Day 5 - Yea Ride

Lunch together at the Aqua Bar and Grill... good food and a lovely view of the weir

Looking down from the dam wall to the Goulburn river

A panoramic view of the weir and the dam wall

The water being released in to the Goulburn river

A lovely vie of the Goulburn river near Thornton 

The dam wall road 

The view of the Eildon Harbour from the restaurant where we had lunch 

 Commentary on the day’s activities:

 Today began with us packing up our belongings after 4 nights at the Yea motel which was a superb centre for us all for the hub and spoke ride. Having the entire motel to ourselves was a real advantage as we were able to use the grounds for meals and sorting out the rides each day.... motel was well selected by Ray 

With cars packed we were ready to leave at about 8.30 for Alexandra where we parked our cars and unloaded the bikes for the day’s ride to Eildon ... 

In leaving Yea we said goodbye to Des who was to proceed on his own to Mansfield and other places.Safe travels Des!

After coffee in Alexandra we were on our way to Eildon on an amended route taking out the big climb on the original route.... a very good decision 

The weather was fine but coolish which made for good riding for the day.

The first 5 kms of the ride was hilly but thereafter to Eildon was quite flat... the only exception was a hilly ride to the lunch venue at the Eildon Harbour 

As we were on major roads a few of us hung back to allow cars and trucks sufficient room to make passing moves safely

We arrived early for lunch at the Aqua bar and grill which was very pleasant and the food was excellent....

After lunch we made our way across the dam wall and other hydro infrastructure back to the main road.

The rest of the trip back to Alexandra was uneventful although a few of us were taking it slowly along the road to enjoy the solitude of the country-side and the lovely weather 

Arriving back at the car park we packed the bikes on cars and said our goodbyes after 4 days of riding and wonderful fellowship including discussions on all manner of subjects 

For me the 4 days of riding were 285 kms traveled and 2780 metres climbed... a great achievement 

For the Flat Earthers this was an enormous achievement and we all respected their efforts in the last dinner together 

Special thanks to Ray and Ellio for organising the ride and we all look forward to the next group ride !

Day 4 - Yea Ride

Morning tea at Yarck... lovely cakes and great coffee!

Andrew pointing out where we should have had lunch at the bottom of a climb which most missed in their enthusiasm to get to the top 

At the stay of the day.... yes the pictures are out of order!!!

A somewhat standard houseboat near the Goulburn river!!!

Dinner at theWetlands centre.... great food and great cheer at the end of the day!

We had a SNAFU moment here trying to find the rail trail so we had to traverse some country to get there?

A view of the Goulburn river 

Where we should have had lunch!

A nice view of the Goulburn valley from the top of the ridge 

Today’s ride information!!!!

A big day 

Lunch at the top of the 3rd Climb for the day

Comments on Today’s Ride

 Today was the day of the big ride of approximately 100 kms with a few big climbs ....

So we were on the road after breakfast at about 8.15 am with a lot of enthusiasm for the day

The first 20 odd kms were on reasonably flat country but we needed to make good time to Yarck for morning tea. The Yarck cafe was very good with lovely cakes and after good coffee , donuts and 2 lamingtons it was off to the beginning of the climb of about 400 metres to the top of the ridge where we travelled around 50 kms for the ride. It was here that we lost Abdy and Anthony who missed the turnoff on the Ruffy road. So we waited for them and proceeded for another 2 fairly long long climbs to lunch... gosh it was well deserved after over 1000 metres of climbing!!!

After a a refreshing lunch courtesy of the Yarck cafe we were off again for the final 35 kms back to Yea.... however there was another climb of about 70 metres over about 1.2 kms!!!!

After this the riding was over undulating country until we reached a magical descent from the plateau of about400 metres over about 10kms..... wow what a a great end to the ride after a big day!!!

The day ended at about 4.30 pm with us all feeling we had a great day of achievement 

Ellio, Ray, Gary, Steve Chen and Jeff organised a great dinner of steak fish prawns and salads at the Wetlands centre which was a perfect way to thank all involved with organising the ride.... particularly Ray Taylor for his careful and thoughtful organising of the “hub and spoke “ version of the ride who we all agreed worked well!

We all agreed that Ellio had done a great job of arranging the rides in all directions from Yea and the motel was perfect as our accommodation hub!

Looking forward to the last day of riding tomorrow 

Day 3 - Yea Ride

Lunch at the Flowerdale pub.... enjoying good food in the sun

Steve Chen powering up the hill on the ride to Flowerdale

....and here is Gary!!!

At the top of the big climb of about 10 kms.... great effort by all!!!

Morning tea with coffee scrolls at Strath Creek .... good stop to have ahead of more challenging riding later!

The group at the start of the the ride today

 Today’s ride was starting at about 8.00am with warmer weather than yesterday.... about 12 degrees as opposed to 7 the previous day!

The ride started along the rail trail which was delightful with a good surface and gentle gradients. The turnaround point was at Kerrisdale where we rode along the King Parrot road to Flowerdale for lunch. The pub lunch was very good and the publican was very hospitable!

After lunch it was on to the ride to Yea with a 10 km climb almost straightaway!!! The gradients gradually increased as we progressed with the max gradients at 14pc which was a bit challenging!

