Woods Point Epilogue

Visiting : Warburton, Reefton Spur, Woods Point
Distance : 355km
When : Wednesday 21st March, 7:00am
Where : Click here for route map

Last December’s ride to Woods Point was amazing but, for me, it asked more questions than it answered. I’d initially planned to have another crack at it next summer, maybe. Fortunately, I woke up to myself, realised that impatience can also be a virtue and decided to have another crack at it as soon as humanly possible. So, this was another solo ride with the same premise as last December : Woods Point return. No Sleep.

Same destination, different route, very different outcome.

Cathedral Run

Visiting : Black Spur, Cathedral Range, Toolangi State Forest
Distance : 220km
When : Sunday 19th February, 4:00am
Where : Click here for route map

Another solo ride. I wanted to visit Cathedral Range again and try a few new things.

Woods Point

Visiting : Toolangi, Marysville, Woods Point
Distance : 350-400km
When : Wednesday 30th November, 7:00am
Where : Click here for route map

This is the last TWBD ride of the year so I thought I’d give myself an early xmas present and do something I haven’t done in a long time - a long solo ride. I love riding with small groups but I also love getting lost in the bush by myself and I’ve been long overdue for some lonely time.

The rough plan was “Woods Point return. No Sleep.”

As always, some things went very right and some things went very wrong.

Mt Despair

Visiting : Hurstbridge, Kinglake, Mt Despair 
Distance : 125km

When : Sunday 23rd October, 9:30am @ Hurstbridge train station

Where : Click here for route map

Here's a train-friendly ride a bit closer to home. We'll start at Hurstbridge train station and head up to Kinglake via Bowden Spur Rd which is steep and all dirt. Then we'll fly down the other side, dive into the Toolangi State Forest and make our way to the summit of Mt Despair. We'll follow the power lines back towards Kinglake and climb up and over via Captains Creek Rd before rolling back down to Hurstbridge for tea and scones.

This one's relatively short and close to home but there's a significant amount of climbing, largely on dirt. An accessible yet challenging ride.

Wombat

Visiting : Gisborne, Blackwood, Wombat State Forest
Distance : 105km
When : Sunday 25th September, ~7:00am @ Gisborne
Where : Click here for route map

This ride will start in Gisborne and dive straight into the Wombat State Forest where we’ll spend all day on dirt roads and maybe some singletrack. We’ll travel the length of the forest, from east to west and then back again via a different route. Not a great deal of climbing but a lot of dirt and a lot of trees. Should be awesome.

I’ll be riding to/from the start/finish and I encourage others to do the same. Meet at the roundabout at the corner of Robertson Rd and Aitken St. Contact me if you want me to wait.

Cathedral

Visiting : Toolangi State Forest, Cathedral Ranges, Mt Margaret Gap
Distance : 155km
When : Sunday 24th July, ~7:00am @ Toolangi
Where : Click here for route map

Another long one with lots of dirt and lots of climbing. This will also be the first TWBD that I’ll ride on a geared bike.

We’ll start from Toolangi and dive straight into the awesome Toolangi/Black Range State Forest and head north to Taggerty before ducking around behind the stunning Cathedral Ranges for a good solid climb up to Mt Margaret Gap (1100-ish metres). Then it’s down to Buxton for a refuel before heading back into the State Forest to go up and over the Black Range again back to Toolangi where we started.

There’ll be about 2750m of climbing (nearly all on dirt) and there’s a very good chance we’ll encounter snow on Mt Margaret so gear up accordingly. There are no easy bailout points once we get on the other side of Black Range and there are only two places to get water and food (Taggerty at 68km and Buxton at 111km. There are NO shops at Toolangi) so be self-sufficient or be prepared to hitchhike home. Make sure you’re equipped to carry enough water and food to get to the next town - there are no other servos or shops or anything to pull into halfway. Mobile phone coverage might be very patchy. A space blanket and emergency rations might not be a bad idea.

