sadsacnews2014: SADSAC: Sale - Stratford 13 July.

We had thirteen riders at the port on Sunday to take on the Howitt Bicycle Trail. Despite its move into history for most, the Howitt Trail is still remembered by many and some of us still have the little book that details the route. On this occasion we only took the trail from Sale to Stratford. Only a small part of the recommended thirteen day journey.
The weather on the day was much improved from the recent past with some sunshine and only light to moderate winds. The terrain is rather flat for the most part with only the odd brush with headwind to up the effort. The leader had some difficulty at times keeping the speed down with some riders wanting to ride away. With a pit stop in Maffra the outbound leg was always going to be the longest. As the odometer ticked over 40 km some in the group were asking if we were there yet. Luckily the answer was almost. Lunch in the park at Stratford was, as usual, a relaxing affair with Shirley bringing out her specials for the day. It was not their first appearance with some of the group requesting sustenance at the Maffra break.
Due to the Cheynes cancellation a regular celebration was overdue. With a suitable birthday staple produced, adorned with its own lighting (short some 86 candlepower by my calculations) the senior member was the recipient of joyful voices. The excitement must have too much for Alister as he had to take a break in the backup on the way home.
The way home was considerably shorter being almost a direct run through Airley. We did take the small diversion past the school to break up the never ending Airley/Hagans Road double. Once we had negotiated the lake path it was back to the port. On arrival the place was a buzz with what appeared to be the Chinese Carp Fishing competition. Good to see these keen environmentalist ridding us of this pest. Once we were all packed, it was off to the local McDonalds to finish off the day.