Craigieburn - Flinders St (changed to Newmarket) Ride 21/11/2010

It was promising to be a beautiful day when cyclists met at 9am at the Grand Boulevard General Store and Cafe in Craigieburn. Although cloudy, it was fine and expected to clear.

While the first two cyclists waited for others to arrive, two helmet-less cyclists rode up and entered the Cafe. Obviously, they weren’t going on the ride!

Another cyclist, publicizing “one less car” and the “Better Paths Now!” candidate for Brunswick in the State election, arrived and made her way inside. She was convinced to join the ride.

Soon, another cyclists showed, and no more showed despite waiting a while longer. We departed along the Grand Boulevard footpath for the Galada Tamboore Path.

Crossing Sydney Rd at the signalized intersection was no drama (really, it wasn’t!) and we proceeded down the path, across Craigieburn Rd and onwards. Kevin experienced continual problems with his GPS app on his mobile, so no route map or timing is available for this section of the ride.

At Cooper St, the female cyclist decided to depart for Epping. The three remaining cyclists continued on to the City of Whittlesea Public Gardens, where they diverted from the planned route and rode across to the new Merri Creek Path in the Galada Tamboore. This path and the bridge over the creek are not officially open, but were accessible. It only extends as far as Somerset Rd, so riding on the residential and industrial roads was required. Being a Sunday morning, the roads were not busy. However, the footpath was used along Sydney Rd to Campbellfield Plaza.

We rode through the Pipeworks Market car park and onto the very beginning of the official Merri Creek Path. The diversion would not be necessary if and when the new path is linked to this older path. There is also a muddy and slippery section in the dark directly under the Western Ring Rd.

We continued on and stopped for a brief break at the Coburg Lake. We remounted our human-powered steeds and began to make our way to our next stop. However, we came upon a family enjoying a Sunday walk, and the cyclist at the front of the pack warned of our approach by ringing his bell. They were startled and jumped out of the way, the woman protecting a child. She proceed to abuse the first rider, telling him to slow down. He retaliated by telling her to put her dog on a leash! Around a few bends, we came upon a couple walking their dog. The same rider stopped to congratulate and thank them on having their dog on a leash!

We made our way further to CERES Environmental Park, where we had our main rest stop. It was very busy with many customers, as would be expected on a Sunday morning. Over a cuppa, a decision was made to divert the ride to the Craigieburn railway line via the Capital City Trail, as the ride had taken a fair chunk out of the day.

From the Merri Creek Path, we rode the short section on St Georges Rd to the Capital City Trail. It was a quick ride along this to Flemington Bridge Station and Racecourse ride where one cyclist continued along to the city. The other two rode along the Racecourse Road bike lane, which is a combination of green lippy on the road, green lippy on the path, simple line marking and bike stenciling on the road... and sometimes nothing!

At Newmarket Station we arrived with several minutes to spare before the train pulled in. It had been a long ride, a little over 40 kms, with nice weather, at a fairly quick pace.

Aitken Creek Ride 7/11/2010

The Aitken Creek Ride was a fantastic success. 21 people on 19 bikes, including several children, battled the strong wind to have a fun ride to Highlands Lake where we took over half the Waterside Cafe. The whole group were often spread out over a large distance during the ride!

Crossing Bridgewater Rd was the worst part of the ride, but the children negotiated it safely thanks in part to some adult riders placing themselves in front of oncoming vehicles to slow them down.

We rode around the Craigieburn Golf Course, through Fairways Village and back onto the Aitken Creek Path. We diverted onto some residential streets, crossed the dirt reservation of Aitken Blvd, and continued along the next section of Aitken Creek Path passing the bird viewing platform and playground. It’s a beautiful area for riding.

We followed the path under Craigieburn Rd, where Aitken Creek overflowed onto the path making it slippery and dangerous. The lake materialised, and we made our way around it and plonked our bikes down at the Waterside Cafe. After about three quarters of an hour, we took some photos of the group and continued around the lake. With so many paths there, some riders took the wrong path and had to dismount to climb down one or two steps, or took the quick way through to catch up.

Up Waterview Blvd we rode, against the very strong wind. At Grevillea St, outside the new Craigieburn West Primary School being constructed, the leading riders halted to let the others catch up. Here, two cyclists departed to make their way home. The others continued along to Aitken Blvd, where the new Craigieburn Library and Learning Centre is being constructed beside the new Town Centre which is still to be built.

The path along Aitken Blvd had us fighting against the wind again. Once more, the leaders stopped to let others catch up, this time at the beginning of the Malcolm Creek Path, opposite the Highgate Recreation Reserve.

At Windrock Ave, once again the leaders had to stop for others to catch up, but this time it was the mechanical failure of a bike slowing them down, shown by the oily fingers of a casual bike mechanic. Eventually, the last few cyclists caught up with the main group, and we crossed and continued along the Malcolm Creek Path. Near Hanson Rd we stopped to say goodbye to the children and some adults, who departed to the nearby home of some cyclists. The remaining half a dozen or so cyclists continued on their way.

At Hanson Rd, we rode up onto the footpath until Emerald Circuit. At the end of Emerald Circuit, Kevin the ride leader disappeared through the noise wall, which was the last thing the riders expected! When they followed and came out on the verge of Sydney Rd, with no more houses but the view of the distant hills, their looks of surprise and exclamations were a delight.

It was only a short ride on the dirt track to Hamilton St, then we rode past the Bike Shed, waving to Aleks inside the store. We crossed the fairly busy intersection with Kingswood Drive and continued along Hamilton St to Craigieburn Rd, then made out way along the footpath opposite the library and crossed over to our starting point. We had ridden a total of 14.5 kms in just over two hours, including the stop at the cafe. It was an enjoyable day for all the cyclists, several of whom discovered the paths and sights of Craigieburn for the first time.