I’ll ride to/from the start at Toolangi and treat it as a “transport stage”. Feel free to join me for all or part of that if you like. Because I’m riding to the start, I ask that you contact me so we can swap phone numbers so we can coordinate on the day. I won’t wait around at Toolangi unless you’ve contacted me beforehand to confirm that you’ll be there.

This is going to be an amazing ride. So much dirt... so much climbing...

Lake Mountain

Visiting : Warburton, Marysville, Lake Mountain, Mt Donna Buang
Distance : 160km + transport
When : Sunday 22nd May, ~7:30am @ Warburton
Where : Click here for route map

Some proper climbing this time. Starting from Warburton we'll head straight up Mt Donna Buang. Halfway up we'll detour along the Acheron Way to Marysville and have a look up Lake Mountain before retracing our steps and completing the Mt Donna Buang climb. Then it's down the back way to Don Road where we join the Warby Trail at Launching Place.

This ride is a little different to previous TWBD rides in that it starts away from the city far from the train lines and, in fact, before the first train even arrives at the closest station (Lilydale). This means you can either sleep in and drive to Warburton or, alternatively, get up early and ride to Warburton and treat it as a "transport stage". I'll be doing the latter.

Because of this transport stage before the start, I'll have to ask everyone who decides to come on this ride to email me (andrew at fmod dot org) so we can swap phone numbers and coordinate on the day. I can't guarantee I'll be at Warburton at exactly 7:30am (my transport stage will be about 80km) and I certainly won't wait around for people who may or may not be coming if I get to Warburton early.

Big climbs, big miles, this is going to be a big day.

Toolangi Hills

Visiting : Buttermans Tk, Yarra Glen, Toolangi State Forest, Kinglake
Distance : ~140km
When : Sunday 6th March, 9:30am @ Hurstbridge Train Station
Where : Click here for route map

This is a hilly one. We'll see 2000+ metres of climbing as we hit a couple of spots that have been on my todo list for ages.

We'll start out of Hurstbridge (NOT Fed Square, woohoo!) and head straight to Buttermans Track which will take us up and over to Yarra Glen. From there we'll hit Long Gully Road on up to the town of Toolangi for a refuel. Then it's time to get amongst the big boys - straight into the Toolangi State Forest for a long climb around Mt Tanglefoot before dropping down to follow the Murrundindi River up to Glenburn. We'll fuel up at Glenburn and then take Kinglake from behind before coasting back down to Hurstbridge with a salt-crusted grimace and a thousand yard stare.

Bring your climbing legs, this one's going to hurt.

(Note: If you're catching the train to the start, get on the 8:12 from Flinders St. I'll get that train but I'll jump on at Macleod.)

The Wombats That Ate Lancefield

Visiting : Wildwood, Lancefield, Cherokee, Riddells Creek
Distance : ~180km
When : Sunday 9th January, 7am @ Fed Square
Where : Click here for route map

A long, cruisy (mostly) flat ride to start the new year. This one heads out north for a tour of some beautiful country roads and lanes in the shadow of Mt Macedon. Big views, big skies and big wombats will be the order of the day as we hit up Lancefield in search of long-extinct megafauna before paying a brief visit to the lower parts of Mt Macedon to check out some of the back roads and big trees in its foothills.

Not too much climbing and no singletrack on this one so it should be a pretty cruisy ride through some of my favourite country places.

Come And Try

Visiting : Mt Dandenong, Silvan Dam
Distance : ~70km
When : Sunday 19th December, 10am @ Fed Square
Where : Click here for route map

A nice cruisy one to finish off the year. If you've been wanting to check out these rides but were turned off by the distance and/or early start time, this one's for you. It's relatively short, it starts at a reasonable hour and it still hits some awesome terrain.

We'll head out east on Canterbury Road and then hit Basin-Olinda Road for the first (dirt) climb of the day. Then it's past the amazing Woolrich Lookout before bombing down through the national park to Silvan Dam. We'll take Olinda Creek Road back up to Kalorama and then cut across the front face of the mountain before closing the loop at the Basin roundabout.

Depending on who turns up and how everyone's feeling we can bail out on the train at Boronia or keep riding back to the city. Cruisy fun to farewell another year of TWBD.