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. As I approached the Basin I wondered if I was up to this climb. But as it turned out—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 fraternity 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.

Saturday morning saw Doc Homebrew and I hit the road to Meeniyan, near Leongatha, to take a spin on the Great Southern Rail Trail for a dirt series ride with Audax. An overcast morning turned to bright autumnal sunshine as the group of about ten riders sauntered along the trail bound for a laidback lunch at Foster.

I’ve not been on this trail before, so I was keen to see what it’s like, and I wasn’t disappointed. The committee of management and volunteers have done a good job of constructing a pretty hard-wearing gravel path, and although the section between Meeniyan and Fish Creek looked like it had been softened a bit by recent rain, it had drained and dried pretty firmly. (That said, I don’t think the riding would be quite as smooth immediately after a heavy downpour!)

Undoubtedly the best part of the ride is between Fish Creek and Foster, where some really splendid views over Corner Inlet to Wilson’s Promontory are on show. Also the trail surface seems to be slightly different in this section—a different material perhaps, and a bit drier.

And then, quite abruptly, the trail ends—a tantalising taste of what it might one day be like if it’s opened all the way to Yarram.

At this point we took the minor detour into Foster itself for an early and much appreciated lunch. And then it was a gentle cruise back over the kind of gentle undulations that only a rail trail can offer. About the easiest 70km possible, but still not a bad day out.

My impression of the Great Southern Rail Trail is that it’s a bit under utilised: we didn’t meet any other traffic on the trail until after lunch, and the amount of small debris on the path itself suggests fairly low traffic flow. This is a shame, because it’s a good route.

Sunday: Party de Wheels

Sunday’s event was an entirely different proposition: a birthday in the Homebrew clan saw eleven kids of primary school age and below (with assorted parents/grandparents in tow) descend by bike on Jells Park for something of a mobile party. And you’ve got to admit that a ride to the park and a picnic in the autumn sunshine is a pretty agreeable way to celebrate a birthday!

I noticed that these kids are getting pretty strong and they are all learning excellent road discipline. It’s truly great to see.

Following that weekend MLSP remarked this morning as I mounted up for the commute: “You’ve hardly been off that bloody thing all weekend!” And you’ve gotta wonder what’s wrong with that?

With a few days to spare between the Festival of the Plastic Tree and the my return to the salt mines, the prospect of getting out for a recreational ride or two beckons. So the cover story on the December–January edition of Ride On magazine really caught my eye: Café de Wheels—a guide to bike friendly cafés in Melbourne. I’m always up for a good coffee, but I’ll not admit that almost all of our recreational rides are planned around the coffee stop (I’ll not admit it, no matter how true). Anyway, the cafés on the Ride On list are:

• Cog Bike Café on the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail in Mt Evelyn,

• Café Racer in St Kilda,

• The Belgian Beer Café on St Kilda Rd,

• The Hidden Café at the rear of Boyer’s Nursery in Glen Iris,

• kanteen on the River in South Yarra, and not ignoring Lygon St,

• Small Block

It’s a good list, but it’s naturally limited by the space available in the magazine. To this end, I’d like to offer up a few more suggestions. But first, I’ve got to ask myself what makes a good café for cyclists? And I find myself making the following criteria:

1. Being near where people want to ride (kind of obvious really),

2. Having good coffee (again, rather obvious),

3. Al fresco seating (so it’s OK to sit around in sweaty gear and you can watch over the bikes), and

4. Secure bike parking (you can either park your bike near your table or there are good secure fixtures for locking-up).

And that’s about it really. So, in no particular order, here are another six (or seven) possible destinations coffee stops:

Maribyrnong Park Boathouse

Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds [Melways 28 D8]

The Boathouse is an ideal stopping point right on the Maribyrnong River Trail, with views over a lazy bend in the Maribyrnong River from either a large indoor dining area and a large or the sunny terrace. Lean your bike against the fence and enjoy.

Studley Park Boathouse

Studley Park, Kew [Melways 2D F8]

Right on the Yarra Boulevard and a minor detour from the Capital City Trail / Main Yarra Trail, the Studley Park Boathouse stands in a peaceful oasis of bushland that could be hundreds of miles from the city. Well, it’s peaceful as long as the people in the hire boats aren’t too rowdy!

