Nearly a dozen shivering cyclists met at Westmeadows Bakery on a cold but sunny morning. Many bought a cuppa and even food to prepare for the long ride ahead.
We departed down the Moonee Ponds Creek Path to the Western Ring Road Path, where two cyclists, Laurie and Matt, continued down the creek path instead of riding up along the Ring Rd Path towards Keilor. Their attention was finally brought to the fact they were alone, and when they retraced their path and caught up with a fellow rider, it was agreed they would meet up with the group at Williamstown after meeting up with two other expected cyclists who were riding slowly along the Western Ring Rd Path at Gladstone Park. They didn't join the main group heading towards Williamstown and we hope that they had a good ride wherever they went. This was where Laurie and Matt separated from the main group. The others made a cracking pace towards Keilor.
At Keilor Park Drive, we rode across to Keilor and down to Steeles Creek. This on-road section was low traffic with a smooth surface and downhill for nearly every metre. Steeles Creek had an awkward gate that prevented us wheeling our bicycles through, so we all (other than one cyclist who rode across the grass and dirt through a vehicular access gate) carried our bikes through.
Onto the Maribyrnong River Path and up to the lookout where we regrouped, admiring the view across to Melbourne City and making the best of the photo opportunity.
We continued on down the path, past the Anglers Tavern where we kept an eye out for another cycling group (from Bicycle Victoria) that were going to meet at the Anglers Tavern but we did not see anybody so it's possible they cancelled their ride. We rode past Flemington Racecourse to Footscray Rd and down Hyde St where Iain received a puncture after approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes into the ride. While waiting for Iain to repair his bike, Laurie and Matt then caught up with the group, having found their own way from Jacana. The others regrouped at the Westgate Memorial. It is nearly 40 years to the day since the disaster of the bridge collapse.
Before long Iain had repaired his puncture and rejoined the group. We continued and before long were in Williamstown, where we stopped at the Atomic Bar for a cuppa break. There were so many bikes leaning against the cafe barrier, and with the wind blowing strongly it partly collapsed!
Soon we were ready to depart. We rode down to the Point Gellibrand to check out the view, then rode back up Nelson Place and The Strand onto the bike path around the Newport power station.
We started up the Maribyrnong River Path where the ride leaders recommended a cafe at the Footscray Community Arts Centre. We turned back around and rode up to Footscray Rd/Docklands Hwy and along to the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail. From there we rode up the path, sometimes stopping to regroup. Near Moreland Rd, also after approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes from the Atomic Bar, Greg became the second, and thankfully the last, rider to get a puncture on the day's ride. Several cyclists continued up the path, confident he and his small band of bike mechanics would be able to catch up.
At the freeway overpass at the end of Bell St, the leading group waited for Greg and Dennis, but as they were taking such a long time, we continued on. The weather was threatening to rain on us. We all regrouped under the western link railway bridge at Glenroy, but by the Ring Rd we had spread out again. Several cyclists separated from here, while others separated at the Jacana Reserve. Five continued on towards Westmeadows, and three of them separated along the way. Eventually, the last two cyclists made it back to the starting point at Westmeadows Bakery, where the ground was very wet from a shower that thankfully had missed the cyclists.
Check out our ride maps at:
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/70885 Westmeadows to Williamstown 32.9 kmhttp://ridewithgps.com/trips/70884 Williamstown to Westmeadows 36.4 km