Reaching the top was delightful and the descent into Yea was exhilarating! We were reaching speeds of over 60 kph with Rob reaching 80 kph !!!! Magnificent effort Rob!!!

We arrived in Yea at about 2.30 pm after doing about 70 kms for the day with a feeling of real achievement for the day 

Dinner was organised by Ray with pizzas from the local pizza shop delivered to the motel where we set up tables and chairs in the paved bbq area.... wonderful meal with beer and wine with good banter about all manner of topics 

We were in our rooms by about 8.30 pm looking for a good night of sleep ahead of the biggest day of riding tomorrow 

All in all a great day of riding amongst good friends.... what could be better!!!

Day 2 Yea Ride

 Today we had an earlyish start to the day with everyone ready at about 8.00am for the ride. The weather was cold ... about 7 degrees and fog!

The day began for me with the car driving to Molesworth to meet the rest of the riders who made their way along the rail trail 

The trip for me included a coffee and coffee scroll.... very good!

After meeting the riders it was on to Alexandra along the rail trail... a great ride with an excellent surface and great views especially at the top of the ride overlooking Alexandra

Morning tea was in the Alexandra bakery which was ok .... just! Coffee was cold but the lamington was excellent!

After this it was off along roads back to Molesworth which was a good ride along well sealed roads and no traffic 

Lunch at the car park was good with rolls from the Yea Provendor bakery which were pre- ordered by us all

After lunch it back along the rail trail to Yea.... quite outstanding travel with an interesting outlook well away from the main roads and an interesting tunnel at the top of the ride.Cheviot tunnel is about 200 metres long and is quite a feat of engineering as it is made from hand made bricks!

The ride back home from the tunnel was exhilarating as it was a steady descent in to Yea. 

Arriving back we were met by Des who had earlier had an accident in the tunnel avoiding oncoming walkers and had hit the side of the tunnel... his hand was damaged quite badly so Ray and I took him to the hospital to get treatment.. in the end he required stitching and a real clean up but he says he should be ok to ride tomorrow?

Dinner tonight was again at the Country Club Hotel where most of us had the cheaper “seniors meal” which was quite enough for us even after a day of riding 

I am writing this at 9.30 am and am able to reflect on a good day of riding on a coolish day with 14 enjoying the wonderful scenery in the Yea region 

Before dinner we were able to have a Zoom with Ric who was unable to join the ride due to ill health and share our experiences with him.... good to see his smiling face!

Looking forward to the riding again tomorrow.....

Fixing Anthony’s flat tyre.... plea of advice!

A view at the top of the ride before heading on to Alexandra

Cheviot tunnel entrance

Some of the rail cutting along the trail... mostly hand dug!

A gentler view of the trail ... good surface!

Des’s injured hand after the visit to the hospital 

The story of the Cheviot tunnel.....

Lunch at Molesworth including a kick of the football 

A happy group of riders at the start of the ride

Alexandra station and the end of the trail

Yours truly at the entrance to the tunnel!

Day 1 - April. 12 Yea

Ray at the briefing after the wetlands tour 

Home for the next few days at the Yea motel... very comfortable !

A view of the Yea River on the wetlands tour

The front of the Yea Motel with a nice garden

Cooper’s picture for PA for the trip....  space ship with PA getting ready to board... bit like my bike really!

More from the wetlands tour 

Briefing again!!!!

Today’s Adventures:
 After an early morning coffee in Melbourne it was time to pack the car ready for the trip from Melbourne to Yea....

I was attaching the bike rack to the new Ute and alas the bolt on the tow bar had a pin connector in a different position to my old Ute.... so it was off to Rob Baker for a few “running repairs”. Then home gain for the rest of the packing for the trip.... 

After saying goodbye to Robyn and 5 of the grandchildren it was off to pick up Rob Baker for the trip up to Yea. I was given a picture by my grandson Cooper to take on the trip. You will see the picture below in the photo collection 

The trip up to Yea was uneventful and Rob and I chatted about all manner of things including the great win by the Dees against the Cats yesterday.... great to have 4 wins for the year so far!

We arrived at the Yea motel at about 1.15 pm where the weather was quite good with some warmth from the sun...far cry from the cold weather yesterday in Melbourne 

After picking up a few items for breakfast we were off for a tour of the wetlands on the Yea river which was most informative. The incredible work the local volunteers have done to restore the wasteland in to this wetland area is quite extraordinary. We all leaned a lot!

After the tour it was time to assess the gear ready for the riding over the next few days and to have a chat amongst us all.

It was good to catch up with Des and Anthony who had traveled by train and bike to Yea yesterday and today!

Dinner tonight is at the local pub  

Upcoming Yea Ride

 Tomorrow we begin another adventure with a”hub and spoke” series of rides out of the Victorian country town of Yea about 150 kms north of Melbourne 

The ride has been organised by one of the Wheeliebinners Ray Taylor which should provide good riding over undulating country. The weather is looking to be coolish with some rain predicted later in the week

We have 14 of us joining the ride with a late withdrawal by Phil Eager due to travel restrictions as a result of Covid and Ric Hallgren due to ill health 

I look forward to bringing you reports and photos of the rides each day.... stay tuned