Hahndorf’s Fine Chocolates

Bulleen Rd, North Balwyn [Melways 32 C12]

Riversdale Rd, Surrey Hills [Melways 60 K2]

Actually there are Hahndorf’s outlets all over the place (including Black Rock, Caulfield South, Croydon South, Doncaster East, Elwood, Newport, Malvern East, and Montrose) but I’m only familiar—for now—with the ones at North Balwyn (just off the Koonung Creek Trail) and Surrey Hills (a major but worthwhile detour from the Gardiners Creek Trail).

It’s not entirely true that the only reason we go to Hahndorf’s is because they bring around a sample tray of chocolates with the coffee—it also helps that their coffee is good and they’re friendly to cyclists. So friendly that the Surrey Hills branch has been known to open its side gate to allow larger groups of riders to bring their bikes around to the rear courtyard.

Jells Park Teahouse

Jells Park, Wheelers Hill [Melways 71 K7]

Pretty much smack in the middle of Jells Park, the Teahouse (recently rebranded “Madeline’s”) boasts an uninterrupted view across rolling parkland to the Dandenong Ranges, from both indoor and outdoor tables. The Dandenong Creek Trail runs through the park, and Scotchmans Creek Trail also ends there.

Phoenix Park Café

Phoenix Park, Malvern East [Melways 69 D2]

Right beside the Scotchmans Creek Trail, the Phoenix Park Café is a bit of an undiscovered gem offering good coffee delivered with friendly service. Adults can settle back behind large noth-facing windows or outside under umbrellas while junior cyclists and passengers enjoy the enormous adventure playground.

CERES Community Environment Park

Lee St, Brunswick East [Melways 30 B7]

There are many good reasons for taking the picturesque Merri Creek Trail, not least of which is the prospect of coffee at the CERES Café. It’s a very popular spot in good weather and even with plenty of seating on a wide verandah and in the large, shady rear garden, you should plan to arrive early to get a good seat—waiting times can be long-ish as lunch approaches! Your best bet it to park your bike against the bluestone wall out the front and nab a spot on the verandah. BrunsBUG’s bike recycling workshop is located directly opposite.

That’s probably enough for now. Hopefully there’s at least one new (or renewed) idea there to suit your next ride. (Incidentally, most of these appear in the new Sip-N-Cycle section of the Bike Paths Guide.) And if you’ve got any suggestions for good coffee haunts, please don’t keep ‘em to yourself—the comments section is open…

While the current design is still being finalised, at this stage the plan

is to provide a continuous shared use path linking to the following parks

and reserves:

• Mullum Mullum Valley, Ringwood Bypass, Schwerkolt Cottage and Eastland to

• Simpsons Park / Heatherdale Reserve Proclamation Park to

• Koomba Park via Dandenong Creek Trail to Wantirna Reserve on to

• Blind Creek / Llewellyn Park Complex on to

• Nortons Park, Shepherds Bush, Drummies Bridge Reserve to

• Jells Park Trail Network and Chesterfield Farm

• Corhanwarrabul wetlands

• Potentially Carribean Gardens and Corhanwarrabul Creek on to

• Mulgrave Reserve / Dandenong Creek and Tirhatuatan Park through to

• Fotheringham Reserve Trail to Mile Creek and Greaves Reserve via Dandenong Creek trail to

• National Watersports Complex, Patterson Lakes open space, Carrum Foreshore or via Ray Dove Reserve, Edithvale Wetland, Seaford Frankston Foreshore and the Port Phillip Bay Trail Network beyond.

SEITA and the project parties are liaising with councils, Bicycle Victoria and local community groups about the final exact route and design.

The primary shared use path is a 3m wide concrete path, while secondary shared use paths vary in width due to integration with existing paths.

As soon as all design details are finalised, a guide to the new path network will be published and available to the public.”

At least there will be some positives out of yet another massive tollway development in Melbourne!

Should make for some good rides with linkages across the outer eastern suburbs.