TRAMPS: Moe - Moondarra Dam. 02 March.

Due to my non attendance on the day Vance has provided this report.

Eighteen riders eventually arrived at Moe for the ride to Moondarra
reservoir.

The morning was mostly slightly uphill under ideal riding conditions.

Although the road traffic was heavy most drivers were courteous and considerate.  A few of us had stopped to wait at the turn-off from the Erica road to the dam when Jodie, with her mind anywhere but on a Tramps ride, came coasting down the hill totally unaware of the rest of us. After a few yells and whistles she looked up and saw the rest of us. The five kilo meters was slightly hilly but we all arrived at the dam for lunch quite early. Len ran a shuttle service to the dam wall, a steep drive down hill. During lunch some mechanical adjustments were carried out and a few tires inflated with ‘clean’ air. The return ride was not only down hill but we were all enjoying a tail wind.

Vance also took some pictures.

Maddie Lane

Darryl Paul Maree Tony

Daryl Linden

Jan supervising

Jodie Maddie Jan

Waiting

SADSAC: Warragul Weekend 22/23 February.

A top weekend was enjoyed by some fifteen riders for a two day tour of West Gippsland. The Sadsac team was joined by five riders from Tramps who rode both days. Of note was the large number of couples at the event although Liz's friend Anthony, from Queensland, was not allowed to ride having crashed out badly in training earlier in the week.
Despite not being overly long, both days were challenging with Dave finding some suitably bumpy terrain to test us all. The first day started out on the Two Towns Trail. This high quality path is a good example of what can be achieved to join up two towns that are not too removed from each other. Once through a rather busy Drouin it was off to the north and into the hills. The town of Jindivick seemed to arrive at the top of the collection of climbs. It turned out to be a good place to rest and have lunch. The afternoon run back to Warragul was mainly downhill and was enjoyed by most.
Afternoon tea and a BBQ dinner was held in the well appointed recreation room.
The second day started a bit earlier and it proved a good thing as the temperature was starting to climb by the end. The route was reversed with the run through Nilma North first up to front load the day. Even so we ended up with a morning tea stop at Shady Creek to delay lunch. We had hardly recovered from coffee and cake when Yarragon appeared and lunch. After lunch it was off to the south of the freeway for the return. It became apparent about halfway back that the usually reliable Dave had a few problems with the local streets. The end result being a few more K's and a number of sizable climbs. Once all these bumps were behind us it was a high speed dash back into town.
The overall feeling was that the weekend had been a big success and Dave was talking of a possible return next year.
The first few pictures feature a young couple off around Australia on well equipped bikes. They had spent Friday night at the caravan park and were grilled about the equipment.

Where did you get the bread?

Ms Andy with cello

Handy Andy off to Moe

Why are there never enough chips?

Warragul 2014 minus Janet

A rather formal BBQ

Cruising Nilma North Road

Lunch at Yarragon

TRAMPS: Meeniyan - Foster 16 February.

We ended up with thirteen riders who made their way to Meeniyan for the run to Foster on the rail trail. Jan was back on deck, but chose to keep Colin company in the backup for the morning ride. Conditions were considerably milder than those encountered the last time we tried this event.

The ride itself starts off with a very easy leg to Fish Creek. The condition of the trail was quite good although there was some debris to avoid and some nasty cracks in the surface to watch out for. We did meet up with occasional riders also enjoying the day out. Just to confirm the surface was suitable for a racing machine I took along the single speed and Helen was on her fast mount too. Once past Fish Creek it was up the gentle slope to the ridge. This leg seems to have the most road crossings and the bunching up and negotiation of the narrow gates made for some interesting times.

The run down from the ridge was as much fun as I remember. Also the views were extensive with none of the smoke of recent times.

Lunch in the park was most relaxed and Colin had supplied more than enough cakes for the hungry crew.

The return journey included Jan and she seemed to handle the distance without any difficulty. Colin had to handle the waits by himself. On this ride the backup is only able to meet the riders where road access permits. The climb up the trail seemed easier this time, perhaps keeping up with Ann on her electric bike added somewhat to the effort last time I rode. The final kilometres cruised by with plenty of conversations to be had. On arrival we managed to catch the coffee shop, Moos, who had kindly stayed open for our much needed refreshment. We just had the long drive home to go. Despite the distance to the location this would have to be one of the best day rides on offer.

Enroute Foster

A quiet part of the trail

Enjoying the view

Penguin Tim says eat my dust

Is this grapefruit?

Old and new bridges

SADSAC: Sale - Marley Point 09 February. CANCELLED due hot conditions.