stiff muscles.

The ride was punctuated by stops in the many towns along the trail. We enjoyed the bakery at Glengarry, the general store at Tinamba and the fantastic coffee at Maffra. Sadly the 4.5 star rated cafe at Cowwarr General Store closed its doors on September 30. (It is possible that we spent as much time having coffee and refreshments as riding on the second day.) The accommodations at our overnight stops at Heyfield and Stratford were very good.

Thank you to everyone for your cheerful company, making the ride a real success.

Bob and Penny.