Seeing as cycling is the new golf, I thought that some of my fellow students at Starfleet Academy might be interested in an occasional social ride - the chance to ride out as a group, have a coffee and see a bit more of Melbourne.
To that end, Grandma and I will be embarking on a few reconnaissance rides over the next few weeks to work out some possible routes that start out from near the Academy. Today we set out to find a route to the Maribyrnong River, with the Boathouse as a possible stopping point.
Squared-off
We departed from University Square and cut through the University campus to make a left turn into Tin Alley. Across Royal Parade and all the way along Morrah St to Royal Park. There's a pathway directly opposite the end of Morrah St. which we followed until it came to a T-intersection, left and across the tram lines then downhill to the corner of Elliot Avenue and Flemington Rd. Into the back streets at Southgate St, then Manningham St - under the rail bridge and immediately on the left there's a ramp which took us to a bridge over Flemington Rd. A tight zig-zag corner on the other side brought us back down to street level and the Moonee Ponds Creek.
Moonee
A left turn here had us heading south along the Moonee Ponds Creek. From here we just followed the trail under the raised expressway of City Link - OK, not exactly picturesque but at least it kept the sun off for awhile.
It was here that we first started feeling guilty about leaving the Co-Pilot at home - he would have loved seeing all the trains at rest in the North Melbourne railyards! Oh well, he'll have to come along next time.
Dock
The trail brought us to the traffic lights at Footscray Road, where we crossed over and peeled right - turning away from THE Docklands and along behind the West Melbourne docks. Not to put too fine a point on it, this was the dull section of the ride but it only lasted for about one and a half kilometres so it was over pretty quickly and we soon found ourselves crossing over and looping under Shepherd Bridge and heading north along the western bank of the Maribyrnong River. We noticed some other riders coming up a trail from the south of Shepherd Bridge and thought it might bear exploring on the return trip.
River
The scenery got prettier and more interesting the further we went along this path; Newell's Paddock was the first sign of some bushiness. Then on past Farnsworth Avenue the trail runs out on a narrow isthmus between a long wetlands area and a broad bend in the river. A little further on we trundled into Pipemakers Park, which I really liked - there are more trees here that make it feel more park-like. Then we headed under Raleigh Rd - there's a tight left-hander as you come back up onto the bridge - crossed over the river and along the other side a short distance to the Boathouse.
Boathouse
The Maribyrnong Park Boathouse looks like it's been renovated (or even rebuilt) fairly recently - Grandma reckons it used to face the river with a more northerly aspect. It's huge inside and has a pretty big terrace facing the river. The toilets are clean and modern and there's a shade-covered children's playground being constructed nearby. More importantly our coffees arrived promptly. All very agreeable.
Even so the competition for tables out on the terrace was pretty fierce when we arrived, but Grandma snaffled a table for us on her second attempt. We coffee'd and caked and chuckled at the dogs tangling themselves around their leads. By the time we left, the demand for tables had lightened a bit.
Return
Back across Maribyrnong Rd we rode up Woods St on the eastern side of the river: there's a little hill here that let's you hurtle down the other side back onto the bike trail. Just past the driving range we had to go across the bridge to the western bank because the trail through Riverside Golf Course turns off into the streets - not where we wanted to go.
Just as Ballarat Rd crosses the river near Flemington Racecourse there's a carpark that Grandma reckons would make a good starting point for a short ride to the Boathouse (about 8km round trip) - could be worth remembering that.
Crossover
Back at Newell's Paddock we crossed over what appears to be an old rail bridge and took to the slightly bumpy trail on the east bank. Along this stretch the foreground scenery isn't all that exciting but the aspect across the river makes up for it reasonably well. It wasn't long before the trail rolled under Shepherd Bridge and deposited us back on Footscray Rd.
Alternative route?
As it turns out we didn't have time to explore the path that comes up from the south here but a later inspection in the Melways indicates that it might be possible to reach Williamstown that way. I do wonder if the ride would be all that interesting though.
Easy rolling
We rolled along Footscray Rd and Moonee Ponds Ck until we were back at Manningham St, but instead of retracing our route across Royal Park we crossed the street and climbed the short flight of stairs to take the rail trail that goes behind the Zoo, under The Avenue and Royal Parade, and across the top of Princes Park. From here it was an easy trundle between the park and the cemetery, through the colleges and the Uni campus to our starting point.
End
All up this route is 32km, plus the extra 2km around the Zoo/Princes Park detour.
It'd rate this ride easy: apart from the slope across Royal Park and the climb to get onto the Flemington Rd overpass it's flat. I'd also rate the scenery very variable: from lacking interest along Footscray Rd to rather convivial at the Boathouse. So I don't think we'll make this the first ride for the social cycling group - we'll need something with a bit more instant gratification. Maybe the Merri Creek Trail?
Maybe next weekend...