sadsacnews2014: TRAMPS: Heyfield - Cheynes Bridge 27 April

Despite my realistic assessment of the ride to Cheynes Bridge we ended up with eighteen riders assemble at Heyfield for the event. The day was meant to be fine and sunny with cool temperatures. I guess two out of three ain't bad, to borrow from the loaf man. The sun really only shone up until start time. We had one new rider, for Tramps, with Harry from Rosedale joining us for the day. Also along, perhaps as part of their honeymoon, were the newlyweds Helen and Peter.
Due to a flat tyre prior to the start we headed off slightly late, led by the boy from the peninsula, Eric.
The cool conditions are a bit of a bonus on this ride as with some of the climbs being quite protected, overheating is a strong possibility. The run out through Glenmaggie and across the new bridge was a good warm up for the road ahead. Ride Director had plans to keep the group together but in this terrain riding at the pace of the slowest rider is a big ask. A couple of riders made use of the sag-wagon for the major climbs which I considered a wise move. For the rest the effort of the climbs was rewarded with some impressive views and exciting descents. We did encounter another tyre failure on the run out but luckily Richard had donated an old tyre for the trailer so we were able to replace the offending item at Blanket Hill. Being the end of a long weekend some additional traffic was expected. There were a few more four wheel drives returning from the hills than normal but they were mostly well behaved.
Lunch by the river was it's usual relaxing experience. Janette had put on quite a spread for the assembled so everyone was fully refueled for the return.
The return journey was incident free although there may have been the odd concern about the arrival time and the approaching darkness. As it turned out we still had light to spare by the time Heyfield appeared over the horizon. This is a top ride that, while difficult, always attracts a good number of club members. The length of the day was more obvious once we left the coffee house and put our headlights on for the drive home.