29 Nov

Ride News

Sunday Social Ride – Gisborne – 29th November 2015

20 riders rode from Gisborne under overcast conditions with all but one rider going over Mt Gisborne. We were also joined by Dave who rode from home to join us. After regrouping 5 riders rode the shorter route and the remaining 16 the longer route. During the ride we were joined by two other members who were riding portions of the route we were using but separated from us during the ride and rejoined us later for coffee at the completion of their ride.

Of the 16 riders on the longer route 5 riders decided the ride was not hard enough ( there is always someone who wants to climb an extra hill) and rode up Waterfalls Rd to the top and they were joined by myself making 6 deviants who added an extra 5 km to the scheduled ride.

After the completion of the ride there was much carry on about riders changing the route, as I am usually the one to insist riders stick to the plan. As everyone on the longer ride knew the route was being altered, then that is not as big of an issue as when members go off on their own without telling anyone. It was all good fun with much discussion and an enjoyable time was had by all over the usual coffee break at the end of the ride.

 

26 Nov

Thursday Social Ride – Woodend – 26th November 2015

5 riders turned up to ride from Woodend this morning under very cold conditions with a very strong South Westerly wind blowing and only Jennie was dressed for the occasion as the others were expecting the day to warm up as is usual for this time of the year.

We rode to Carlshrue and by that time everyone was freezing cold and there was no objections to shortening the ride from the planned route. We then proceeded to ride to Newham and back via Bryce’s Lane,  Boundary Road, a distance of approx 40km. We also managed to encounter at least 3 rain squall’s which further added to the bad conditions with the only bright point being that when it was not raining the sun was shining.

The coffee shop was welcome relief at the finish and the sun was out but still cold.

23 Nov

Ride News

Sunday – Falls Creek -22nd November 2015

10 riders drove to Mt Beauty and 2 riders rode from Bright over Tawonga Gap to Mt Beauty for the climb to Falls Creek.

12 riders commenced the climb at approx 9.00am and all riders succeeded in reaching the Car Park at the summit. The ride was conducted in warm conditions until the climb was within about 3km’s from the top where it became extremely windy and cold, the only plus being that the wind assisted the climbers because it was a tail wind,  everyone was shivering at the top when they were at the car park and nobody was interested in staying long up there and either put on Vests, Rain Jackets or got some newspaper to stuff in the front of their jerseys before the descent. Once the riders got down below the tree line conditions started to warm up quickly and by the time Mt Beauty was reached conditions were warm again.

The remaining riders rode the rail trail from Bright to Myrtleford and return and they had lunch in the same cafe from the previous day where we had given advance notice of the number of riders who would be there for lunch.

Hearty congratulations to the 7 riders who had not previously climbed Falls Creek which is a significant climb of nearly 31km in length with an elevation gain of 1200m

23 Nov

Ride News

Saturday – Bright – 21st November 2015

All riders rode to Lake Buffalo from Myrtleford, a ride of 44.5km in nice warm conditions. A great ride with a lot of similarities with riding around parts of the Macedon Ranges.

The ride was followed by lunch at one of the many Cafe’s in Myrtleford where 25 plus people descended and filled up most of the space and had a good lunch and socialising before returning back to Bright.

The ride was followed by a BYO BBQ at the park in Bright which was enjoyed by all.

 

21 Nov

Ride News

Friday – Bright – 20th November 2015

15 riders rode to the top of Mt Buffalo and 1 other rider (who organises the routes for the Bright trip) managed to take a wrong turn off and rode to Buckland Valley before realising he was on the wrong road, then returned and found the correct road and climbed nearly to the top before meeting with one of our riders who was descending on the way down. He also had a connection problem on his Di2 gears which meant he could not change gears and had to ride back to Bright in Granny Gear.

Brett also sabotaged Morgan by feeding a greasy breakfast milk and he that regurgitated on the way up the climb.

9 members rode the climb for the first time which was a great effort for all of those members and congratulations to all those concerned.

The ride was followed by the long descent to the bottom and unfortunately Sue had the misfortune to puncture on the way down with about 9km to go, however as I was with her at the time, between us we got the tube changed fairly quickly and continued on the descent back to Bright.

A good time was had by all.

15 Nov

Ride News

Sunday Social Ride – Woodend – 15th November 2015

22 riders assembled in Woodend this morning under very cold conditions with a hint of rain but fortunately within a few kilometers of starting the ride the sun began to come through. The ride commenced with a strong tail wind but unfortunately once the group arrived at 3 Chain Road, Carlshrue the ride quickly became a battle into a strong head wind which persisted all the way to Lancefield. The ride to Don’s Road was quite fast due to the tail wind and because some riders went to the front and set a fast pace ( not me this time ) and the rest were strung out trying to catch up.

Because of the head wind only 8 riders rode to Lancefield where Dave’s mandatory coffee stop was essential part of the ride.  The remaining 14 riders opted out and rode the shorter course back to Woodend via Newham.

The riders on the longer ride enjoyed a good tail wind back to Woodend from Lancefield which was followed by a second cup of coffee.

12 Nov

Thursday Social Ride – Woodend – 12th November 2015

8 riders started from Woodend this morning in weather that was the opposite to the predicted forecast, Warm and no sign of the rain expected.  We were joined by a first time rider with the club (David) who is also new to the area. We rode to Kyneton and back via Newham, Bryce’s Lane, a total of 55km at a reasonably brisk pace. A good ride was had by all and apart from Roscoe who was attempting to talk everyone into having a stop for coffee at Newham , however most went past the shop so he had to chase to catch up and wait until we got back to Woodend for his fix. We were then joined by Sue for coffee as she unfortunately had to work and could not ride with us.

After a good chat everyone went their own ways.

08 Nov

Ride News

Sunday Social Ride – Gisborne – 8th November 2015

24 riders assembled in Gisborne this morning on a great day for riding, a record number of riders for a Sunday ride, including a new member having her first ride with the club, as well as 2 friends of current members who rode with us for the first time. The group were later joined by Luke on the ride to make 25 riders in total. We always leave on time to give him something to chase for a challenge.

16 riders chose the longer ride option over Mt Macedon from the Woodend side including 4 riders who had never climbed the Mount from Woodend before and all successfully made it to the top and then handled the rapid descent down the other side and returned to Gisborne via the Baringo loop. The remaining 9 riders rode the shorter route via Mt Macedon, Waterfalls Rd and Baringo.

The club then managed to fill the coffee shop up with thirsty members where Dave was sulking because he was not allowed to have multiple stops on the way. He missed out on stops both at Woodend and The Mount on the way down.

A great mornings ride was had by all in perfect conditions, minimal wind and nice sunshine and most importantly NO RAIN.

 

05 Nov

Thursday Social Ride – Woodend – 5th November 2015

3 riders turned up this morning, 2 with bikes (Donna & Myself) and Roscoe without his bike. After a 5 second assessment of the conditions we retired to the coffee shop for a chat and a laugh. While the rain had lessened and it was the first time that conditions were better in Woodend than elsewhere, the roads were extremely wet with huge puddles, far too dangerous for riding so the coffee shop was the best option.