I had worked for a week trying to negotiate with the family to give me time on Saturday to tackle the 100km Warburton Trail brevet on Saturday, but to no avail. My presence was required elsewhere.
Saturday
However when the reason that my presence was required evaporated on Saturday morning, I resolved to still get some riding in. In the afternoon we has a birthday party for a couple of the nephews to attend at the Collingwood's place, out the back of Dandenong, so I thought it would be amusing to show up in my bike gear. I could have gone pretty much straight down Dandenong Rd—it would have been quicker but it would also have been pretty dull. I decided to head across to Jells Park then take the scenic route via the Dandenong Creek Trail.
It's well worth going for a spin on this trail, if only to see the incredibly wide range of possible ways that a shared path can be done both well and badly. The surface varies from lumpy bitumen, to loose gravel on a hard-packed base, to wide smooth concrete—sometimes in the space of a few hundred yards! But in spite of this variability it's generally a safe and easy ride.
Although not heavily sign-posted, the trail isn't difficult to follow: remembering that the path follows the Creek and choosing what looks like the main route is usually a safe bet. The most notable place where this could lead you astray is heading south at the Stud Rd crossing, where an unmarked gravel path that branches to the left (going under the road) is actually the main trail; staying on the sealed path here (as I did) will dump you into a service lane on the road with nowhere obvious to go.
The only other complaint I've got about the Dandenong Creek Trail is those interminable gateways. They used to be much worse back when they had actual gates in them; removal of the gates was an improvement but the openings are still ridiculously narrow.
A long stretch of the trail traces the edge of suburbs on the west with the creek, flood plain and paddocks on the east. This can leave the path a little open to wind but also provides pleasant vistas across to the Dandenong Ranges. There are also some attractive bushland sections.
Further south, as the trail approaches Dandenong, there are several frustrating combined road and creek crossings—where you cross the creek on the road bridge then loop around under the bridge to continue along the creek bank on the other side. This really isn't too bad for a weekend trundle, but would make using this section of the trail a bit unrewarding for commuting.
On the return journey I was tempted to zoom straight along Dandenong Road, but on such a pleasant afternoon I couldn't bring myself to such boredom, so I returned along the trail. This brought the added attraction of climbing the Waverley Road hill from Jells Park to the Police Academy. I've no idea what the gradient is on this slope, but it's definitely a granny-gear climb for me (I'm no hill-climber).
Sunday
Having missed out on attempting a substantial climb on Saturday, on Sunday I decided I'd go out and have a bash at the somewhat less substantial 1-in-20 (Mountain Highway, The Basin to Sassafras) which I hadn't ridden before. On the way, I took a spin along the northern part of the Dandenong Creek Trail—I heard down the beervine that the Koomba Park section had been reopened recently and wanted to have a squiz.
The new Koomba Park section has been well done: nice wide concrete with smooth, sweeping corners. It's a pity it doesn't last long before dumping you back onto the lumpy asphalt north of Boronia Rd.
I wasn't initially sure that I'd be up for the 1-in-20 as the recent knee complaint seemed to be flaring up, but as I went along things settled down. I'll admit to being a little unsure and nervous as I approached the Basin: was I up to this climb? As it turned out, I needn't have worried—after being knocked around on Mt Stanley on the previous weekend, this was a breeze. Conditions were perfect: sunny but not too hot, cool air without being cold, and a faint puff of wind without being a nasty head wind. And I've got to say the road is an excellent piece of engineering: it's the same steady gradient almost all the way to the top. So it's just a matter of finding a comfortable gear and cadence and going for it.
Before leaving, I'd checked the ascent times on cycle2max to get an idea of what I would expect to do. It's a simple formula: take one of the best times and double it. As I said, I'm no hill-climber, but the calculation was remarkably accurate. It was surprisingly easy and at the top I didn't even feel like I'd earned my coffee yet, but I had a quick one anyway.
Don't you just love the way some folks in the cycling fratenity check you out? Or rather, they check out your bike first, then your riding gear and then (only if you come up to scratch) do they bother to look at you, the person. I find it quite amusing—and a little sad. Being on the only bike with mudguards, needless to say I was practically invisible to all the "serious" riders at the Sassafras café. Pfft, I ride for my own enjoyment not to impress anyone else.
Of course, the downhill run was great fun. Back at the Basin, I reckoned that I would have been fit enough to do the climb a few more times. I'll have to allow more time for a few laps on my next visit, but for now I had to get back for another coffee appointment with the family at Jells Park.
I promise you, the climb to Sassafras is easy—give it a go, you'll be surprised.
Yeah, screaming down the hill from the Police Academy is hilarious—and also dead scary. I can't help thinking what would happen if I had a sudden catastrophic failure of something really important…
I've ridden up to the fair end of The Basic once along Mountain Highway, that was enough :) I am not very fit, and my bike has had a hard life over the last 4 or 5 years.
I'd about 50m of sliding along, being grated to death. Pass. I think I'll wait for the new bike before trying that one again.
Yeah, fair enough. You've got to know your limitations!
I haven't ridden that end of the trail since the road construction works were completed, but as far as I can tell there's no direct way through to Seaford Rd on the Eastlink Trail or any other trail. According to the official map, the trail proper ends at Greens Rd, connecting to another trail that runs down to the mouth of the Patterson River.
Is there a connection between Greens Rd & Seaford on the Eastlink bike path
Comments
I had exactly the same problem at Stud Rd.
And you're a looney - both those hills, the Police Academy one and the one up to Sassafras would have me gasping and collapsed at the side of the road about 1/5th of the way up them. :) Coming down the Police Academy hill is fun tho.